News
SEC Associate Director Melissa Hodgman Joins Freshfields as Litigation Partner
Freshfields announced today that Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Associate Director Melissa Hodgman joined Freshfields as a litigation partner in Washington, bringing over 15 years of experience in the Division of Enforcement.
Melissa’s practice focuses on white collar, global investigations and strategic risk utilizing her extensive experience in investigations and litigation and assessing complex compliance and transactional issues.
Adam Siegel, co-head of the firm’s global investigations practice, stated: “Melissa’s extensive experience in investigations and litigation as a senior SEC official makes her extremely well positioned to provide unique insight to clients facing agency scrutiny regarding the SEC’s intent, interpretation and approach. Her knowledge is not only beneficial to clients experiencing SEC investigations; it can add tremendous value to all clients in developing and implementing compliance programs designed to prevent investigations. Our investigations team proudly boasts veterans of the Departments of Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, the NSC, the FTC, Congress and the White House; Melissa is a fantastic addition to those decades of prior government experience and perspective.”
At the SEC, Melissa dealt with a wide spectrum of issues, including cases involving disclosure violations and fraud, accounting fraud, cybersecurity, crypto and digital assets, national security, insider trading, FCPA, complex financial products, market structure issues, market manipulation issues and more. She was involved in more than 1,800 matters resulting in hundreds of civil injunctive and administrative actions, including numerous first-of-their-kind and key matters.
Melissa noted: “I’m excited to join Freshfields’ robust team of collaborative attorneys and leverage my expertise to help clients successfully navigate SEC investigations and enforcement actions, and to advise on complex compliance programs and transactions to help clients head off misconduct that could lead to investigations. The firm already has top ranked white-collar defense and U.S. securities litigation practices, which puts me in a great position to amplify our complementary securities regulation and enforcement practice.”
Freshfields’ market-leading global investigations team is uniquely positioned to advise on any compliance investigation clients may face. Its global network of lawyers has decades of unparalleled experience representing parties in highly sensitive and complex investigations around the world. The team includes multiple former U.S. federal prosecutors, who are widely recognized as the preeminent lawyers for clients conducting complex, multi-jurisdictional compliance and governance investigations.
