Chadbourne & Parke LLP announced today that securities litigator Clifford C. Hyatt, 45, has joined the Firm as counsel, resident in Los Angeles. Mr. Hyatt comes to Chadbourne from Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP, where he was special counsel in the corporate governance advisory group, specializing in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and in the white collar criminal defense group.
“We are pleased to welcome Cliff to Chadbourne,” said Charles K. O’Neill, the Firm’s Managing Partner. “He brings valuable SEC experience in both public and private practice to our national and international white collar, securities enforcement, and securities litigation and corporate governance, including internal investigations, practice areas.”
Mr. Hyatt joins the securities litigation and regulatory enforcement practice group, whose members include partner Thomas V. Sjoblom, chair of the practice group, and counsel John G. Moon. All three have served previously as enforcement officials at the SEC. Mr. Hyatt also adds depth to the Firm’s growing white collar criminal defense practice, whose members include partner Kenneth A. Caruso, former Deputy Associate Attorney General; partner Abbe David Lowell, former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney at the Department of Justice and now a prominent defense attorney in criminal and Congressional matters; Mr. Sjoblom, former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for three judicial districts; and Mr. Moon, former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section.
“Cliff is a great addition to our L.A.-based litigation team,” added Jay R. Henneberry, Managing Partner of the Firm’s Los Angeles office. “His expertise enhances our West Coast litigation practice and extends the geographical reach of the Firm’s white collar and securities litigation and enforcement practice groups.”
Mr. Hyatt is currently representing a former officer and director of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. in connection with the SEC’s ongoing high-profile financial fraud investigation. He also represents major financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley in SEC and securities arbitration matters.
Mr. Hyatt’s practice focuses on SEC defense, securities regulation, and securities litigation and arbitration. He represents and advises public companies and their officers and directors in SEC enforcement-related matters involving insider trading, financial disclosure and securities offerings. In addition, he represents banks, broker-dealers and financial services firms in a wide range of SEC, NYSE and NASD-related compliance and investigatory matters, as well as arbitrations. Mr. Hyatt also represents public companies and their officers and directors in complex securities litigation in federal and state courts.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Hyatt was the Deputy Assistant Regional Director of the SEC’s Pacific Regional Office. As a member of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, Mr. Hyatt managed a team of attorneys who investigated and litigated cases involving accounting and financial fraud, insider trading, Internet fraud, stock manipulation, and broker-dealer, investment company and investment advisor compliance issues.
Mr. Hyatt’s most notable SEC cases include SEC vs. Mark S. Jakob (the Emulex matter), a civil and criminal case against a 23-year-old college student who disseminated a fake press release over the Internet that resulted in the Emulex Corp. losing nearly $2.2 billion in market capitalization in just 16 minutes. He also litigated SEC v. Alan Brian Bond, et al., a civil and criminal case against the prominent New York City pension fund manager for receiving over $6.9 million in commission kickbacks from brokerage firms and for causing over $56 million in client losses through a fraudulent “cherry-picking” scheme. Mr. Bond was sentenced earlier this year to more than 12 years in prison. In addition, Mr. Hyatt was part of the SEC’s prosecution team in SEC v. Robert L. Citron et al., civil and administrative cases against the Orange County, California Treasurer and others, involving municipal securities offerings and the loss of more than $1.6 billion in county investments that ultimately led to bankruptcy. He also litigated SEC v. Waldron & Co., et al., a civil and trading suspension case against the underwriter and its president for manipulating the stock of Internet retailer Shopping.com.
Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Hyatt was an officer in the trust asset management departments of two Wall Street firms, Prudential-Bache Securities and Irving Trust Bank. He received his B.A. from Fordham College and his J.D. from the National Law Center at George Washington University.
