Richard Morvillo, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Morvillo LLP, is a nationally-recognized expert in SEC enforcement matters. Best Lawyers named him "2013 Lawyer of the Year" in securities litigation (DC) and Chambers USA called "one of the deans of the securities enforcement bar." Over the past 35 years, he has been involved in over 200 SEC investigations, including some of the highest profile cases the SEC has handles. He also has extensive experience in FCPA cases, securities related white-collar criminal matters and private securities litigation. A former branch chief with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement, Rich represents corporations, corporate executives, brokerage firms, investment advisers, accounting firms, auditors, law firms, hedge funds and individual investors in connection with SEC, PCAOB, NYSE, FINRA, congressional, state attorney general and grand jury investigations; SEC litigation; and complex securities cases.
In addition to litigating to a successful judgment a number of SEC enforcement cases and defending numerous class actions and shareholder derivative suits in federal courts throughout the country, Rich has conducted many internal investigations for corporations, and advised members of numerous special committees of boards of directors as to their rights and obligations regarding the handling and evaluation of corporate transactions, internal investigations and shareholder litigation.
Apart from being recognized by Chambers USA, he is also listed as a leading litigator in numerous other peer-review publications, including Benchmark Litigation, The Best Lawyers in America, The Legal 500 United States, Ethisphere: Attorneys Who Matter, Washington DC Super Lawyers, The Legal Times, which named him one of Washington's "Top 10 Securities Lawyers," and Washingtonian Magazine. He is a frequent speaker at professional seminars and serves as the co-chair of two PLI annual programs: "Internal Investigations" and "Auditor Liability." He has served on the adjunct faculty of Georgetown University School of Law, teaching a course in "Professional Responsibility in Corporate and Securities Practice." Rich received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and his A.B. from Colgate University.