Brown, Marc L

Ben Brown is a counsel in the firm's Securities Department, and a member of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice Group. He joined the firm in 2005.

Practice

Mr. Brown has represented corporate and individual clients in a variety of regulatory, civil, and criminal investigations by the Securities & Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, SROs, and state attorneys general, including allegations of accounting fraud, insider trading, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, improper options-granting and other compensation practices, and disclosure violations, among others. He has also handled a range of civil litigation matters, with an emphasis on complex securities litigation.

Recent Highlights

• Represented Fortune 10 conglomerate in SEC investigation of alleged revenue recognition accounting violations.
• Conducted internal investigation on behalf of board of directors of national film and entertainment company in connection with parallel SEC and Justice Department investigations of options granting practices.
• Defended former CFO of prominent local high-tech company in class action involving allegations of options backdating.
• Represented national accounting firm in connection with US Attorney's Office prosecution of criminal acts allegedly perpetrated by accounting firm client.
• Counseled hedge fund on issues related to data retention practices and obligations.
• Represented multinational pharmaceuticals company in responding to trading inquiry from FINRA.
• Defended former board member of financial services company in derivative litigation related to compensation practices. 
• Represented hedge fund in New York Attorney General investigation of trading activity.
• Conducted internal investigation of global technology services company in connection with inquiries by SEC and Justice Department into executive pay practices.

Publications

SEC Wields The SOX 304 'Clawback' Provision, Co-Author, Law360 (December 6, 2010).

SEC Director of Enforcement Outlines Significant Changes Signaling Tougher, More Efficient Enforcement Environment, Co-Author, FMA Market Solutions, Vol. 18 No. 3 (Sept. 2009).

Life After Death? The Role of Postmortem Events in Valuing Deductions for Claims Against Estates, 60 Wash. & Lee. L. Rev. 579 (2003).