Securities Enforcement & Litigation

Experience Highlights

• Public company in the electronics manufacturing industry in an SEC investigation, internal investigation, NYSE proceeding, and securities class action involving a significant restatement and related financial reporting, accounting, disclosure, internal control, and insider trading issues.
• Registered investment adviser with billions of dollars of assets under management in an SEC examination, civil lawsuits in state and federal court, and investor demands involving compliance matters, including custody relationships, trading positions and disclosures.
• Global investment bank in multiple SEC investigations involving the valuation of positions in financial instruments related to marketplace lending platforms and disclosures to investors in asset-backed securities deals.
• National accounting firm in investigations by the SEC and PCAOB involving auditor independence, including with respect to the performance of non-audit services for audit clients, and accounting firm entity theories of liability.
• Special board committee of a financial services public company both in conducting an internal investigation involving corporate governance, internal control and financial reporting issues, and in handling related SEC, DOJ and other regulatory investigations and shareholder litigation.
• Audit committee of a publicly held shipping company in conducting an internal investigation involving assets recorded on the company's books, data privacy issues under the GDPR and other issues, as well as handling related SEC and DOJ investigations.
• Special board committee of an automotive public company in conducting an internal investigation involving whistleblower allegations and issues relating to securities, criminal and other laws and regulations, as well as handling a related SEC investigation.
• Yelp Inc. and three of its senior officers in a 10b-5 securities class action in the US District Court for the Northern District of California that involves Yelp's revision of forward-looking guidance and related disclosures.
• Chief financial officer of the Hospitality Investors Trust REIT in shareholder derivative litigation in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and a related special litigation committee investigation involving alleged breaches of fiduciary duties.
• Independent directors of American Realty Capital-Retail Centers of America Inc. in a securities class action in the US District Court for the District of Maryland arising out of the merger of two REITs with combined assets of $3.5 billion.