By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK (Reuters) - FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke has hired a prominent New York defense attorney in the face of corruption investigations that have roiled the world soccer body, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Defense lawyer Barry Berke has been hired to represent Valcke, who is FIFA President Sepp Blatter's top lieutenant.
Berke, a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, most recently represented Michael Steinberg, a portfolio manager at Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund. Steinberg was sentenced last year to 3-1/2 years in prison after being convicted of engaging in insider trading.