Andrew Ceresney, who served from April 2013 to December 2016 as the Director of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, will return to the law firm Debevoise as co-chair of the litigation department, where he will practice primarily in the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group.

Ceresney will represent companies, boards of directors, and individuals in criminal, SEC, and other state and federal regulatory matters, and will handle internal corporate investigations and complex civil litigation. He will join Mary Beth Hogan as co-chair of the Litigation Department, succeeding John Kiernan, who was elected President of the New York City Bar Association last year.

During his nearly four years as head of the SEC’s largest division, serving under Chair Mary Jo White, Ceresney implemented numerous initiatives that strengthened the Division of Enforcement’s impact. Under his leadership, the Division brought a record number of cases, including first-of-their-kind and significant cases across the entire spectrum of the securities industry. These included important matters related to financial reporting, asset management, insider trading, market structure and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Mr. Ceresney also helped broaden the use of analytical tools to detect and investigate financial misconduct, while enhancing the Division’s litigation capacity and improving morale.

Prior to joining the SEC in 2013, Ceresney co-chaired the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group. at Debevoise. During that time, he represented various companies and individuals, including a major financial institution in investigations and litigation relating to origination, securitization and servicing of mortgages. Ceresney played an integral role in negotiating the historic $25 billion national mortgage settlement between the federal government, 49 state attorneys general and some of the country’s largest banks. His practice focused on a wide range of issues, including securities-related and money laundering matters for financial institutions, and investigations relating to accounting fraud, FCPA, valuation issues, complex financial instruments, insider trading and disclosure issues. He also handled matters involving the pharmaceutical industry, including government investigations of promotional practices and class action litigation.

Topics