Walter “Chet” Little

Walter “Chet” Little, a former Foley & Lardner partner arrested on insider trading charges after he left that firm and joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, admitted to conspiracy to commit securities fraud in Manhattan federal court on Thursday.

After entering a not-guilty plea in August to both conspiracy and securities fraud charges, Little last week changed his plea to guilty on a single conspiracy count in light of an agreement with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In Little's plea deal, the government agreed to move for dismissal of any other open counts against him when he returns to court for sentencing.

Little was accused of using his position at Foley & Lardner to access confidential client information about expected mergers and earnings reports by companies such as Oshkosh Corp., Whiting Petroleum Corp. and Harley-Davidson Inc. Prosecutors said that between February 2015 and May 2016, Little and a co-defendant—his neighbor and friend Andrew Berke—traded based on nonpublic information and collectively made about $1 million.

In light of his guilty plea on the conspiracy count, Little faces a maximum prison sentence of five years and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross amount gained or lost as a result of his offense, according to prosecutors. Little also agreed to forfeit $452,998 in profits he made through his trading. Little's sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 22 in front of U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

“As he admitted in court … Walter Little, while a law firm partner, accessed confidential information about firm clients, and then traded on it,” acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement. “He violated the terms of his employment, the canons of his profession and federal securities laws. Now Walter Little awaits sentencing for his crime.”

Little's defense lawyer, Todd Foster of the Tampa, Florida-based Todd Foster Law Group, confirmed the guilty plea in a brief interview on Monday, also noting that he expects to present a “great deal” of mitigating evidence at Little's sentencing.

“He did plead guilty to the conspiracy, and we look forward to presenting a sizable amount of mitigation evidence to the court at the time of sentencing,” Foster said.

While at Foley & Lardner, Little did not represent the companies whose confidential information he has now admitted to accessing. After criminal charges were brought against Little in May, the law firm said in a statement that it had opened an investigation internally after learning in June 2016 about trading activity involving a firm lawyer.

That investigation revealed a violation of firm policies and prompted Foley & Lardner to take action that resulted in Little's departure from the firm. Foley & Lardner also said it reported its findings to authorities and cooperated with them throughout their investigation.

After Foley & Lardner, Little joined Bradley Arant's Tampa office in the summer of 2016. In the wake of Little's arrest less than a year later, that firm quickly dismissed the lawyer. The firm's board chairman and managing partner Beau Grenier said in a statement in May that Bradley Arant conducted significant due diligence before hiring Little, but the firm was unaware of any investigations into Little until the government had made an arrest and brought charges.

Little's co-defendant, Berke, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, six counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to prosecutors. The securities fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while each of the securities fraud and wire fraud conspiracy counts carries maximum penalties of 20 years in prison. The charges against Berke also come with a maximum fine of $5 million or twice the gain or loss from the offense.

Berke, represented by Caroline Mehta of Zuckerman Spaeder, also initially entered a not-guilty plea, and the charges against him remain pending. But on Nov. 9, prosecutors indicated in a letter to Failla that Berke plans to change his plea next month. A change-of-plea hearing for Berke was scheduled for Dec. 15.

Little and Berke also face a parallel civil suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That case is pending, according to court records.

Walter “Chet” Little

Walter “Chet” Little, a former Foley & Lardner partner arrested on insider trading charges after he left that firm and joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, admitted to conspiracy to commit securities fraud in Manhattan federal court on Thursday.

After entering a not-guilty plea in August to both conspiracy and securities fraud charges, Little last week changed his plea to guilty on a single conspiracy count in light of an agreement with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In Little's plea deal, the government agreed to move for dismissal of any other open counts against him when he returns to court for sentencing.

Little was accused of using his position at Foley & Lardner to access confidential client information about expected mergers and earnings reports by companies such as Oshkosh Corp., Whiting Petroleum Corp. and Harley-Davidson Inc. Prosecutors said that between February 2015 and May 2016, Little and a co-defendant—his neighbor and friend Andrew Berke—traded based on nonpublic information and collectively made about $1 million.

In light of his guilty plea on the conspiracy count, Little faces a maximum prison sentence of five years and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross amount gained or lost as a result of his offense, according to prosecutors. Little also agreed to forfeit $452,998 in profits he made through his trading. Little's sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 22 in front of U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

“As he admitted in court … Walter Little, while a law firm partner, accessed confidential information about firm clients, and then traded on it,” acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement. “He violated the terms of his employment, the canons of his profession and federal securities laws. Now Walter Little awaits sentencing for his crime.”

Little's defense lawyer, Todd Foster of the Tampa, Florida-based Todd Foster Law Group, confirmed the guilty plea in a brief interview on Monday, also noting that he expects to present a “great deal” of mitigating evidence at Little's sentencing.

“He did plead guilty to the conspiracy, and we look forward to presenting a sizable amount of mitigation evidence to the court at the time of sentencing,” Foster said.

While at Foley & Lardner, Little did not represent the companies whose confidential information he has now admitted to accessing. After criminal charges were brought against Little in May, the law firm said in a statement that it had opened an investigation internally after learning in June 2016 about trading activity involving a firm lawyer.

That investigation revealed a violation of firm policies and prompted Foley & Lardner to take action that resulted in Little's departure from the firm. Foley & Lardner also said it reported its findings to authorities and cooperated with them throughout their investigation.

After Foley & Lardner, Little joined Bradley Arant's Tampa office in the summer of 2016. In the wake of Little's arrest less than a year later, that firm quickly dismissed the lawyer. The firm's board chairman and managing partner Beau Grenier said in a statement in May that Bradley Arant conducted significant due diligence before hiring Little, but the firm was unaware of any investigations into Little until the government had made an arrest and brought charges.

Little's co-defendant, Berke, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, six counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to prosecutors. The securities fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while each of the securities fraud and wire fraud conspiracy counts carries maximum penalties of 20 years in prison. The charges against Berke also come with a maximum fine of $5 million or twice the gain or loss from the offense.

Berke, represented by Caroline Mehta of Zuckerman Spaeder, also initially entered a not-guilty plea, and the charges against him remain pending. But on Nov. 9, prosecutors indicated in a letter to Failla that Berke plans to change his plea next month. A change-of-plea hearing for Berke was scheduled for Dec. 15.

Little and Berke also face a parallel civil suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That case is pending, according to court records.