News & Events

Litigation Partner Mike Osnato was quoted in Ignites, a Financial Times news service, in an article regarding what fund firms should keep in mind to remain protected by attorney-client privilege during a government investigation. The article, titled “Fund Confidential: Industry Grapples With Attorney-Client Privilege,” was published on May 2, 2017. In the article, Mike, the former Chief of the Complex Financial Instruments Unit of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division, discusses when it may make sense for a firm to waive privilege in a government investigation. In certain circumstances, waiving privilege may “send a strong message to investors and shareholders that we did everything we could to cooperate with the government,” he says. While the decision to waive privilege hinges on many important factors, some firms have had success in providing SEC staff with information as they learn it, without handing over confidential documents. In such instances, Mike says, “The SEC will be very respectful and accommodating of that, since it’s in their best interest to get those facts as well.”