Marc P. Berger is Global Co-Head of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP’s Government and Internal Investigations Practice. Marc was formerly the Acting Director and Deputy Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement and Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, and prior to that the Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. He represents companies, boards and executives, and cryptocurrency market participants in government and internal investigations, regulatory enforcement matters, and high-profile disputes. Marc also advises clients on a range of enforcement and compliance matters, including related to cryptocurrency and other digital assets.
As Acting Director and Deputy Director of Enforcement at the SEC, Marc oversaw thousands of investigations and hundreds of litigations addressing a broad range of securities matters, including issuer disclosure and accounting violations, foreign bribery, investment advisory issues, securities offerings, market manipulation, insider trading, broker-dealer misconduct, cyber threats, initial coin offerings, digital assets and COVID- related fraud. He first joined the SEC as Director of the New York Regional Office, where in addition to supervising all New York enforcement matters, Marc oversaw all of the New York office’s compliance examinations of investment banks, investment advisers, broker-dealers, mutual funds and hedge funds.
As a federal prosecutor, Marc tried 13 cases in district court and as Chief of the SDNY’s Securities Unit he supervised some of the nation’s most significant financial and investment fraud matters, including those related to corporate and accounting fraud, insider trading, market manipulation, and violations of the FCPA. Marc’s SEC and DOJ work involved extensive coordination of cross-border and multi-agency investigations.
In between Marc’s tenures at the SEC and DOJ, Marc was a litigation partner at another international law firm where he represented global financial institutions, public companies, investment firms and individuals in numerous high-profile matters.
Marc is ranked by Chambers USA and Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation, where sources have called him “a wonderful lawyer” who is “extremely knowledgeable,” noting his “strong instincts” and “tremendous perspective on the regulatory landscape.”
Marc received his B.S., with distinction, from Cornell University, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Richard M. Berman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Marc is admitted to practice in New York.
Updated Oct 2024
