Thomas O. Gorman
PEOPLE

Thomas O. Gorman

Partner
gorman.tom@dorsey.com
Washington, DC P +1 (202) 442-3507 F +1 (202) 442-3199 New York P +1 (212) 415-9253

Overview

TOM DEFENDS FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS BY THE DOJ, SEC, CFTC AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, REPRESENTS FIRMS IN COMPLEX BUSINESS LITIGATION, CONDUCTS CORPORATE INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS AND ADVISES FIRMS ON AVOIDING  INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION THROUGH EFFECTIVE COMPLIANCE.

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:

  • An international investigation centered on questions regarding compliance with the FCPA and  anti-corruption laws; 
  • An investigation of an investment adviser involving issues regarding the adequacy of its procedures;  
  • The preparation of an investment firm for an SEC compliance examination; an 
  • Consultation with an international firm on effective responds to, and compliance for, possible corruption issues.  

GOVERNMENT SERVICE

Tom served for seven years in positions of increasing responsibility on the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Those positions included Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement and Special Trial Counsel, Office of the General Counsel. In those positions, Tom was responsible for the investigation and litigation of securities enforcement actions, accounting and auditing cases and defending suits brought against the Commission and its staff. Before joining the staff of the SEC, Tom served for two years on the staff of the Public Defender's Office in Cleveland, Ohio and as an adjunct professor of law at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law; Cleveland State University.

PRACTICE GROUPS

  • FCPA-Anti-Corruption: Co-founder and co-chair of the firm’s FCPA and Anti-Corruption Practice group; and 
  • Government Enforcement: Member of the Government Enforcement and Investigations Group.

PROGRAMS

Dorsey Federal Enforcement Forum:  Tom is the founder of the firm’s annual Federal Enforcement Forum, a program which reports on, and analyzes current trends in, Government enforcement investigations and actions. A recording of the 2016 Forum is available here.

Federal Enforcement Forum logo

 

Education & Admissions

Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M., (concentration in Securities and Antitrust), 1982)

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (J.D., 1973), cum laude

  • Editor, Cleveland St. U.L. Rev. 
  • Moot Court Team Member

John Carroll University (A.B., Literature, 1970)

Admissions

  • New York
  • District of Columbia
  • Ohio

News & Resources

Articles

Fifth Circuit Vacates SEC Rules for Share Repurchase Disclosure
Ripple and Howey
Are the Rules Defining What is a Security Clear?
SEC Issues Risk Alert on Observations from Examinations of Newly-Registered Advisers
New Commission Proposals to Address Cyber Threats
The First Criminal Rule 10b-5-1 Case
SEC Exams of Advisers and Investment Companies
FTX – Billions of Dollars to a Firm with No Controls
Federal Enforcement Forum: SEC Enforcement Statistics FY 2022
Federal Enforcement Forum: EXAMS -- Implementing Reg NMS Rule 606
The FSOC On Crypto Assets
Drawing the Line in Crypto Cases
The New Adviser Marketing Rule: Division of Examinations Alert
Complex Products: In Need of A Solution
When Disclosure May Not Be Enough
Injecting Transparency & Competition into Equity Markets
The SEC and ESG
SEC Enforcement: A Brief Review of 1Q22
Cybersecurity, False Statements and Omissions
The New SEC SPAC Rules: Sufficient to Protect Investors?
SEC Exam Priorities 2022 and Compliance
Crypto Assets: From Off The Grid To A Seat At The Table
Cooperation with the SEC – Value?
SPACs, Complex Investment Products, and Disclosure
SEC Enforcement: A Review of 3Q21

News & Press Mentions

200 Dorsey Lawyers Selected for Inclusion in 2024 Best Lawyers in America, Lawyers of the Year, and Ones to Watch
Dorsey Partner Tom Gorman on the SEC and ETF Firms
Dorsey Partner Tom Gorman Discusses SEC Crypto Cases
Dorsey Partner Tom Gorman on the SEC's Lawsuits Against Binance, Coinbase, and Ripple
Dorsey Partner Tom Gorman Discusses the Regulation of Cryptocurrencies on the Bloomberg Crypto Show
Dorsey Partner Tom Gorman Discusses SEC's Proposed Climate-Disclosure Rules
Super Lawyers Recognizes Four Dorsey Lawyers in Washington DC
Dorsey Partner Tom Gorman Discusses the Latest from the SEC on Bloomgberg Sound On Podcast
Gorman discusses bipartisan bill on crypto money laundering and crypto industry regulations following the FTX collapse on Fox Business
Gorman Discusses Crypto Law Gaps Revealed by FTX
Gorman Discusses Sam Bankman-Fried FTX Case
Gorman on Complexities of Sam Bankman-Fried Investigation
Gorman Discusses Extended Comment Period for Climate Risk, Private Fund and Exchange Proposals
Tom Gorman Discusses ESG Rules on Bloomberg Quicktake
Tom Gorman Comments on Separation of SEC Enforcement and Adjudicatory Functions
Tom Gorman Discusses SEC Fraud Verdict for Cooke and Keystone Capital
Tom Gorman Discusses FINRA Regulating Retail Trading
Tom Gorman Comments on SEC Rules for Ag Carbon Emissions
Tom Gorman Discusses SEC Environmental Disclosure Rules
Tom Gorman Comments on Gensler's Regulatory Agenda
Tom Gorman Comments on Deutsche Bank's Libor Case
Tom Gorman Comments on SEC Investigating Trump's SPAC
Tom Gorman Comments on SEC Questioning Trump's SPAC Deal
Tom Gorman Comments on Disclosures for Chinese Listings
Tom Gorman Comments on Free Trading Apps

