Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced today that Elaine C. Greenberg, the inaugural Chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Enforcement Unit and former Associate Director of the Division of Enforcement at the SEC, has joined the firm as a partner, resident in Washington, D.C.
During her 25-year tenure at the SEC, Ms. Greenberg developed a strong reputation for producing high-impact enforcement actions, bringing cases of first impression and negotiating precedent-setting settlements. She brought novel and noteworthy cases in the areas of municipal securities and public pensions, corporate disclosure, accounting and financial fraud, insider trading, broker-dealer and investment adviser fraud and practices, market manipulation and offering fraud. She possesses a deep institutional knowledge of the SEC’s policies, practices, procedures and personnel, having served under nine different SEC chairmen.
“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,” said Walt Brown, Managing Director of the Orrick’s Business Units and a senior member of the firm’s White Collar practice.
Ms. Greenberg held dual roles at the SEC. As the first Chief of the Municipal Securities and Public Pensions Unit, she built a nationwide unit to oversee and manage SEC enforcement efforts in the $4 trillion municipal securities and $3 trillion public pension marketplaces. Under her leadership, the SEC brought numerous precedent-setting actions, including the first two SEC enforcement actions against states, charging them with misleading bond investors regarding the funding of the states’ pension systems, the first action charging a municipality with fraud for misleading statements made outside of its securities disclosure documents, and ground-breaking actions against banks, broker-dealers, and other financial institutions involving alleged bid-rigging, “pay to play” schemes, and sales of complex asset-backed securities. As Associate Director of Enforcement for the Philadelphia regional office, she was responsible for overseeing the SEC’s enforcement program in the Mid-Atlantic region in the areas of investigation, litigation and internal controls. Under her leadership, the Office made major contributions by bringing numerous enforcement actions.
“It has been a true honor to serve at the SEC together with my dedicated colleagues, and I am very appreciative of our collective achievements over the years,” said Ms. Greenberg. “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.”
“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,” said Roger Davis, head of Orrick’s Public Finance Group.
“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,” said Jim Kramer, head of Orrick’s Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Group.
Orrick’s regulatory enforcement teams have defended individual and institutional clients in some of the highest profile cases arising out of the financial crisis and beyond, with a particular focus on matters in the financial services, technology and energy & infrastructure sectors. The firm has defended several of the first matters brought under the SEC’s whistleblower program.
Ms. Greenberg earned her B.A., Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, and J.D. from Temple University.
About Orrick
Orrick is a global law firm with a particular focus on serving companies in the technology, energy and financial sectors. Founded in San Francisco and marking its 150th anniversary, Orrick is recognized by Law360 as one of the “Global 20” leading firms. The firm offers clients a distinctive combination of local insight and consistent global quality across 25 offices. Orrick lawyers are known for delivering commercially oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have an extraordinary record of wins in high-stakes disputes. Chambers Global cites Orrick for leadership across 43 practice areas and recognizes 86 Orrick lawyers worldwide as leading practitioners. The American Lawyer named Orrick among the leading US litigation firms in its past two surveys. For more than a decade, Orrick has ranked as the number one municipal bond firm, according to the Bond Buyer. Orrick’s securities litigation practice focuses on representing banks, issues, officers and directors, board committees and accounting firms in all aspects of securities related litigation and counseling matters. Collaboration – one of the firm’s core values – defines the firm’s relationships with its clients, among its lawyers and staff, and with its communities.
