Overview
Securities litigation remains an ongoing threat to businesses and financial institutions. McDermott’s SEC Enforcement group is composed of lawyers – including former senior members of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement – who possess substantial experience covering the full spectrum of securities enforcement activity. Our lawyers are knowledgeable about the SEC as an agency, including its rules, practices and customs, and maintain excellent relations with staff of the Enforcement Division and Office of General Counsel.
Clients rely on McDermott to provide legal defense against securities litigation. We have secured favorable results stemming from investigations and enforcement proceedings, on behalf of public companies, their audit committees, officers, directors and senior management, as well as financial services firms, broker deals, investment advisors, hedge funds and accounting firms.
Our capabilities cover all aspects of SEC and other regulatory investigations, as well as parallel proceedings, private class actions and derivative litigation. We have been successful in deterring the SEC at various stages of enforcement investigations and frequently persuade the SEC either not to take any action against our clients or to reduce the nature and scope of the charges, including the elimination of fraud-based charges.
We have demonstrated success – civil and criminal – bringing trials to verdict in federal district courts and handling administrative proceedings at the federal and state level, and we possess substantial appellate experience in the appeal of administrative decisions to the SEC and to the US circuit courts.
As a testament to the mutual respect between our practice and the commission, we have successfully petitioned the SEC to appear as amicus curiae in favor of a client’s position in private securities litigation. The SEC also has called upon members of our group to act as receivers in the SEC civil enforcement proceedings. This cumulative experience differentiates McDermott from the competition, ultimately providing clients with the best legal representation to achieve a favorable outcome.
