Steve Korotash directed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) enforcement efforts in the Southwestern United States for many years as the top enforcement official in the agency’s Texas regional office. During his government career, Steve also served as a federal prosecutor in seven judicial districts throughout the nation, including the District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Virginia. One of only two practicing lawyers in the United States who has served as both a senior enforcement officer with the SEC and a federal prosecutor, Steve uses his experience on both sides of the table to assist clients facing government investigations.
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.
Ranked, Ligation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, Texas, Chambers USA (2019, 2020)
Recognized, Litigation – Securities, Dallas, The Best Lawyers in America (2017–2020)
Honorable Discharge, USAR
Operation Desert Storm, Bronze Star Medal
Former Editor-in-Chief, Oklahoma City University Law Review
Copyright © 2021 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. All rights reserved.