News
Former SEC General Counsel Rejoins Latham & Watkins
Addition of one of the nation's foremost securities, capital markets and financial regulation attorneys enhances the firm's practice
Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., September 22, 2009… Latham & Watkins LLP1 is pleased to announce that Brian G. Cartwright has rejoined the firm as Senior Advisor. He will maintain offices in both Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. while working with Latham & Watkins lawyers throughout the firm globally.
Cartwright served as General Counsel of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for three years, following a 23-year career at Latham & Watkins. As SEC General Counsel, Cartwright was responsible for counseling the Commission on all matters brought before it, including every enforcement action and every rulemaking. Cartwright also oversaw all cases litigated by the SEC in the United States Courts of Appeals and advised on all adjudications appealed to the Commission. During his three years at the SEC, Cartwright also served as a senior advisor to the Chairman and other Commissioners and helped shape the Commission's major policy and regulatory initiatives.
Cartwright's distinguished prior track record in the private sector includes advising on a wide range of public and private debt and equity offerings, representing issuers and borrowers, purchasers and lenders and major underwriters. He has also served as outside corporate and securities counsel to NYSE- and NASDAQ-listed companies.
"Brian is a consummate professional with a deep understanding of market forces and government regulations. As financial instruments and regulatory regimes continue to evolve, Brian will provide valuable guidance to our attorneys and clients," said John Clair, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles. "We are truly lucky and proud to have him back at the firm."
Kirk Davenport, Global Co-Chair of Latham & Watkins' Capital Markets Practice Group, added: "We are delighted to welcome Brian back to the firm. Brian is one of our profession's leading thinkers and is one of the most gifted lawyers I have ever had the pleasure to know. His depth of knowledge of the law and his vast experience on all sides of corporate finance transactions combine to make him one of the country's foremost capital markets and securities attorneys. We expect Brian will play a leading role in the further development of our securities, capital markets, corporate governance, and financial regulatory and compliance practices. We could not be happier to have him rejoin our team."
"I am honored to have served with the distinguished Chairman and Commissioners of the SEC, as well as alongside the many talented and committed SEC staff, and I now look forward to rejoining friends and former colleagues at Latham & Watkins," said Cartwright. "Latham has always provided legal advice of the highest quality, and I am excited by the prospect of helping continue this high standard as we work with our clients to manage numerous issues that are vital to their interests."
Cartwright began his legal career in 1980 after earning a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was President of the Harvard Law Review and winner of the Sears Prize. He served as a law clerk to Judge Malcolm R. Wilkey of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and then as a law clerk to Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court. He joined Latham & Watkins as an associate in October 1982 and became a partner in January 1988. He has served as Global Chair of the firm's Public Company Representation Practice Group and as a member of the firm's Executive Committee.
Cartwright's previous career was as an astrophysicist. Following his graduation from Yale University in 1967, he earned a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago in 1971. From 1973 to 1977 he was a Research Physicist at the Department of Physics and Space Sciences Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley. During this time he published numerous articles in scholarly journals in his field of high energy particle astrophysics.
Notes to Editor
1 Latham & Watkins operates as a limited liability partnership worldwide with affiliated limited liability partnerships conducting the practice in the United Kingdom, France and Italy and an affiliated partnership conducting the practice in Hong Kong.
About Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys in 27 offices, including Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Brussels, Doha, Dubai, Chicago, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information on Latham & Watkins, please visit the Web site at www.lw.com.
Contacts
John Clair, Los Angeles Office Managing Partner, +1.213.891.8142
Kirk Davenport, Global Co-Chair of the Capital Markets Practice Group and member of the Latham & Watkins Executive Committee, +1.212.906.1284