LAWFUEL – The Law Firm Businesswire – Allen & Overy announced today that David C. Esseks has joined its New York office as partner in its Litigation practice group, bolstering the firm’s securities litigation practice.
Prior to joining the firm, David was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and, since 2003, Chief of that Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.
David’s practice will focus on criminal, civil, and regulatory securities litigation. At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he oversaw a staff of 20 securities fraud prosecutors in a unit devoted to investigating and prosecuting securities and commodities fraud nationwide. He coordinated investigations with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as with FINRA and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
During his years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, David was involved with accounting fraud prosecutions of executives at Refco, Collins & Aikman, Royal Ahold, Worldcom, and Adelphia; stock options backdating investigations and prosecutions; insider trading cases; forfeiture actions; and an investigation of organized crime’s involvement in the securities markets, for which he received the Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2002.
Earlier this year, David received the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award for Asset Forfeiture, for his role in helping forfeit more than $1 billion in crime proceeds to be returned to victims of securities fraud schemes.
At Allen & Overy, David joins a group of three other former Assistant U.S. Attorneys – Michael Feldberg, Pamela Chepiga, who is also a former Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit, and Patricia Hynes – as well as a former Senior Trial Counsel at the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, Bob Knuts.
Michael Feldberg, Co-managing Partner of Allen & Overy’s U.S. Practice and Head of U.S. Litigation, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome David to Allen & Overy. His experience will add to our ability to advise our clients in the securities regulatory area.”
Andrew Clark, Global Managing Partner for Litigation, continued, “David’s arrival will further enhance Allen & Overy’s reputation and strength in U.S. securities litigation. His addition to a team of outstanding practitioners, including former prosecutors and regulators, is a boost to our entire global litigation practice.”
Formed in 2003, Allen & Overy’s U.S. litigation practice, based in New York, comprises over 25 attorneys, and has represented clients in major U.S. and international litigations including the Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat cases. The group focuses on governmental regulatory investigations, securities litigation and other matters concerning financial services institutions, complex governmental regulation and commercial litigation, internal corporate investigations and professional liability litigation. Allen & Overy’s New York office has recently experienced a period of growth, announcing 48 new attorney hires over the past 18 months, with high profile appointments across all practices.
David received his BA from Williams College, cum laude, and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, and was an Articles Editor of Michigan Law Review. Following law school, David completed a judicial clerkship in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
