Rahul Agarwal

Rahul Agarwal is an accomplished trial lawyer and a seasoned litigator. He has a multi-faceted practice focused on representing corporate and individual clients in a variety of white collar defense and investigations matters as well as in connection with complex commercial litigation and crisis management.

Rahul practiced at Friedman Kaplan earlier in his career before leaving the firm to become a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey where he served for nearly a decade, including as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney, and as Acting Principal Assistant United States Attorney (where he was second in command in the Office). During his tenure, Rahul handled and supervised a broad range of investigations and prosecutions, including those involving public corruption, civil rights, healthcare fraud, mortgage and bank fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, identity theft, national security, and cybercrime, as well as firearms, violent crime, and narcotics matters.  Notably, Rahul led the successful prosecutions of a $30 million mortgage fraud scheme and a $7 million ATM-skimming bank fraud conspiracy. He also prosecuted a former Hoboken mayoral candidate for vote-buying and a former Manalapan mayor for fraud and identify theft. Rahul received the DOJ’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance for his investigation and prosecution of several Paterson police officers for civil rights violations.

Immediately prior to rejoining Friedman Kaplan, Rahul served as Deputy Chief Counsel in the office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, where he advised the Mayor and City Hall on a wide range of legal, ethical, and strategic matters involving criminal justice, health, education, economic development, human rights, and housing. He worked closely with the federal and New York State governments on behalf of the City and provided operational, budgetary, and policy oversight to ten City agencies, including the Office of Labor Relations, the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, and the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Outside the Office

Rahul is an active member of the South Asian Bar Association of New York and previously served a term as the organization’s President and multiple terms on its Board of Directors. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program, which helps cultivate and develop future leaders from underserved communities. Additionally, Rahul has served as an editor for the American Bar Association’s Litigation Journal since 2018.