Williams & Connolly has vast experience defending public companies, audit firms, financial institutions, senior executives, officers and directors, lawyers and various other entities and individuals in investigations and trials involving a wide range of securities, bank, financial and accounting fraud matters. These matters have included investigations initiated by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, state attorneys general, and various self-regulatory authorities, among others – both as standalone matters and as part of larger representations involving private civil litigation and criminal investigations. Firm lawyers have tried numerous cases in this area to verdict, and have represented clients on appeal. Cases handled by the firm have included allegations or charges of insider trading, securities fraud, stock option backdating, money laundering, bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, and books and records violations. These representations have included many SEC enforcement actions (both in federal court and administrative proceedings) and investigations, and have covered wide-ranging allegations of securities fraud, stock option backdating, insider trading, other violations of the ’33 and ’34 Securities Acts or the regulations promulgated thereunder, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In recent years, many of these cases have involved the fallout from the 2008 Financial Crisis.