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Luis R. Mejia

Partner

lou.mejia@dlapiper.com

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500 Eighth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004
United States
T: +1 202 799 4572 F: +1 202 799 5572

1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10020-1104
United States

Luis R. Mejia is a partner in DLA Piper's Securities Enforcement and Litigation practice. Based in Washington, DC and New York, he has years of experience in securities enforcement matters.

Mr. Mejia, the former Chief Litigation Counsel of the SEC, represents entities and individuals in investigations conducted by the SEC, the United States Department of Justice and FINRA. Mr. Mejia has also represented clients before the SEC on issues relating to rulemaking and other matters. He has substantial litigation experience in federal courts, including trial experience in complex civil and criminal matters, and has also represented clients before Congress.

Recent Experience

Mr. Mejia's recent representations include:

A hedge fund in an investigation by the SEC relating to valuation issues
An investment bank in a FINRA investigation relating to a private offering
A venture capital firm in a proxy dispute
An accounting firm in an SEC investigation
An officer of a public company in an SEC investigation
A public company in SEC rulemaking relating to listing standards
A private equity firm with interests relating to an SEC receivership
A broker dealer with interests relating to an SEC enforcement action
A hedge fund in an SEC investigation relating to trading practices and valuation issues

Government Experience

Mr. Mejia was the SEC's Chief Litigation Counsel, a senior officer position he held from October 2005 to December 2009. As Chief Litigation Counsel, Mr. Mejia led the SEC's nationwide litigation program. Under his leadership, the SEC successfully litigated a number of important cases in all SEC program areas, including financial fraud, insider trading, hedge funds and market manipulation.

As one of the most senior officials in the Division of Enforcement, Mr. Mejia took an active role in the SEC's enforcement efforts and provided guidance to the Chairman's Office, the General Counsel and various divisions of the SEC. Mr. Mejia also prosecuted a number of significant enforcement cases. He was the lead trial counsel in the SEC's successful jury trial against Scott K. Ginsburg, the former chairman and CEO of Evergreen Media Corporation. The jury found Ginsburg liable for insider trading and he was ordered to pay a US$1 million civil penalty. Mr. Mejia was also the lead litigation counsel for the SEC in all Enron matters and helped recover more than US$400 million for aggrieved investors.

Other Experience

Before joining the SEC, Mr. Mejia was a partner at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld in Washington, DC. Among other matters, he represented a sitting governor in a federal criminal trial involving allegations of financial fraud and represented a US senator in the Keating 5 proceedings before the US Senate Ethics Committee.

Admissions

District of Columbia
New York

Seminars

"Insider Trading Developments," Enforcement 2012: Multi-Agency Enforcement Efforts (PLI), New York (April 18, 2012)
"The SEC and the Accounting Profession," Accountants' Liability: Litigation and Issues in the Wake of the Financial Crisis (ALI ABA), Washington, DC (September 15-16, 2011)
"Trends in Insider Trading Investigation, Prosecution and Enforcement," Association of Corporate Counsel, New York (May 19, 2011)
"SEC Enforcement Trends 2011," General Counsel Forum, pwc, Washington, DC (March 31, 2011)
"Critical SEC, CFTC and State Enforcement Trends Impacting Institutional Investors," Institutional Investor Forum 2011 (PLI), New York (March 22, 2011)
"The Role of SEC Inspections and Examinations in the Enforcement Process," Hedge Fund Enforcement & Regulatory Developments 2010 (PLI), New York (November 22, 2010)
"Bounty Hunters in Your Midst? Rewarding Whistleblowers in the SEC World," Fifth Annual National Institute on Securities Fraud (ABA), New Orleans (October 7-8, 2010)
"Impact of Dodd-Frank on SEC Enforcement," NYC Bar - DC Bar Program, New York and Washington, DC (September 16, 2010)
"The SEC and the Accounting Profession," Accountants' Liability: Litigation and Issues in the Financial Crisis, ALI ABA, Boston (July 8-9, 2010)
"Preparing for New and Anticipated Legislation and Regulation: Hedge Fund Adviser Registration, the Custody Rule, and Beyond," Regulation and Enforcement of Hedge Funds & Investment Advisers, ACI, New York (June 24-25, 2010)
"Conducting Internal Investigations in an Environment of Heightened Prosecutions," The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 2010, New York (May 19, 2010)
"Financial Regulations Impacting Life Science Companies," The 2010 Life Science Financial Forum, Phoenix (May 9-11, 2010)
"Recognizing Challenges and Opportunities in International Financial Reporting Standards," The 2010 Life Science Financial Forum, Phoenix (May 9-11, 2010)
"DOJ, SEC and FTC Enforcement Trends: What Is On The Horizon For Public Companies And The Financial Industry?" DLA Piper Seminar, New York (March 17, 2010)
"SEC Enforcement Update," PLI SEC Speaks, Washington, DC (2004, 2006-2009)
"High-Tech – High Risk: FCPA Implications for Tech Companies," Silicon Valley (2009)
"Is Everything Criminal? Whatever Happened to Regulatory Violations?" ABA National Institute on Securities Fraud, Washington, DC (2009)
"Navigating The Credit Crisis: What Every Litigator and Corporate Counsel Need to Know About Representing Clients in an Uncertain World," Arizona Bar Convention, Phoenix (2009)
"Major Cases, Major Changes," Southwest Securities Conference, Fort Worth, Texas (2009)
"Coordination with Criminal Law Enforcement Authorities," SEC Criminal Coordination Conference, Washington, DC (2007-2009)
"SEC Enforcement in 2008: The Sub-Prime Challenge, Insider Trading, and Other Issues," Rocky Mountain Securities Conference, Denver (2008)
"Parallel Proceedings," Southeastern Securities Conference, Atlanta (2008)
"Cooperation with Law Enforcement Authorities," Southwest Securities Conference, Fort Worth, Texas (2008)
"Best Practices in Securities Arbitrations and Enforcement Priorities at the SEC," Arizona Bar Convention, Phoenix (2007)
"SEC Enforcement," PLI Corporate Compliance Institute, Chicago (2004)