Garcia, Christopher

Christopher Garcia

Partner

christopher.garcia@lw.com
    Garcia, Christopher

    Christopher Garcia

    Partner

    christopher.garcia@lw.com
    "He is responsive, substantive and knowledgeable in all respects."

    Chambers USA 2023

    "He is thorough and leaves no stone unturned."

    Chambers USA 2023

    “He is a real force to be reckoned with. Tenacious, creative, and the kind of person you want in your corner.”

    Chambers USA 2022

    Leading Lawyer – Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense

    The Legal 500 US 2022

    500 Leading Litigators in America

    Lawdragon 2022

    Profile

    Christopher Garcia defends clients in their highest-stakes regulatory and criminal disputes.

    Leveraging his extensive experience as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Garcia helps companies, boards of directors, executives, broker-dealers, and investment advisers navigate:

    • Internal investigations
    • Securities class actions in state and federal courts across the US
    • Securities and corporate governance issues
    • Regulatory compliance

    Mr. Garcia was previously Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. In this role, he led all aspects of securities fraud investigations and litigation, including those The New York Times highlighted as underpinning “the government’s widespread crackdown on insider trading on Wall Street.” He has supervised the investigation and prosecution of more than 300 cases relating to corporate fraud, consumer fraud, insider trading, fraudulent investment schemes, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), including matters arising from the 2008 financial crisis.

    Mr. Garcia is a recognized as a thought leader in the academic and legal community. He served on Law360’s 2020 Legal Ethics Editorial Advisory Board and regularly speaks and writes on securities litigation, enforcement, and white collar topics, including cybersecurity, social media communications and related US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure issues, and anti-corruption enforcement. He has presented as a featured speaker at events coordinated by Bloomberg/Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the Practicing Law Institute, the New York City Bar Association, the American Bar Association (ABA), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the SEC, and the US Department of Justice. He also has been featured in leading publications, including Bloomberg, Forbes, and Reuters.

    Mr. Garcia serves as Chair of the New York Regional Committee of the ABA Criminal Justice Section’s White Collar Crime Committee and as Co-Chair of the ABA Business Law Section’s Securities Fraud Sub-Committee. He has also served as a member of the Federal Bar Council’s Membership Committee and on the board of the Legal Aid Society of New York.

    Experience

    Mr. Garcia’s experience includes representing:

    • Morgan Stanley in a successful two-week jury trial of a rare private claim for insider trading, which a Russian billionaire and his Netherlands-based investment vehicle, Veleron Holdings, asserted regarding a transaction made in the lead-up to the financial crisis*
    • The audit committee of American Realty Capital Properties in an internal investigation into purported accounting irregularities, as well as subsequent DOJ and SEC proceedings*
    • The Audit Committee of a public company in the electric vehicle space in an internal investigation relating to disclosure issues 
    • Companies and senior executives in connection with DOJ criminal antitrust investigations of so-called “no-poach” agreements
    • A family office and its two principals in an SEC investigation alleging dealer activity, which was successfully resolved in 2022 without admitting or denying the allegations
    • Principal of leading investment company in an SEC insider trading investigation, which was successful resolved in 2022 with a declination* 
    • A health system in a DOJ investigation alleging violations of the False Claims Act relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was successfully resolved in 2022 without admitting or denying the allegations*
    • A company in connection with a DOJ investigation alleging possible violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in relation to the alleged sale COVID-related products 
    • A major financial institution in an SEC investigation related to the SolarWinds cyberattack*
    • The audit committee of an oil and gas company in an internal investigation of insider trading and conflicted conduct by a senior executive and two directors*
    • ABRAAJ Investment Management in connection with US government allegations of investment adviser fraud
    • A major multinational pharmaceutical company in an SEC investigation of alleged channel-stuffing
    • A news and publishing company in an SEC investigation into whether certain statements and omissions misled the market, which the company successfully resolved in 2021 without admitting or denying the allegations*
    • Fortune 500 companies in a wide-ranging SEC investigation into public disclosures related to perquisites provided to directors and executives* 
    • A multinational insurance advisor in an internal investigation related to corruption, bribery, and honest services fraud
    • A public company board in an internal investigation into a senior executive’s allegations that the company’s CEO made false and misleading statements to investors about the company’s strategy*
    • A media company in a DOJ investigation and prosecution of a former employee for securities and wire fraud*
    • A multinational corporation in an internal investigation into a cyber-attack*
    • A multinational pharmaceutical company in DOJ and SEC investigations into a former senior executive’s insider trading*
    • The principal of a multinational conglomerate in a DOJ grand jury and New York State investigation of an alleged multi-decade tax fraud
    • A Fortune 500 company in an investigation of alleged price fixing in the market for oil futures and other energy derivatives
    • Five senior executives in connection with a special committee, DOJ, and SEC investigations and related civil litigations regarding alleged securities fraud*
    • A retail foreign exchange dealer in a Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation*
    • A media company against allegations of FCPA violations*
    • Multiple retail companies in internal investigations of employee misconduct*
    • A Japanese conglomerate in an internal investigation into the root cause of a data security incident and remediation*
    • Several senior bankers in DOJ and SEC investigations of potential FCPA violation relating to hiring practices in Asia*
    • Board of a private school in an investigation into allegations of racist conduct by students and a review of the school’s disciplinary procedures following an alleged sexual assault*
    • A government contractor’s former president in a DOJ and SEC accounting fraud inquiry*
    • Several elected officials in corruption probes*
    • A media company’s directors in the DOJ’s FIFA soccer investigation
    • Genworth in a federal securities class action relating to the company’s statements concerning reserves*
    • A Fortune 500 company’s former chief financial officer in government inquiries and a related shareholder class action regarding alleged accounting irregularities*
    • A former senior trader at a major financial institution in the DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation into alleged LIBOR manipulation*
    • A former senior director at a major financial institution in a CFTC investigation into alleged manipulation of ISDAFix, the benchmark rate for the swaps market*
    • A client in an SEC investigation of a leading asset manager’s alleged compliance failures*
    • An officer in a public company’s accounting department in an SEC investigation of alleged accounting improprieties*
    • Multiple bond traders in criminal and civil enforcement actions related to trading conduct*

    *Matters handled prior to joining Latham

    Qualifications

    Bar Qualification

    • New York

    Education

    • JD, Harvard Law School, 1999
    • AB, Harvard University, 1995
      magna cum laude

    Practices

    Industries

    Recognition

    News & Insights