The SEC's Active Rulemaking Agenda and its Impact - Cybersecurity, Climate, Private Funds, and More

Mr. Ridgway represents businesses, their boards and executives in government investigations and enforcement proceedings, internal investigations and civil litigation. He also advises clients on cybersecurity incident preparation and response and national security issues, in addition to a variety of matters related to cryptocurrency, blockchains and digital assets.

Mr. Ridgway has led investigations on behalf of a variety of clients across a wide range of industries. He regularly represents corporate and individual clients in investigations led by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, state attorneys general, and other U.S. and foreign regulators. These matters have involved investigations concerning financial fraud, cybersecurity and data breaches, trade secret theft, public corruption, health care fraud, antitrust violations, tax fraud, market manipulation (including spoofing) and the False Claims Act.

Mr. Ridgway was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Law and was selected to Global Investigations Review’s 2020 40 Under 40 list of the world’s leading investigations lawyers. Chambers USA recognized Mr. Ridgway as an “up and comer” who is “increasingly called upon to represent clients in high-stakes white-collar proceedings, regularly handling complex investigations and cybersecurity matters.” Clients commented in the publication that Mr. Ridgway is “so smart, so creative and incredible on his feet” and “is detail-oriented, a phenomenal writer and is excellent in court.” He also is named as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America.

Prior to joining Skadden, Mr. Ridgway was an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, where he served as the deputy chief of the National Security and Cybercrimes Section. In this role, he oversaw and managed all of the office’s cybercrime, data breach and intellectual property cases. During this time, Mr. Ridgway also held the positions of national security cyber specialist, computer hacking and intellectual property coordinator, and digital currency coordinator, handling cryptocurrency-related matters.

In his eight years as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Ridgway tried numerous cases and handled a wide range of high-profile cybercrime and intellectual property matters, including the prosecution of an international cybercrime ring responsible for stealing over $100 million, as well as prosecutions of the leaders of two prominent hacking groups for hundreds of cyberattacks that targeted businesses, nonprofits and government bodies around the globe. Mr. Ridgway also led the prosecution of the operators of one of the world’s largest online piracy rings. Other notable matters in which Mr. Ridgway was involved include several national security cases, as well as the prosecutions of a prominent Chicago restaurateur for corporate fraud, a leader of the Mexican Zetas cartel and his associates for money laundering, and an international document fraud ring for racketeering and murder.

Mr. Ridgway also argued a number of cases on appeal before the 7th and 2nd Circuits, including appeals involving matters of national security, the First Amendment and online freedom of speech, and the extraterritorial reach of the racketeering statute.

Mr. Ridgway has received numerous awards and recognition throughout his career, including the Director’s Award for Superior Performance from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys for prosecuting an international racketeering enterprise (2015) and the Chicago Crime Commission’s Stars of Distinction Award for the prosecution of criminal enterprises operating in Chicago (2009 and 2010). He also was selected as a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow in its 2017 class.

Mr. Ridgway also has been a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School since 2011, where he teaches a class on cybercrime.

Scott serves as the Head of Hilgers Graben’s Government Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement practice. Ranked by Chambers & Partners USA as one of the leading lawyers in Texas for White Collar and Government Investigations matters, Scott has a national practice where he routinely advises companies, board and audit committees, auditors, regulated entities, and individuals in connection with government enforcement proceedings, internal investigations, and related litigation. Clients have identified Scott as an “outstanding former SEC lawyer” who is “very smart” and “very practical” in his approach to representing clients. He has successfully represented clients in investigations by, among others, the SEC, DOJ, FINRA, CFTC, and various state regulators and self-regulatory organizations.

Prior to returning to private practice, Scott served for nearly a decade at the SEC in various investigative and supervisory capacities. He held supervisory roles in the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, where he served as Assistant Regional Director for the SEC’s Division of Enforcement covering a four-state region, and as Assistant Director with the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit, a nationwide unit that leads the SEC’s investigations in matters involving the asset management industry. In his management roles, Scott supervised a team of experienced enforcement attorneys and accountants on more than 150 confidential investigations, and his team filed more than 30 SEC enforcement actions against entities and individuals under his leadership that resulted in judgments totaling more than a quarter-billion dollars. During his government service, Scott also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, where he prosecuted crimes involving securities-related misconduct.

As a result of his broad knowledge and experience, Scott is a sought-after speaker, writer, and commentator on various government enforcement and compliance issues. He has been quoted in publications such as Bloomberg, Thompson Reuters, Agenda, Politico, Law360 and Texas Lawbook, and has also authored more than 80 articles and alerts on various government enforcement topics.

