Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Recruits SEC.s Elaine Greenberg

09/25/13

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Recruits SEC’s Elaine Greenberg


On Monday, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced that Elaine C. Greenberg, one of the most senior SEC officials, is joining the law firm in its Washington D.C. office. She would be a resident partner at Washington D.C.

During her 25-year tenure, Greenberg was the inaugural Chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Enforcement Unit. Her former position at the SEC was that of the Associate Director of the Division of Enforcement.

The Managing Director of Orrick's Business Units, Walt Brown, said: "SEC litigation and regulatory enforcement has grown significantly over the past two years with the SEC's whistleblower program and the DODD-Frank Act. All signs are that we can anticipate even more activity in this area. We are extremely excited to add a leader with Elaine's reputation and insight to our Washington, D.C., team." Brown is also a senior member of the law firm's White Collar practice.

Speaking on returning to private practice from the SEC, Greenberg said: "As I embark on the next phase of my career, I'm extremely excited to join a firm with a nationwide securities litigation and regulatory enforcement team of the caliber of Orrick's and to work alongside the firm's No. 1 ranked Public Finance practice."

Jim Kramer, head of Orrick's Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Group admitted, "Elaine's experience and reputation handling high-profile matters involving financial fraud and insider trading adds tremendous strength to our securities litigation and regulatory enforcement bench at Orrick."

In her 25-year tenure at the SEC, Greenberg earned a reputation for hard-hitting enforcement actions. Under her leadership the SEC set industry benchmarks with a number of precedent-setting actions. She has led the first action charging a municipality with fraud for misleading statements made outside of its securities disclosure documents.

Besides bringing pioneering actions against financial institutions for their bid rigging and "pay-to-play" schemes, she also spearheaded the first actions against states over misleading bond investors regarding the state's pension systems.

Recognizing the value of an expert like Greenberg in the current scenario, Roger Davis, the head of Orrick's Public Finance Group said, "The level of SEC regulation and enforcement in the municipal bond area has never been higher and continues to grow. No one is better able to advise and, if necessary, defend our clients in this area than Elaine Greenberg."

Greenberg, who has held dual roles at the SEC and led the creation of a nationwide unit for overseeing and managing SEC enforcement efforts as the first Chief of the Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Unit, said, "It has been a true honor to serve the SEC together with my dedicated colleagues, and I am very appreciative of our collective achievements …"