Steve Korotash

A member of the Morgan Lewis white collar and securities enforcement teams, Steve represents corporations and regulated entities and their officers and directors in actions involving the SEC, Department of Justice (DOJ), Internal Revenue Service, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and energy and banking regulators. In addition to defending corporate entities and their officers and directors, Steve conducts internal investigations and advises corporate counsel in regard to shareholder litigation and disclosure issues and represents broker-dealers and investment advisers in connection with SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority examinations and actions.

Prior to his selection as an SEC associate director, Steve served as the chief trial lawyer in the SEC’s Texas regional office and as assistant chief litigation counsel in Washington, DC, where he litigated and supervised many significant cases involving Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, accounting fraud, and insider trading, among others. Steve has significant experience handling matters that involve Texas-based energy companies. His criminal prosecution experience includes first-chaired jury trials for offenses such as securities fraud, healthcare fraud, bank fraud, tax fraud, and those related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Additionally, Steve served as the congressional liaison for US Attorneys and was an ex-officio member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and its political corruption subcommittee. During his time at DOJ, he also served as chief of the Criminal Division for the General Counsel of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now US Citizenship and Immigration Services).

The founding co-chair of the University of Texas’s Government Enforcement Institute, Steve was recently, again, voted by his peers as a “Best Attorney in Dallas.” Steve is a frequent speaker on securities enforcement and white collar crime issues at industry, legal, and media-sponsored events.

Note: This list includes engagements completed prior to joining Morgan Lewis.

• Defended a Fortune 500 company in an SEC accounting fraud investigation
• Defended the CEO of a publicly traded financial service firm in connection with SEC insider trading investigation
• Defended the former Chairman/CEO of a publicly traded exploration company in parallel SEC/DOJ FCPA investigation
• Defended a manufacturing firm and its president in DOJ False Claims Act investigation
• Defended a CEO of a financial service firm in connection with parallel investigations by the SEC and Justice Department
• Defended a publicly-traded manufacturing firm in SEC whistleblower-initiated investigation
• Defended the CFO of a publicly traded environmental service firm in a trade secrets investigation by the Department of Justice
• Defended the CEO of an energy trading company in a corruption investigation by the Department of Justice
• Defended a publicly traded financial service firm in connection with an enforcement investigation by the CFPB
• Defended a financial officer of a publicly traded firm in connection with FINRA insider trading investigation
• Defended a publicly-traded financial service company in SEC investigation relating to financial disclosures
• Defended the chief compliance officer of a national broker-dealer in SEC investigation of supervisory failures
• Defended a private equity firm in SEC investigation of its valuation and disclosure practices
• Defended a publicly traded financial service firm in connection with SEC accounting fraud investigation
• Defended a national broker-dealer and its chief compliance officer in parallel investigations by the SEC and FINRA
• Defended a national broker-dealer in SEC investigation involving systemic compliance failures
• Defended a registered investment adviser in an SEC investigation of the firm’s asset valuation practices
• Defended a corporate officer alleged to have participated in a stock manipulation scheme
• Defended individual investors alleged to have received ill-gotten gains in connection with an investment scheme
• Conducted an internal investigation for an energy services firm in connection with allegations of FCPA violations
• Conducted an internal investigation for a publicly traded fund regarding compliance failures
• Conducted an internal investigation for a national broker-dealer regarding technology risk exposure
• Conducted an internal investigation for a real estate investment firm in connection with allegations of illegal political contributions