Foley Continues Expansion of Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice

Former SEC Attorney, Wall Street Executive Brings Complex Litigation and Regulatory Experience

Foley announced today that Clifford Hyatt has joined the firm as a partner in the Los Angeles office working in the Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice.

Hyatt is the third high-profile partner with SEC experience to join the firm’s premier Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice in the past 12 months, following the additions of Richard Wallace, former vice president and chief counsel with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) Market Regulation Department, and Barry Mandel, former senior vice president and general counsel for Global Litigation, Employment and Regulatory Affairs at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Each spent significant time as attorneys with the SEC before entering private practice. As a result of the broad scope of Hyatt’s practice, he will be based in the Los Angeles office, and also will work out of the firm’s San Francisco and New York offices.

Hyatt focuses his practice on securities regulation and litigation, representing public companies, broker-dealers, investment companies, investments advisors, and their officers and directors in matters before the SEC, FINRA, NYSE, and state securities agencies and in federal and state court. His practice also involves providing cutting edge compliance advice and services to regulated businesses within the securities industry. His representations generally involve accounting and financial reporting, insider trading, market manipulation, broker-dealer, hedge fund, investment company and investment advisor regulation, and Sarbanes-Oxley issues. In particular, Mr. Hyatt has represented major broker-dealers and investment banks in various mutual fund-related matters, including market timing, revenue sharing and auction rate securities.

Prior to joining Foley, Hyatt was a partner and litigator with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP working in both the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, and serving as head of the firm’s Securities Regulatory Enforcement Team.

He also previously served as an enforcement attorney for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for more than 10 years. Working out of the SEC’s Pacific Regional Office in Los Angeles, Hyatt rose to the rank of Deputy Assistant Regional Director where he 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. One of his most notable SEC cases was SEC v. Mark S. Jakob, a civil and criminal case against the individual who disseminated a false press release over the Internet that resulted in Emulex Corp. losing nearly $2.2 billion in market capitalization in just 16 minutes.

Earlier in his career, Hyatt worked on Wall Street as an officer and department manager in various securities trust and servicing divisions of Irving Trust Bank and Prudential-Bache Securities.

“Cliff brings a unique enforcement background to Foley that includes an impressive tenure with the SEC, as well as his time spent on Wall Street,” said Jack Lasater, managing partner of Foley’s Los Angeles office. “We look forward to the contribution that Cliff will make here.”

“Cliff is considered one of the premier broker-dealer and mutual fund litigators,” added Michael J. Tuteur, chair of Foley’s Litigation Department. “With his experience trying a number of high-profile civil and criminal cases, we look forward to the leadership that Cliff will provide as we continue to expand our national litigation practice.”

“With his extensive experience in securities enforcement and broker-dealer litigation, Cliff is an important addition to Foley’s deep and nationally recognized bench in these two areas,” said Samuel (Sandy) J. Winer, member of the Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice and former staff attorney and special counsel with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement.

Foley’s Litigation Department is one of the largest in the country, including more than 300 attorneys nationwide with extensive experience in all aspects of complex litigation, arbitration, mediation and alternative dispute resolution. Foley represents corporations in nearly every industry, handling some of the largest and most sophisticated commercial lawsuits for major domestic and international clients.

Foley & Lardner LLP continually evolves to meet the changing legal needs of our clients. Our team-based approach, proprietary client service technology, and practice depth enhance client relationships while seeing clients through their most complex legal challenges. In a recent survey of Fortune 1000 corporate counsel, conducted by The BTI Consulting Group (Wellesley, Massachusetts), Foley ranked first for superior client service and value. We also were named to the InformationWeek 500 list for four consecutive years for our client-focused technology. With nearly 1,000 attorneys in 21 offices and more than 60 practices, Foley is an established leader in providing clients with high-caliber business and legal insight.