Paul W. Kisslinger is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Lewis Brisbois, chair of the firm’s SEC Enforcement & Litigation Practice, co-chair of the firm's Securities Class Action Defense Practice, and member of the Complex Business & Commercial Litigation, Securities Litigation and FINRA, and Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Practices.

Paul has extensive experience in the private and public sectors successfully guiding clients through the choppy waters of regulatory enforcement actions brought by securities and other financial services regulators, internal and external investigations, and legislative inquiries.  He also has extensive first chair trial experience representing clients in numerous federal and state jury and bench trials and appeals, administrative proceedings, and national/international arbitrations.

Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Paul was Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel for the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he investigated, ran, and tried some of the SEC’s most complex cases which covered the entire range of the SEC’s portfolio, including public company disclosures; corporate governance; public accounting and auditing standards; bribery and corruption (FCPA); market manipulation and offering fraud; insider trading; and matters involving SEC registrants (broker-dealers, investment advisers, accountants, attorneys, mutual funds, and private equity funds).  Paul also partnered with state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities and self-regulatory organizations (SROs) in their parallel investigations and prosecutions of civil and criminal actions.

In 2019-2020, Paul completed a detail as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Reform, where he advised and assisted Committee members and senior staff in high-profile investigations and legislative hearings.

Prior to joining the SEC, Paul practiced at two national law firms where he represented public and privately-held corporate clients in a broad spectrum of commercial and corporate litigation, internal and external investigations, and regulatory enforcement matters.

Paul is an frequent speaker and writer, is active in community, nonprofit, and business organizations, and is an Adjunct Professor for the George Washington School of Law.

Publications/Media Mentions

Professional Presentations

• Presenter, “SEC Enforcement Update,” VSCPA Webinar, February 17, 2023
• Presenter, "What Makes a Good Expert," Securities Experts Roundtable – 2019 Annual Conference, July 2019
• Presenter, "Mid-Year Round Up,” DC Bar - Committee on Broker Dealer Regulation and SEC Enforcement, June 2018

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • District of Columbia
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania