SEC Investigations & Examinations
Key Contacts
We represent investment advisers, broker-dealers, officers of public companies, and others in connection with SEC investigations and examinations. Our team includes multiple partners with senior leadership experience at the SEC, including a former director of the SEC’s New York office. Their insight into—and credibility with—the SEC assists in minimizing the negative impact of agency investigations and examinations on our clients.
Our team has an intimate understanding of the investigatory process, from initial document requests through the Wells process and charging decisions. At every stage, we seek to narrow the civil and criminal exposure our clients face, while broadening our understanding of investigators’ concerns in order to reach the most advantageous result.
We use our understanding of the SEC and the securities industry to assist clients in a diverse range of situations involving alleged misconduct investigated by the SEC. Our high-value engagements include, for instance, our appointment as special litigation trustee to a committee charged with pursuing claims for the Infinity Q Diversified Alpha Fund, a $1.7 billion failed mutual fund charged with securities fraud.
For investment advisers facing for-cause or routine exams, we provide counsel and, when necessary, interact with exam staff. Also, in addition to our work before the SEC, we regularly represent clients in connection with investigations, enforcement, and disciplinary proceedings initiated by self-regulatory organizations such as FINRA and stock and options exchanges.
The credibility that Finn Dixon & Herling carries into interactions with the SEC stems in part from our lawyers’ deep respect within the agency. Our group leader, Andrew Calamari, served as director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, overseeing 400 enforcement attorneys and the prosecution of SEC enforcement actions throughout the New York region. He was involved in numerous landmark enforcement actions at the agency, including securities fraud actions against AIG and Ernst & Young. Our team also includes Jeffrey Plotkin, former chief of broker-dealer enforcement within the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
