Bingham Expands Securities, Commodities Enforcement in D.C.

Four Lawyers Enhance Regulatory, Litigation, Commodities Strength

Bingham has expanded its international securities practice with the addition of four lawyers to the firm’s Washington office.

The new Bingham partners include Geoffrey F. Aronow, former enforcement director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and former managing shareholder of Heller Ehrman’s Washington office, and Margaret Blake, formerly of Winston & Strawn in Washington. Joining as of counsel is Timothy B. Nagy, formerly with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Department of Regulation.

One of the largest and strongest practices of its kind, Bingham’s Securities Area includes 125 lawyers from the firm’s Broker-Dealer, Investment Management, U.K. Financial Regulatory, Securities Litigation and Japan Financial Regulatory practice groups. The groups work together to offer clients a fully integrated set of legal services focused on securities law and regulation.

“The recent arrivals augment Bingham’s market-leading international securities practice and uniquely position us further to provide clients with coordinated cross-border services,” said Bingham Chairman Jay Zimmerman, noting Bingham’s steady and strategic growth of its Securities Area throughout the United States and in the United Kingdom and Asia.

The latest additions underscore Bingham’s investment in building upon its leading securities practice nationally and globally. Bingham also has a renowned financial regulatory practice in London, anchored by Peter Bibby and Helen Marshall, both of whom were heads of enforcement at the U.K. Financial Services Authority. Christopher Leonard, a former vice president and senior European counsel at State Street Global Advisors, joined the firm’s London office in June and brings additional investment management experience to clients in the United Kingdom. 

“With alumni from three key sovereign regulators based in strategic locations across the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, Bingham has a strategic advantage in advising clients in all financial markets,” said Washington partner Neal Sullivan, co-chair of Bingham’s Securities Area. “Geoff’s excellent credentials and vast experience on the enforcement front are a natural and complementary fit for Bingham.”

The deep bench and international reach of Bingham’s Securities Area attracted the new partners.

“The depth of the practice and the opportunity to be part of a truly international regulatory team attracted me to Bingham,” said Aronow. “Bingham’s approach of fully integrating the practice firmwide is conducive to helping clients receive the full suite of legal skills and services they need in today’s market.”

Aronow, director of enforcement at the CFTC from 1995 to 1999, expands Bingham’s strength in commodities regulation, at a time when many fund and institutional investor clients are expanding their investment horizons beyond traditional financial instruments. He has served on the National Adjudicatory Council of NASD (now FINRA), which hears the appeals of all of that SRO’s disciplinary and enforcement proceedings. 

His vibrant securities and commodities litigation practice focuses on government enforcement actions, including proceedings at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the CFTC, and other regulatory agencies and self-regulatory organizations. He has represented clients in numerous enforcement investigations and proceedings and has litigated several complex securities class-action cases. He also has been involved in legislative work on major legislation in the financial regulatory area, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

Blake has extensive experience helping foreign financial institutions and other non-U.S. clients navigate the U.S. regulatory system. Before entering private practice, Blake worked in the Division of Trading and Markets at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, initially as an attorney-adviser in the Office of Risk Management and Control, and later as special counsel in the Office of Market Supervision.

Prior to joining Bingham, Nagy spent nine years in FINRA’s Department of Market Regulation where he represented the department in disciplinary hearing and appellate proceedings. He also counseled and advised FINRA staff on all facets of the FINRA regulatory scheme, including regulatory sweeps, investigations and examinations.