Robert E. Rice, Former Chief Counsel to SEC Chair, Joins Ropes & Gray in New York

NEW YORK, June 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Robert E. Rice, a veteran regulatory enforcement lawyer and former federal prosecutor who most recently served as Chief Counsel to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White, has joined Ropes & Gray today as a partner in the firm's business and securities litigation practice in New York.

With almost twenty-five years of experience in government and the private sector handing regulatory enforcement matters and criminal investigations and prosecutions, Mr. Rice's wealth of experience and unique background will immediately benefit the firm's clients in the financial services industry and other highly regulated areas.

In his most recent role as a senior legal and policy advisor to SEC Chair White, Mr. Rice provided advice and counsel on a broad range of regulatory matters throughout the SEC's divisions and offices, focusing on enforcement actions, policy and strategy; examinations of broker-dealers, credit rating agencies, investment advisers, self-regulatory organizations and other SEC registrants; and cross-border coordination with other regulatory agencies.

Before joining the SEC, Mr. Rice was a Managing Director and held a senior in-house counsel position at a global financial institution.  In that role, Mr. Rice managed complex domestic and global regulatory enforcement, criminal and litigation matters arising from the financial institution's business lines, including asset management, broker-dealer services, corporate and investment banking services, and proprietary trading.

Mr. Rice also previously practiced as a partner with another leading law firm, and served for more than nine years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, ultimately becoming a Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division. There, he investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal criminal offenses, from the grand jury phase through trial and appeal, including bank fraud, insurance fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, tax fraud, wire fraud and forfeiture.  Mr. Rice holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Springfield College and a Master of Arts degree from Montclair State College. He received his J.D. from St. John's University School of Law.

At Ropes & Gray, Mr. Rice will concentrate his practice on the representation of corporate entities, and their officers and directors, in connection with regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings by federal and state regulatory agencies.  Mr. Rice will also guide corporate clients, and officers and directors, in white-collar criminal investigations and prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice and state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as parallel civil litigation actions and internal investigations.

"Bob is an exceptionally talented attorney, who understands the leading issues in securities enforcement," said Zachary Brez, co-head of Ropes & Gray's business & securities litigation practice. "The practical insight he brings from his years with the SEC and in the U.S. Attorney's Office, not to mention his tenure in-house and in private practice, will be invaluable to our financial services clients in this era of increased enforcement activity."

"The talent and dedication of the attorneys at Ropes & Gray make it one of the premier firms in the world, and I could not be more proud to join this outstanding team of professionals," said Mr. Rice.

Mr. Rice joins other recent additions to Ropes & Gray's litigation and government enforcement practices in just the past year, both in New York and globally, adding to the roster of 23 former prosecutors and SEC enforcement attorneys at the firm. In early 2015, Ryan Rohlfsen joined as partner the firm's Chicago office from the Department of Justice's Criminal Division, Fraud Section, where he was recognized as a leading attorney for criminal and civil actions, and part of an elite group of federal prosecutors responsible for enforcement of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In 2014, Marc Berger became a partner in the firm's New York government enforcement practice, arriving from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he served as Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. In addition, Patrick Sinclair, a former prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, joined the firm's government enforcement practice in Hong Kong in late 2014.

Ropes & Gray enforcement attorneys have counseled international financial services firms in SEC, CFTC, and various SRO investigations, as well as in federal criminal and state attorneys general investigations. The firm's partners have also defended executive officers in multibillion-dollar securities fraud and derivative class actions across the country.

About Ropes & Gray LLP

Ropes & Gray is one of the world's premier law firms, with more than 1,100 lawyers and legal professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology and government. The firm has extensive experience handling securities enforcement and litigation matters in connection with U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission investigations, whistleblower complaints, and government inquiries. Ropes & Gray's global litigation practice has been recognized by Chambers and U.S. News, and has been named a "Securities Practice of the Year" in four out of the past five years by Law360.

The firm has offices in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul, and has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including private equity, M&A, life sciences, health care, finance, investment management, hedge funds, tax, intellectual property, litigation, securities litigation, government enforcement and privacy & data security.

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Contact
Aaron Kellogg
Sr. Public Relations Specialist
Ropes & Gray LLP
Aaron.Kellogg@ropesgray.com
+1 617 235 4403

SOURCE Ropes & Gray LLP