John J. Clarke, Jr. represents clients in complex litigation and internal investigations involving financial institutions, securities and financial instruments, accounting issues and corporate governance disputes. He also represents clients in a variety of litigation matters involving the antitrust and bankruptcy laws. He has significant experience in litigation involving failed bank receiverships and holding company bankruptcy cases. He is a frequent speaker and writer on issues involving financial institutions, corporate governance and the federal securities laws. He has been selected to be the chairman of the Banking Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for a term to begin in September 2012.

Mr. Clarke's experience includes:

Failed Bank Litigation

• Representing a bank regulatory agency in bankruptcy and receivership litigation with the bankrupt holding companies of several large failed banks or thrifts in proceedings pending in various courts throughout the United States
• Representing a bank regulatory agency as intervenor-defendant in an action brought against the assuming bank under a purchase and assumption agreement by failed bank bondholders.  The action was dismissed after our client intervened, removed the action to federal court and transferred venue from Texas to the District of Columbia
• Representing the former chief executive officer of a failed bank and its holding company in successfully defending claims for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty brought by the bankruptcy trustee for the holding company

Securities and Corporate Governance Litigation

• Representing several outside directors of a government sponsored enterprise in obtaining the dismissal of securities and stockholder derivative litigation arising from an investigation by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
• Representing the outside directors of a bank holding company based in Puerto Rico in consolidated stockholder derivative litigation and related matters arising from a financial restatement
• Representing the underwriters in obtaining the dismissal of a securities class action alleging ’33 Act violations in connection with the initial public offering of a company in the alternative energy industry
• Representing the underwriters in a securities class action alleging '33 Act violations in connection with an offering of trust preferred securities by a large regional bank holding company
• Representing a biotechnology firm in successfully defending a securities class action concerning the circumstances surrounding its announcement that the FDA had refused to accept for filing its application for regulatory approval of a groundbreaking cancer therapy
• Representing a Canadian environmental remediation company in securities class action alleging that the defendants failed to disclose adverse developments regarding a government contract

Investigations and Enforcement Proceedings

• Assisting Senator George J. Mitchell in his investigation into the alleged use of performance enhancing substances by players in Major League Baseball, including overseeing the preparation of Senator Mitchell's report to the Commissioner of Baseball with respect to that investigation
• Representing the former chief executive officer of a reinsurance company in a securities class action and SEC enforcement action concerning accounting for a finite reinsurance transaction
• Representing a broker of credit default swaps in connection with an investigation by FINRA into allegedly inappropriate communications between interdealer brokers concerning revisions to commission rate schedules proposed by primary dealers in credit default swaps
• Representing a special committee of the board of a publicly traded REIT in an internal investigation of alleged GAAP violations
• Representing numerous individuals and publicly traded companies in investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Department of Justice, and various self-regulatory organizations