Paul Kisslinger Speaks with American Lawyer About SEC’s Attempt to Obtain Identities of Law Firm Clients
Washington, D.C. (January 17, 2023) - Washington D.C. Partner and Chair of Lewis Brisbois’ SEC Enforcement & Litigation Practice Paul W. Kisslinger recently spoke with The American Lawyer (part of Law.com) for an article related to the dispute between the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and Covington & Burling, in which the SEC is seeking access to the identities of the law firm’s clients who were affected by a cyberattack.
As described in the article titled, “Attorney-Client Confidentiality at Stake in Covington’s Dispute With SEC? White-Collar Lawyers Weigh In,” the SEC has sued Covington, demanding that the firm comply with a subpoena for the identities of 298 clients whose information was reportedly breached during a Chinese state-sponsored cyber hack that began in 2020. The SEC contends that the clients’ identities are crucial to the agency’s investigation into possible securities violations resulting from the attack. Covington maintains, however, that the SEC’s request infringes upon the attorney-client relationship and confidentiality obligations.
In commenting upon the SEC’s recent action, Mr. Kisslinger told The American Lawyer, “The takeaway is that this is an example about how the SEC is going to be more aggressive.” He added, “It seems to me there could have been a better approach to this.” Noting that although the SEC’s request seeks only the names of the firm’s clients, Mr. Kisslinger pointed out that “those names mean something.”
Mr. Kisslinger joined Lewis Brisbois earlier this month as chair of its newly established SEC Enforcement & Litigation Practice after spending almost two decades with the SEC, most recently as its assistant chief litigation counsel. He is also member of the firm’s Complex Business & Commercial Litigation, Securities Litigation and FINRA, and Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Practices. Mr. Kisslinger 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.
Read the full American Lawyer article here (subscription may be required).
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Paul Kisslinger
Partner
Washington, D.C.
202.558.0665Attorney Bio
Paul.Kisslinger@lewisbrisbois.com