Events & Speaking Engagements

Webinar Playback: Bank Counsel Roundtable: Cryptocurrency and Banks—Current Developments
Webinar Playback: Bank Counsel Roundtable: Trends at Regulators SEC, FINCEN & CFIUS
The Enforcement Division: A History - An Introduction to the Gallery
Webinar Playback: Securities Fraud, the Pandemic and Compliance: Protect Your Organization
FCPA Institute
Fifth Annual Federal Enforcement Forum
Dorsey's Annual Private Funds Symposium
Dorsey's Private Funds Symposium 2018 Post-Event Resources
Seminar Playback: Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies — From a Legal Perspective
Save The Date: Dorsey & Whitney’s Fourth Annual Federal Enforcement Forum
Webinar Playback: Fourth Annual Federal Enforcement Forum
Dorsey's Annual Private Funds Symposium
Dorsey's Private Funds Symposium 2017 Post-Event Resources
Third Annual Federal Enforcement Forum
Webinar Playback: Third Annual Federal Enforcement Forum
Private Funds Symposium
FCPA Flash - A Conversation with Thomas Gorman
Webinar Playback: Second Annual Federal Enforcement Forum
Industry Experts and Dorsey Partners Speak at Anti-Corruption 2014 Spring Conference
China and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – Challenges for the 21st Century – Fordham Law School Program
Dorsey Partner Presents at ABA National Institute on Securities Fraud
Dorsey Partner Presents: Securities Cases in the Supreme Court: A Review of the 2010-2011 Term and a Look at the Next

Select Presentations

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Tom frequently speaks at professional meetings and is often solicited by the media for comments on a variety of legal matters.  For example:

  • Quadl Alternative Data Conference, Insider Trading, New York, New York (Jan. 2018)
  • Private Funds Symposium, New York, New York (Sept. 2017)
  • Trading in Opaque Markets, Presentation to New York Bar Securities Committee, New York, New York (June 2017)
  • IA Watch Compliance Program: The Wrap Fee Program Target, How to Pass Regulator’s Increasing Scrutiny, Washington, D.C. (April 2017)
  • ABA Criminal Section Program: Insider Trading, Washington, D.C. (March 2017) 

FIRM PUBLICATIONS

He periodically publishes articles to update clients and friends of the firm on current issues.  For example:

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

He also periodically publishes professional articles.  For example:

THE MEDIA

Tom periodically provides television commentary on CNBC and Bloomberg News and has been quoted in publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Securities Law 360 and others.  He also periodically speaks at professional events and publishes articles in professional journals and law reviews on a variety of legal issues.

Industries & Practices

Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
Government Solutions & Investigations
Securities & Financial Services Litigation & Enforcement
  • Anti-Corruption Group
  • Appellate
  • Banking & Financial Institutions
  • Canada Cross-Border Transactions
  • China
  • Energy & Natural Resources
  • Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
  • Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
  • Government Solutions & Investigations
  • Healthcare & Life Sciences
  • Securities & Financial Services Litigation & Enforcement

Professional & Civic

Professional Achievements

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
  • American Bar Association, Co-chair, White Collar Securities Fraud Sub-Committee 
  • Bar Association of the District of Columbia 
  • New York State Bar Association 
  • Securities Regulation Law Journal, Board of Contributing Editors and Advisers member 
  • President-elect, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society; chair of a committee constructing a gallery in the virtual museum commemorating the creation of the SEC’s Enforcement Division and program.  

Community Involvement

CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
  • Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights 
  • D.C. Bar Pro Bono program 
  • KIND Pro Bono program 
  • National Advisory Council, Cleveland State University Law School 

Accolades

  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America®, 2010-2017, 2019-2024

    Pro Bono 100 Hours 2022Contributed 100+ Pro Bono Hours in 2020

  • Contributed more than 100+ Challenge pro bono hours, 2020, 2022
  • Selected for inclusion in Washington D.C. Super Lawyers, 2007-2022
 JD Supra Readers' Choice Top Author 2018   
  • Named Top Author in JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, 2016-2020
  • Selected to be Inducted to the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Hall of Fame, 2019
  • Selected as one of Five Best Litigators by Washington Business Journal

Thomas O. Gorman - Best Lawyers' Lawyer of the Year 2011 - Securities/Capital Markets Law, Washington, DC  

  • Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers, 2011

LexisNexis Top 25 Blogs

  • LexisNexis Top 25 Blogs, Business Law Blog Winner, 2010 and 2011
  • Selected as Best Securities Lawyer in Washington, 2011
  • J.D. Supra, No. 1 Readers Choice Award, 2017 and 2018 for securities articles 
Thomas O. Gorman