To our clients and friends,
2022 was an active year for Seward & Kissel’s Litigation Practice, as we made substantial investments in our Government Enforcement and Internal Investigations Practice by adding four new partners to our ranks: Jaimie L. Nawaday, Philip Moustakis, Michael Watling and Russell Johnston and one new counsel, Casey Jennings. Each has substantial experience inside the government, followed by years of representing corporate and individual clients in an array of challenging matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Jaimie served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in both the criminal and civil divisions and later chaired the White Collar, Investigations, and Compliance Practice Group at Kelley, Drye, & Warren. She has successfully led complex civil and criminal fraud trials and advises individuals and companies in investigations and actions by the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, and state regulators. Philip served as Senior Counsel in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement for more than a decade prior to joining the firm in 2019. Philip advises investment managers on regulatory compliance risks and challenges, including issues related to insider trading or the potential misuse of MNPI, onboarding alternative data and other research providers, ESG products, valuation, fees and expenses, conflicts of interest, and whistleblowers. He represents companies and individuals in SEC investigation or undergoing SEC examinations. He also advises clients on securities law issues related to cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and DeFi solutions.
Michael served as both a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Tax Division and as Senior Litigation Counsel in the Enforcement Department of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and later was partner at King & Spalding LLP. He advises broker-dealers, investment advisers, accounting firms, and other market participants in regulatory matters involving a wide range of accounting, tax, and securities issues. He also regularly conducts regulatory due diligence on wealth management-related mergers and acquisitions. Russell served as a Senior Counsel in FINRA’s Department of Enforcement and later as a partner in King & Spalding’s Special Matters and Investigations Practice. He’s handled matters on both sides of the table related to securities fraud, insider trading, market manipulation, sales practices, financial crime compliance, trade reporting, and the use of digital assets. He regularly represents financial institutions and individuals on an array of regulatory matters and investigations involving the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, FINRA, and NYSE.
Casey served as Counsel in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Regulations for four years prior to joining the firm. Casey advises financial institutions, including banks, broker-dealers, investment managers, and “FinTech” firms, on regulatory issues related to consumer protection, data privacy and cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, payments, and myriad bank regulatory issues (including deposit regulations and the Volcker Rule).
Seward & Kissel’s Litigation Practice continued to receive recognition during 2022. Chambers and Partners, in its 2022 USA Guide, ranked Seward & Kissel as Highly Regarded for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, stating the firm is “recognized for its representation of individuals in criminal proceedings, with further experience defending clients such as municipalities and hedge funds,” and “handles a broad range of white-collar disputes, including government and regulatory investigations, as well as criminal trials.” Chambers and Partners also ranked the Litigation Practice as Highly Regarded for International Trade: Export Controls & Economic Sanctions, mentioning the firm is “experienced in advising on economic sanctions, export controls and anti-money laundering issues. The firm often works with clients from the shipping industry, as well as investment management companies.” Likewise, The Legal 500, in its United States 2022 edition, has highly ranked the firm’s Litigation Practice for its expertise in Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense; Securities Litigation: Defense; and Transport: Shipping – Litigation and Regulation; and recognized Bruce Paulsen as a “Hall of Fame” member for Shipping Litigation.
The firm is also proud of the recognition that partner Jack Yoskowitz received as a Litigation Star in the 2023 edition of Benchmark Litigation.
Seward & Kissel represented its clients in a wide variety of complex matters that kept the Litigation Practice busy all year; highlights of our representative matters and accomplishments in our Government Investigations, Commercial Litigation, Employment, Regulatory and Sanctions Practices are referenced below.
