Therese Pritchard Becomes the First Woman Chair in Bryan Cave

10/03/14

Therese Pritchard Becomes the First Woman Chair in Bryan Cave

Summary: St. Louis-based Bryan Cave announced on Wednesday that Therese Pritchard has formally assumed the duties of Chair of the firm. Pritchard is the first woman chair in the law firm's 140-year history. She previously led the firm's White Collar, Securities Enforcement & Litigation Client Service Group and served as Asia Coordinator, responsible for overseeing Bryan Cave's offices in Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Therese Pritchard finally assumes the position of Chair at Bryan Cave after a nine-month transition period begun in December 2013. She steps into the shoes of Don Lents, under whom the law firm had experienced significant growth and success. During Lent's 11-year tenure as Chair, Bryan Cave added 11 new offices across the USA, Europe and Asia and increased its headcount by about 300 attorneys. Lent will continue to remain a partner in the firm and will maintain an active civic presence in St. Louis.

Pritchard joined Bryan Cave in 1999. Her practice has concentrated on securities and financial institutions enforcement and litigation, representing major public companies, banks, accounting firms, broker-dealers, investment advisers, mutual funds, hedge funds and individuals under investigation by the SEC, DOJ, FINRA and the federal banking agencies. She has extensive experience conducting independent investigations on behalf of, and providing counsel to, boards of directors and audit committees of public companies.

Earlier in her career, Pritchard served as assistant director of the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as deputy chief counsel of the Office of Thrift Supervision, overseeing hundreds of matters, including some of the most notable Wall Street cases during that period. She also has served as Chair of the Securities Enforcement Subcommittee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Founded in 1873, Bryan Cave has grown from a regional to a global law firm with more than 1,000 attorneys in 24 offices across the world. Pritchard is the first woman chair in the firm's 140-year history. The law firm said in its press release that Pritchard will primarily focus on developing greater market awareness of the value Bryan Cave attorneys bring to the table in client relationships.

Pritchard said, "Through a continued focus on innovation in the way we provide legal services, we will be able to exceed client expectations for high-quality, cost-effective, seamless services in an increasingly complex regulatory environment around the world."

Pritchard is also working on better delivery on client expectations. She said, "We are continually working to create better alignment of our clients' interests and ours."

Pritchard was recognized among the top 40 securities enforcement defense attorneys in Securities Docket's inaugural "Enforcement 40." She recently was named to Profiles in Diversity Journal's Women Worth Watching list for 2015. In addition, she has been included among the Best Lawyers in America each year from 2008 to 2014. Pritchard graduated cum laude from Boston College Law School in 1978.

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This news originally appeared on BCGsearch.com: Therese Pritchard Becomes the First Woman Chair in Bryan Cave