McGuireWoods has expanded its nationally recognized government investigations and white-collar litigation practice with the addition of William E. Goydan, John Lukanski and Kiran Somashekara as partners in New York.
Goydan, Lukanski and Somashekara represent clients in complex securities matters, focusing on internal investigations and regulatory enforcement matters before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and state securities and insurance regulators. They also advise companies on compliance with securities industry rules, reporting requirements, enhancements to policies and procedures, regulatory developments, enforcement trends and best practices. Goydan and Somashekara join McGuireWoods from the New York office of Reed Smith while Lukanski comes from its Princeton, New Jersey, office. All three practiced in the financial industry group.
“The addition of these outstanding partners furthers our strategy to strengthen our ability to serve financial industry clients in New York and around the world,” Chairman Richard Cullen said.
“Bill, John and Kiran bring a wealth of experience in the areas of securities litigation, internal investigations and regulatory enforcement that will have tremendous value for our clients,” said J. Tracy Walker IV, the firm’s deputy managing partner for litigation.
Noreen Kelly, managing partner for McGuireWoods’ New York office and head of the firm’s financial institutions industry group, added: “Bill, John and Kiran significantly strengthen the McGuireWoods brand within the securities industry, particularly in New York. They bring the firm added depth in a highly competitive market.”
The New York partners’ arrival builds on a surge of growth that began last week with the addition of prominent litigators Mary J. Hackett in Pittsburgh and David C. Powell, managing partner of the firm’s new San Francisco office. On March 28, Powell was joined in San Francisco by his former Reed Smith colleague David Reidy, a litigator who headed the financial technology group at Reed Smith and brings his cutting-edge FinTech practice to McGuireWoods.
Goydan represents securities firms in regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, customer arbitrations and employment litigation. He serves as an arbitrator for FINRA Dispute Resolution and the National Futures Association.
“I’m very familiar with McGuireWoods’ reputation as one of the nation’s premier investigations practices and the firm’s capacity to provide a full range of services to clients in the financial sector,” Goydan said.
Lukanski has handled internal reviews and high-profile regulatory investigations by the SEC, FINRA and state regulators, as well as litigation, arbitration and regulatory enforcement proceedings.
“McGuireWoods has a world-class litigation practice with the depth and breadth of resources to guide clients in complex regulatory compliance matters,” Lukanski said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to grow my practice here.”
Somashekara’s experience includes advising broker-dealers, banks and registered representatives in regulatory investigations and enforcement, customer arbitrations, internal investigations, employment matters and litigation.
“The firm is respected throughout the country for its litigation and investigations capabilities and for excellent client service,” Somashekara said. “This is a great fit for my practice, and I look forward to contributing in every way I can.”
Respected, independent authorities have recognized McGuireWoods for its litigation prowess and client service. The 2016 edition of U.S. News-Best Lawyers’ “Best Law Firms” named the firm “Law Firm of the Year” in Litigation – Banking and Finance. McGuireWoods was among the highest-ranked firms in 2016’s “BTI Litigation Outlook” and “Client Service A-Team,” published by BTI Consulting. In addition, Law360 named McGuireWoods a 2014 “White Collar Group of the Year.”