SRZ Expands Litigation Practice with Addition of Former SEC Division of Enforcement Official

SRZ is pleased to announce the addition of Charles J. Clark as a litigation partner, resident in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. At SRZ, he will represent public companies, financial institutions, private funds and their senior executives in securities-related enforcement proceedings before the SEC, DOJ, FINRA, CFPB and other federal and state law enforcement and regulatory authorities. Mr. Clark comes to the firm from Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Mr. Clark has extensive experience advising hedge funds, private equity firms, venture capital funds and other alternative investment managers through regulatory scrutiny, including consulting on routine and risk-based inspections and examinations. He has provided guidance on government investigations including accounting and disclosure fraud, insider trading, foreign corruption, offering fraud, market manipulation, breach of fiduciary duty and conflicts of interest. Mr. Clark has also counseled boards of directors and associated committees in internal investigations and advised public companies and private funds on corporate governance and trading practices.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Clark spent nine years at the SEC's Division of Enforcement, serving as Senior Counsel, Branch Chief and Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement, supervising the investigation and prosecution of some of the SEC's most significant matters. Upon being named Assistant Director in the fall of 2001, Mr. Clark exercised direct supervisory authority over the SEC's investigation into Enron Corp.

"As a former SEC official and an established litigator, Charles brings to SRZ the highest level of expertise and a distinguished career," said Howard Schiffman, co-chair of SRZ's Litigation Group and a former SEC Division of Enforcement trial attorney.

The SRZ Washington, D.C. office, opened in 2008, is highly regarded for its securities litigation, regulatory representation, government investigations and white collar criminal defense practices. "We are excited to have Charles join the firm. He is a great addition to our already deep bench of talented litigators," commented Alan S. Waldenberg, chair of the firm's Executive Committee and chair of the Tax Group.

"I am thrilled to be a part of the strong litigation team at SRZ, and I look forward to joining the firm's distinguished enforcement practice," commented Mr. Clark, who received his J.D. from New York University School of Law and his B.A., with High Distinction, from The University of Virginia.

Based in the firm's New York and Washington, D.C. offices, SRZ's Litigation Group has 100 litigators, including nine former assistant U.S. attorneys, state prosecutors and senior members of the SEC Enforcement Division. They have extensive trial experience in complex, high-stakes civil and criminal litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States and a proven appellate track record. They are also successful at negotiating favorable settlements and have extensive experience with arbitration, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution in the United States and internationally.

The Litigation Group handles matters ranging from general corporate and complex commercial disputes to more specialized areas, such as SEC and FINRA investigations and enforcement actions; private securities litigation, including class actions and derivative suits; federal and state criminal investigations and prosecutions, including antitrust, anti-money laundering, OFAC and FCPA matters; white collar criminal defense; shareholder activist matters; bankruptcy, reorganization and creditors' rights disputes; labor and employment litigation; intellectual property actions; and real estate, trusts & estates and family law disputes.