Stephen Cohen is the global practice leader of Sidley Austin LLP’s Regulatory and Enforcement group, leads its Securities Enforcement and Regulatory practice, and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. As a former senior leader in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), clients seek him out for advice on a comprehensive range of government and internal investigations, enforcement-related litigation, whistleblower complaints, cyber breaches and regulatory and compliance issues, including those seeking to strengthen corporate governance and compliance programs. Steve Chambers-ranked and also serves as co-chair of the firm’s Crisis Management and Strategic Response team, where he is frequently called on to advise boards and special committees regarding sensitive and other crisis situations.

Leveraging his extensive experience at the SEC, Steve has a proven track record for guiding his clients through their most difficult matters and achieving exceptional results. He is a leading advisor to the financial industry and has represented numerous public companies and their boards, Audit Committees, Special Committees, or executives, as well as SEC registrants, in internal investigations and matters involving the SEC, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), state attorneys general, and securities regulators.

Before joining Sidley, Steve spent 12 years at the SEC, most recently serving as Associate Director in the Enforcement Division where he oversaw domestic and international enforcement investigations. Also, as Senior Advisor to then SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, Steve also led the SEC’s work in relation to the whistleblower provisions in Dodd-Frank and subsequent rulemaking, oversaw the rulemaking establishing a Consolidated Audit Trail, and he directed the creation of the agency’s Tips, Complaints and Referrals system.