With an international bent, a sole location in Washington, D.C., and a government-focused revenue generation strategy, midsize powerhouse Miller & Chevalier knows how its bread is buttered. This week the firm is leaning further into that mandate with the addition of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's former international affairs chief, Paul Leder, as of counsel in its litigation practice.

"Obviously I'm looking forward," Leder said about the move. Citing the firm's deep bench and expertise, he said Miller & Chevalier "has proven itself exceptional in working with clients" on both domestic and international issues.

As director of the Office of International Affairs, Leder led the SEC's cross-border enforcement and regulatory program from 2014 to 2018. There he worked closely with foreign regulators in cross-border investigations and provided policy advice to foreign governments and organizations regarding compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-bribery laws, according to a firm release.

"I've known Paul for years and am excited to get the chance to now work with him," Andrew Wise, chairman of Miller & Chevalier's litigation department, said in a statement. "Paul is an excellent lawyer and first-rate advocate, but he's also someone that enjoys digging into the law and thinking deeply about complex issues."

While he has spent the last four years in public service, Leder is not worried about obstacles in developing a book of business. He said he plans to rely on his 30-plus years of connections in the legal industry as well as Miller & Chevalier's strong reputation to build his client base.

Leder has been back and forth between the public and private sectors over the years. Before his stint at the SEC, Leder had been a partner at Richards Kibbe & Orbe from 1999 to 2014. That private-sector chapter was predated by Leder's first stop at the SEC from 1987 to 1999.

Leder said it was interesting to go back to the SEC in 2014 after close to 15 years in private practice to see how the office he helped start had evolved. But after four plus years there it was time to move on.

"Typically at that higher level, people stay between two and five years," Leder said. "It was the right time to leave."

Leder said the reason the SEC hired him in the first place was that it lacked trial experience internally. During that initial time at the SEC, Leder started as a trial lawyer in the division of enforcement and later joined the trial unit after the SEC received penalty authority. There he co-counseled the SEC's first jury trial.

Though formed in 1934, the SEC didn't obtain civic penalty authority until the Insider Trading Sanctions Act of 1984. And it wasn't until 1990 that Congress expanded that power and gave the agency the ability to seek civil monetary penalties for federal securities law violations.

Leder began his legal career with six years in the public defender's office in D.C.  According to a firm release, Leder is the seventh attorney at the firm that spent time in the D.C. PDS, including litigation chairman Wise.

Founded in 1920, Miller & Chevalier will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year. Relatively small in number of attorneys (88, including Leder, according to ALM data), the firm punches up, representing "more than 40 percent of the Fortune 100, one-quarter of the Fortune 500, and approximately 30 percent of the Global 100", according to a firm release.

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Miller & Chevalier Taps New Leader Ahead of 100-Year Milestone