Prior to joining Hilgers Graben, Scott was a partner at Holland & Knight where he was Co-Chair of the firm’s Securities Enforcement Defense Team. Before practicing as an attorney, Scott worked as a financial forensic consultant at a Big Four accounting firm.

Alina Fortson is Senior Counsel, ESG on the Global Legal & Compliance team at McDonald’s Corporation. Alina is responsible for advancing McDonald’s ESG strategy and compliance, including advising on matters such as regulated ESG reporting. Throughout her career, Alina has held a number of environmental and regulatory compliance-focused roles at law firms and multi-national companies.

Mr. Kleinrichert is an experienced expert and testifier who has led complex investigations around the world, including North America, South America, India, Asia, and Europe. He has deep experience on a wide range of economic damages issues, including lost profits, diminution in value, royalties, extra costs, market share analyses, and benefit of the bargain. He also testifies on matters related to the valuation of businesses and business interests, data analyses, business interruption, financial and accounting topics, forensic accounting investigations, allegations of fraud, fraudulent transfers, and financial reporting.

Mr. Kleinrichert’s extensive experience includes valuing businesses, business interests, securities, and various intellectual property assets, as well as providing testimony related to valuation opinions. He also testifies and consults on business transaction-related disputes involving working capital, indemnification claims, allegations of fraud related to asset and stock purchase agreements, and solvency.

In addition to serving as a forensic accounting and testifying expert, Mr. Kleinrichert has worked on several matters on behalf of the US Department of Justice and has served as a neutral arbitrator. His industry experience includes automotive, manufacturing, distribution, financial services, real estate, insurance, healthcare, technology, software, and several industrial sectors.

Mr. Kleinrichert is a former member of the AICPA National Fraud Task Force and has been included in Who’s Who Legal’s listings as one of the top forensic accountants, commercial litigation (accountants) thought leaders, and accounting expert witnesses in the world.

David Woodcock is a partner in the Dallas and Washington offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a co-chair of the firm’s Securities Enforcement Practice Group, and a member of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance, Accounting Firm Advisory and Defense; White Collar Defense and Investigations; Energy, Regulation and Litigation; Securities Litigation; and Oil and Gas Practice Groups.
Mr. Woodcock has been recognized as a leading attorney by Chambers, Lawdragon and Super Lawyers, among others. Most recently, he was recognized as one of Lawdragon’s 2023 500 Leading U.S. Energy Lawyers list which recognizes “outstanding elite” attorneys who “apply their knowledge to help old-school and new energy companies finance and build new power sources throughout the world.”
Mr. Woodcock’s background as a CPA, senior officer at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), global law firm partner, and senior in-house corporate attorney at a Fortune 10 company provides a diverse set of experiences and perspectives that are helpful in guiding clients through an array of complex matters. His practice focuses on internal investigations and SEC defense, with a particular emphasis on accounting and financial reporting, corporate compliance, and audit/special committee investigations. Mr. Woodcock regularly advises clients on corporate securities and governance, the role of the board, shareholder activism, and ESG-related issues, including the energy transition, climate disclosures, enterprise risk management practices, cybersecurity, and related U.S./European regulations. He also counsels investment advisors and private equity funds in the context of SEC examinations and investigations, ESG matters, and portfolio due diligence and compliance.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Woodcock was Assistant General Counsel – Corporate at ExxonMobil Corporation, where he led all aspects of corporate, securities, ESG/sustainability, and governance. Before that, he served as Head of Litigation in the Dallas office of an AmLaw 20 law firm. Earlier in his career, Mr. Woodcock served as Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office of the Securities Exchange Commission from 2011 to 2015. In this role, he led over 120 lawyers, accountants, and examiners on all aspects of the SEC’s enforcement and examination activities in four states (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas). During his tenure, Mr. Woodcock helped create, and served as chair of, the cross-office/division Financial Reporting and Audit Task Force, which was designed to enhance the SEC’s detection and prosecution of violations involving accounting and false financial statements. During this time, Mr. Woodcock oversaw investigations in nearly every major area of the SEC’s enforcement program, including public company disclosure and reporting; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA); insider trading; and investigations of SEC registrants. He also served as a member of the Enforcement Advisory Committee. Previously, Mr. Woodcock was an associate, and then partner, in the Austin office of a major law firm from 2001 to 2011.
Mr. Woodcock received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University in 1992. He was a CPA at Ernst & Young and Price Waterhouse for nearly five years before graduating with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 2000. Mr. Woodcock clerked for Judge Howell Cobb in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas from 2000 to 2001 before going into private practice.