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E. Andrew Southerling Partner

Washington, D.C. T +1 202 857 1772 F fax +1 202 828 3340
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Andrew is a member of the firm’s Financial Services and Securities Enforcement Department and a former co-leader of the Securities Enforcement and Regulatory Counseling Practice Group. For more than 20 years, Andrew has represented corporations, financial institutions and their officers, directors, and employees in a wide range of civil and criminal investigations, litigation, and enforcement actions. Andrew is a member of the firm’s Pension Committee and Recruiting Committee for the Washington, D.C. office. Andrew is a Chambers USA ranked attorney for Securities:  Regulation: Enforcement, Nationwide.

Prior to private practice, Andrew served for 6 years in the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Drawing on his experience in government service and private practice, clients look to Andrew for counsel on securities enforcement matters, securities litigation, and complex regulatory compliance issues.  He represents corporations, financial institutions, and individuals in enforcement litigation and investigations before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), state attorneys general, and Congressional committees. Andrew also conducts internal investigations on behalf of corporate management and boards of directors and advises clients on developing and implementing effective compliance programs.

Andrew’s recent high-stakes representations have included serving as trial counsel for a corporate sales manager in a complex federal criminal accounting fraud case in the Northern District of Illinois, obtaining a total acquittal of all counts after a multi-week trial. He has defended clients in civil and criminal investigations and litigations involving corporate disclosures and market manipulation, political intelligence and insider trading, municipal bond underwriting, sales and trading, financial disclosures, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, high frequency trading, broker-dealer and investment adviser sales practices, and securities enforcement matters involving foreign regulators. Andrew regularly advises clients in connection with developing responses to regulatory examinations and designing strategies to ensure prospective compliance with the securities rules and regulations. Andrew also has extensive experience in conducting corporate internal investigations and provides counsel and strategic responses in connection with whistleblower and other corporate crisis issues.

During his tenure in the SEC’s Enforcement Division, Andrew spearheaded some of the Enforcement Division’s then most complex and high-profile investigations and enforcement actions. They included a joint civil and criminal investigation involving the financial reporting and disclosures of the largest nonprofit healthcare organization in Pennsylvania; municipal securities fraud involving advance refundings and conflicts of interest, including a global settlement related to yield burning; complex options trading schemes on a regional stock exchange; and private equity and investment adviser fraud. Andrew worked closely with the DOJ, FINRA, Department of Treasury, and state regulators during his tenure at the SEC.

Before joining the SEC, Andrew was a litigation associate with a prominent Philadelphia law firm. His international background includes advanced academic coursework at the University of Hamburg and the Goethe Institute. Andrew has worked for two large multinational manufacturing companies, Hauni Werke, AG and Kunstoffe Kruger, AG, in Hamburg Germany.

Andrew has been an adjunct professor at the Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, and is a frequent speaker at securities industry conferences and author on securities enforcement issues. Andrew also serves on the Villanova University CLAS Dean’s Advisory Council and Public Policy Advisory Council.

Events

  • Speaker, "Municipal Securities and Public Finance," 2025 SIFMA Compliance and Legal Society Annual Seminar, March 23 - 26, 2025
  • Panelist, "Municipal Securities/Public Finance," SIFMA C&L Annual Seminar, March 17-20, 2024
  • Panelist, Government Regulatory and Enforcement Outlook 2022, March 16 & 17, 2022
  • Speaker, SEC Compliance and Disclosure Update, McGuireWoods LLP SEC Practice Complimentary Webinar Series, November 17, 2020
  • Speaker, "What to Expect in SEC and FINRA Enforcement," Mid-2020, What to Expect… A Look Toward the Future, July 15, 2020
  • Speaker, "Product Supervision and Hot Topics," Fidelity Broker-Dealer Compliance Roundtable, April 2019
  • Panelist, "Municipal Securities & Public Finance," SIFMA C&L Annual Seminar, March 24-27, 2019
  • Moderator, "A Discussion with former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins," Bond Dealers of America 10th Annual National Fixed Income Conference, October 25-26, 2018
  • Speaker, "Current Enforcement Priorities – Insider Trading and FCPA," 2017 Advanced Topics in Hedge Funds, July 2017
  • Speaker, "Securities Litigation Developments," 2017 Advanced Topics in Hedge Funds, July 2017
  • Panelist, The National Municipal Bond Summit, March 2017
  • Speaker, 2017 SEC Examination & Enforcement Trends Roads Show, March 2017
  • Speaker, "Outlook on Legislation, Regulation, and Enforcement," Bond Dealers of America Annual Strategy Session, February 2017
  • Speaker, BDA National Fixed Income Conference, October 2016
  • Speaker, 2016 SEC and FINRA Year in Review, March 2016
  • Speaker, 2016 SEC Examination and Enforcement Trends Roundtable Road Show, March 2016
  • Speaker, "Outlook on Enforcement and Regulation in Fixed Income Markets," Bond Dealers of America Annual Strategy Session, January 2016
  • Speaker, 4th Annual Fixed-Income Legal and Compliance Roundtable, January 2016
  • Speaker, "2014 SEC and FINRA Year in Review for Broker-Dealers," Webinar, March 2015
  • Speaker, SEC and FINRA 2012 Year in Review, February 2013

Insights

Selected for inclusion in Leading Lawyers, Securities: Regulation (Enforcement), Nationwide, Chambers USA, 2025

“He has a tremendous amount of experience and exceptional knowledge of the federal securities laws.”

“Andrew offers great skill and insight in this space.”

– Securities: Regulation: Enforcement respondents,
Chambers Guide to the USA
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