Biography

Walter G. Ricciardi

A partner in the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group at Paul, Weiss, Walter  Ricciardi has extensive experience defending a broad variety of investigations conducted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Additionally, he has extensive experience conducting internal investigations for public companies and directors, including investigations related to allegations of accounting and financial fraud and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Prior to joining Paul, Weiss in June 2008, Mr. Ricciardi was the Deputy Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, where he supervised many of the Commission's most significant investigations related to financial fraud, FCPA, insider trading and broker-dealer and mutual fund compliance issues.

Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Ricciardi spent 20 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers and it predecessor, Coopers & Lybrand, where he was in charge of defending the firm's litigation and regulatory matters. While at PwC, he was elected by his partners to serve on the firm's board and on the Global Oversight Board of the PwC global organization. 

Since joining Paul, Weiss, Mr. Ricciardi has served as lead counsel on the following matters:

• Representation of a Fortune 50 financial institution and its investment management company in connection with investigations by the SEC and Massachusetts Securities Division  into the pricing by a mutual fund of mortgage-backed securities.
• Representation of a global financial institution in connection with an investigation by the SEC into collateralized debt obligation marketing practices.
• Representation of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of a US-listed company located in Beijing, China in connection with an internal investigation into alleged accounting improprieties.
• Representation of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of a global energy company  in connection with an internal investigation into potential improper payments under the FCPA.
• Representation of a hedge fund in connection with an investigation by the SEC of "pay to play" issues.

Mr. Ricciardi  lectures and writes extensively on securities litigation and regulatory issues. As an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law, he teaches a seminar on issues in SEC enforcement.