Thomas O. Gorman

PRACTICE 

FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATIONS/ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS:  These investigations involve the full array of corporate, security, financial, and economic issues and frequently are viewed as “bet the company” actions.  The issues involved include those based on security fraud, financial and accounting precepts, insider trading and market manipulation, FCPA and anti-corruption, derivatives, antitrust and money laundering.  Recent examples of these matters include representation of:

• An issuer and a number of its executives in an SEC  financial fraud investigation;
• A company in a CFTC investigation centered on oil pipeline allocations and derivatives; 
• A hedge fund and its founder in a DOJ and SEC market manipulation inquiry; and 
• A firm in an FTC antitrust investigation. 

BUSINESS LITIGATION:  These actions involved a number of difficult and often uncharted issues and theories on both the plaintiff and defense side of court actions.  The claims involved are typically based on the federal securities laws, the commodity statutes, the antitrust laws, RICO and frequently included questions regarding accounting, economics and business systems.  Examples of these matters include:

• Defense of a securities class action against a hedge fund and its principal;  
• Defense of a short swing securities suit against a publically traded firm and its founders;
• A suit brought by a U.K. merchant bank based on international lending agreements that concluded with a favorable verdict after a five month jury trial; 
• The successful defense of a national business supply company in an antitrust action; 
• The resolution of an action for a German multi-national centered on the failure of the U.S. and Germany to include in the final peace treaty for World War II; a reparation funds for U.S. citizens interned in Nazi concentration camps. The action was resolved with the creation of a government to government fund providing for payments to those citizens;
• A action on behalf of Minpeco S.A., the Peruvian government minerals trading firm, against the Hunt Brothers, several New York brokers, a Swiss Bank and others for the manipulation of the silver market, resulting in a $200 million treble damage verdict for the client after a six month jury trial
• The defense of the Republic of Peru in 54 actions brought in five countries based on its external commercial debt.

COMPLIANCE/INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS: The resolution of questions and issues for business organizations, whether discovered by the firm or from a Government subpoena, CID or inquiry typically begins with an examination of the firm’s compliance systems, often requires an internal investigation and may conclude with carefully crafted remedial steps to augment the compliance systems, precluding a future repetition of the issue.  Examples of these matters include: