In another prominent white-collar defense hire, King & Spalding has recruited Aaron Lipson as a partner after he stepped down in December as the SEC's head of enforcement for the Atlanta regional office.

Lipson joined King & Spalding's special matters and government investigations practice on Jan. 3, handling securities enforcement matters.

His arrival follows the firm's key additions last year, including former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and John Horn, both previously a U.S. attorney in Atlanta.

“King & Spalding has put together a deep bench of incredibly experienced and well-regarded practitioners in securities enforcement and white-collar law,” Lipson said.

“It's a really unique opportunity to join a practice group this strong with attorneys this well-regarded to work and learn from them,” said Lipson, an Atlanta native. “To have that opportunity, while staying in Atlanta, is an opportunity I can't pass up.”

In a statement, Wick Sollers, the head of King & Spalding's government matters practice, which includes white-collar defense, called Lipson a “very significant addition to our securities enforcement practice. He's well respected and has experience overseeing and conducting investigations in all facets of the SEC's enforcement program.”

Lipson, 42, joined the SEC as a staff attorney in 2004 after four years as an associate at Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs. In 2016, he became the Atlanta office's associate regional director for enforcement, supervising a team of about 60 attorneys, accountants and staff investigating securities law violations. The Atlanta office at the SEC, he said, handles a larger number of Ponzi scheme, unregistered note offerings and other fraudulent offerings than other SEC offices in general, along with allegations of financial fraud, market manipulations and insider trading.

While at the SEC, Lipson oversaw an investigation leading to 2017 claims against SunTrust Investment Services for collecting more than $1.1 million in excess fees by recommending higher fee mutual funds when cheaper shares of the funds were available.  The investment adviser settled for more than $1.1 million.

Several of the big cases Lipson oversaw or investigated over his SEC career arose from the 2008 financial meltdown, such as a fraud case against Bank of America and two subsidiaries over an $855 million offering of high risk residential mortgage-backed securities.

He led another case against 11 former Superior Bank executives and board members in 2016, alleging they misled investors and bank regulators through schemes to conceal the extent of loan losses in the wake of the financial crisis. The Birmingham-based bank failed in 2011.

SEC Atlanta regional director Richard Best has not yet named Lipson's successor. SEC ethics rules bar Lipson from appearing or practicing before the SEC for a year.

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