Overview
Williams & Connolly represents financial institutions, including federally-insured banks and their officers and directors, in securities litigation, derivative actions, civil litigation, arbitrations, lawsuits brought by regulators and criminal investigations. We have also handled internal investigations as well as investigations and administrative proceedings initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), trustees appointed under the Securities Investor Protection Act and other federal and state regulators.
Many lawyers at the firm have extensive experience in financial services litigation. One of the firm’s senior partners, John Villa, is the author of two treatises on financial services litigation: Bank Directors’, Officers’ and Lawyers’ Civil Liabilities (originally published by Aspen Law and Business 1991, and most recently updated 2016), and Banking Crimes, Fraud, Money Laundering and Embezzlement (originally published by West 1987, and most recently updated November 2015). Our attorneys with financial services experience also practice in other fields as well. Their mix of finance and general litigation experience enables them to distill complex financial transactions or regulations and explain them to judges and juries.
Recently, the firm has handled a variety of cases for financial institutions, both as defense counsel and plaintiff counsel, in matters related to the meltdown of the mortgage industry and the 2008 financial crisis. We also have represented a variety of lenders, targets and acquirers in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis about pending mergers and acquisitions, including the litigation of material adverse effect or change clauses.
Our work on behalf of financial institutions goes beyond traditional financial services litigation. We have been called on to represent financial services and investment companies in numerous other cases ranging from intellectual property suits to employment disputes.