Seasoned litigator Andrew Rhys Davies has joined WilmerHale’s Securities and Financial Services Department in the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group as a partner in the firm’s New York office.
Davies has a broad litigation practice focused on cross-border cases involving securities, banking and financial regulation. He has significant trial and appellate experience, including arguing before the United States Supreme Court in 2022. In addition to his trial and appellate litigation docket, Davies also represents corporate and individual clients in federal and state regulatory and self-regulatory investigations, including before the Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, various state attorneys general, and the CFA Institute.
“Large financial institutions turn to WilmerHale for our financial industry expertise and experience, and they turn to Andrew for their most important litigation challenges,” said Stephanie Avakian, chair of WilmerHale’s Securities and Financial Services Department. “Andrew is a natural addition to our industry-leading enforcement and litigation practice. Financial institutions are often faced with challenges on multiple fronts – one market event can lead to enforcement investigations, civil litigation, regulatory change and even Congressional inquiries. Andrew’s addition to the team demonstrates how financial institutions can and do count on WilmerHale to handle every aspect of their most complex issues.”
WilmerHale has continued deepening its securities enforcement and litigation bench in recent years with the addition of Avakian (former director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement), Susan Schroeder (former head of enforcement from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), John Wells (former deputy enforcement director at the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) and Frank Gorman (former acting deputy director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection). The firm has also deepened its financial regulation bench with the additions of Michael Held and Yoon Hi Greene (from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York), Michael Dawson (former deputy assistant secretary of the US Department of the Treasury), Matthew Kulkin (previously at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and most recently Julie Williams (former chief counsel at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency).
Davies began his legal career in London at a Magic Circle firm, and relocated to the US in 2001 as an associate at an AmLaw 100 firm. In addition to his law firm practice, Davies spent time in the in-house litigation group of a large financial institution. He also served as assistant solicitor general for the State of New York from January 2016 to December 2017, representing the State and its agencies in appellate litigation in state and federal courts. During his public service, Davies handled dozens of appeals and argued more than twenty cases involving challenges to the State’s enforcement authority, and constitutional and federal preemption challenges to state law.
“The prospect of bringing my practice to the premier securities enforcement and litigation firm in the country was truly exciting to me,” said Davies. “I am looking forward to reinforcing WilmerHale’s securities litigation practice in New York and helping provide a single-firm service for clients experiencing both enforcement and litigation risk.”
A law graduate of the University of Cambridge and the College of Law, York, Davies qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 1999 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2002.