News

11 Jul 2005

Nicolas Morgan joins DLA Piper Securities Litigation practice

Press Release

Morgan becomes the latest addition to DLA Piper’s growing Los Angeles office

(LOS ANGELES) July 11, 2005 – DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP has announced that Nicolas Morgan has joined the firm’s Securities Litigation practice group as Of Counsel. He was previously senior trial counsel in the Enforcement Division of the SEC’s Pacific Regional Office. Morgan is the latest addition to DLA Piper’s Los Angeles office, which has seen the arrival of nine partners since the beginning of 2005.

While at the SEC, where he spent seven years, Morgan was appointed a special assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California. Earlier in his career, he was in private practice engaged in securities and public entity liability litigation.

“Nick is an experienced trial lawyer who has proven litigation skills, which he mastered during his years with the SEC,” said Perrie M. Weiner, international co-chairman of DLA Piper’s Securities Litigation practice. “Our clients face many challenges in the current enforcement climate. Having a strong team that is experienced in handling SEC proceedings and investigations of alleged insider trading, market manipulation and fraud is an important part of our overall securities litigation practice and one of the reasons why we have been successful as a group.”

In the U.S., DLA Piper has more than 550 lawyers in the firm’s litigation department, including more than 50 securities litigators. The firm represents public corporations, individual officers and directors of corporations, accounting firms, stock and commodities brokerage firms, placement agents, financial institutions, underwriters, investment advisory firms, hedge funds, and venture capital funds in securities litigation matters.

DLA Piper’s securities litigators have represented clients in numerous cutting edge securities litigation cases, including shareholder class actions, derivative actions, proceedings involving the SEC and NASD, as well as actions brought by issuers and shareholders challenging highly sophisticated PIPE (private investment in public equity) transactions on the grounds of fraud and market manipulation.

The firm’s litigators, which include many former SEC attorneys and assistant U.S. Attorneys, have participated in landmark cases that have helped shape securities laws, including the first reported decision dismissing a case under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995 (PSLRA) and the first federal appellate decision affirming the dismissal of an alleged accounting fraud case under the PSLRA. The firm also has an established SEC and white collar securities litigation practice.

Morgan received a J.D. at the University of California at Davis School of Law. He has also published articles and spoken on securities regulation.

About DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP

DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP is a business law firm of 1,400 lawyers in offices  throughout the U.S., whose core practices are real estate, corporate and securities, litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Worldwide, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has 2,900 lawyers in 53 offices in 20 countries, including the U.K, mainland Europe and Asia, offering leading practices in commercial, corporate and finance, human resources, litigation, real estate, regulatory and legislative, and technology, media and communications.

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CONTACTS:

Nicolas Morgan, Of Counsel, DLA Piper, 310.595.3146

Perrie M. Weiner, International Co-Chair, Securities Litigation practice, DLA Piper, 310.595.3024

Jeffrey A. Rosenfeld, Managing Partner, Los Angeles Office, 310.595.3001