The National Law Journal (NLJ) has selected Randall Lee as a 2017 Winning Litigator for his victory over the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at trial last year. He was chosen by NLJ as one of a select few who achieved major wins in high-stakes court cases.
 
In a three-week trial in June 2016, Lee defended former CEO Larry Goldstone and former CFO Clarence Simmons III of Thornburg Mortgage. Thornburg had been the country's second-largest independent mortgage company before it went bankrupt in 2009. The executives faced 10 charges, including a claim that they schemed to defraud investors by misrepresenting the company's income in the lead-up to the financial crisis. The jury, however, cleared Goldstone and Simmons on half of the 10 claims they faced, and deadlocked 11-1 in their favor on the remaining five. It was the SEC's first loss at trial since 2014.
 
The SEC initially sought to retry the remaining five counts in the case, but Lee convinced the SEC not to proceed further. In February 2017, the SEC dismissed with prejudice its remaining claims, which completely cleared Lee's clients.
 
In his NLJ profile, Lee shared two tips on how to be successful at trial. First, "although people often have an image of the prototypical trial lawyer, a range of styles can be effective. What matters most is authenticity. Develop your own style that is true to yourself." Second, "juries have a remarkable capacity to understand even the most complex of issues. While it's important to be clear and cogent, never speak down to jurors or insult their intelligence. Trust their ability to understand what matters."