Colleen P. Mahoney
Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Government Enforcement Matters
Colleen P. Mahoney, a partner in Skadden’s Washington, D.C. office, heads the firm’s Securities Enforcement and Compliance practice, and regularly represents financial services firms, corporations, their officers, board committees, directors and employees in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other law enforcement investigations.
Ms. Mahoney assists management and boards of directors performing internal investigations, often advising clients on preventive and remedial measures before and after securities-related issues arise.
Ms. Mahoney has been the lead attorney representing many of the company boards and individuals embroiled in signature SEC investigations. Her clients have included many well-known U.S. and foreign companies. As is frequently the case with SEC enforcement matters, the biggest victories are the ones that never become public – the government investigations and inquiries that are put to rest before charges are filed or an indictment is issued, or even before a public disclosure of the government interest. Ms. Mahoney has succeeded in bringing a number of matters to a close in those circumstances.
Prior to joining Skadden, Ms. Mahoney spent 15 years in increasingly senior positions with the SEC, serving as acting general counsel of the agency and as deputy director of the division of enforcement. During her tenure at the SEC, Ms. Mahoney helped manage a civil law enforcement program that involved a wide range of issues, including financial fraud and disclosure, auditor independence, mutual fund sales practices, derivatives and insider trading.
Ms. Mahoney frequently lectures on securities regulatory and enforcement issues at seminars and conferences in the United States and abroad.
Ms. Mahoney has been selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s LeadingLawyers for Business, The International Who’s Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers, Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America and The Best Lawyers in America. In 2012 and 2013, she was recognized as one of Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation” and she also was named to the short list of the nation’s top women regulatory lawyers by Chambers USA (2012).
Education
J.D., American University, 1981 (summa cum laude)
B.A., American University School of Government and Public Administration, 1978 (magna cum laude)
Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
Government Service
- Acting General Counsel, Securities and Exchange Commission (1998)
- Deputy Director, Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission (1994-1998)
- Executive Assistant to the Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission (1993-1994)
Professional Experience
Lecturer, Practising Law Institute
Selected Authorships
“SEC Announces First Non-Prosecution Agreement in an FCPA Matter,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, May 11, 2013
“SEC Enforcement in the Second Term of the Obama Administration,” The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, February 14, 2013