Pravin B. Rao

Pravin Rao is a partner in the firm’s Litigation practice and firmwide Co-Chair of the Investigations & White Collar Defense practice.  He is uniquely positioned as both a former Federal and State prosecutor, as well as an SEC enforcement Branch Chief, to provide comprehensive representation and counseling to clients on a wide variety of complex criminal and civil regulatory matters.

Pravin has drawn on his unique securities and commercial fraud background to assist a large number of individuals and Fortune 500 companies respond to government inquiries and conduct internal investigations in significant and sensitive areas, including those with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), financial fraud, and corporate governance issues. Prior to joining Perkins Coie, Pravin served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney where he supervised and developed strategies in investigations that targeted violations of federal criminal law, including commodity and securities fraud, bank fraud, mail/wire fraud, mortgage fraud, bankruptcy fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft, copyright infringement, internet fraud, public corruption, tax offenses, health care fraud, money laundering, arson, narcotics, firearms, civil rights violations, child pornography, perjury and obstruction.  Pravin developed a unique perspective from conducting parallel investigations with the SEC, CFTC, and other regulators in complex cases involving large publicly traded companies, officers and directors, broker-dealers and hedge funds. Pravin has served as "first chair" in numerous jury and bench trials and argued a number of appeals in federal and state courts.

Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Pravin served as an Enforcement Branch Chief with the SEC, where he directed numerous high profile investigations and litigation involving revenue recognition, financial statement and disclosure fraud, insider trading, investment advisory fraud, prime bank and Ponzi schemes, market manipulation, failure to supervise, broker dealer misconduct, and record-keeping, reporting and registration violations. He has maintained his ties to the SEC, having recently served as Regional Chair of the Association of SEC Alumni.

Pravin is a frequent commentator in the press on the government's fraud enforcement efforts and the SEC, especially where these topics intersect the criminal arena, and has been quoted in BusinessWeek, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and other TV and print media. He writes regularly on these same topics and is regularly invited to speak to in-house counsel and industry groups. Pravin has also been retained as an expert witness in civil litigation involving securities issues and in a FINRA arbitration. Recently, Pravin became a court-appointed Examiner in a bankruptcy filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois.

Securities Litigation and  White Collar Defense

• Secured dismissal of SEC insider trading claim in SEC v. Garcia et al on summary Judgment where the SEC alleged defendant traded on inside information ahead of an announced corporate takeover.  Judge ordered release of frozen assets and lifted injunction previously obtained by the SEC
• Successfully represented The Boeing Company and two of its senior executives in the highly-publicized securities class action litigation related to the 787 Dreamliner airplane and obtained the dismissal of the case with prejudice
• Conducted multiple internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies on FCPA, Travel Act, and bribery/corruption issues, and conducted FCPA compliance training for multiple multinational companies.
• Represented multiple companies in disputes related to Auction Rate Securities (ARS)
• Conducted investigation for public company of its options granting practices
• Served as lead counsel for a court-appointed Receiver in a SEC-related matter in Federal Court
• Represented individuals and companies in FINRA investigations
• Represented numerous individuals and companies in criminal matters involving allegations of fraud (mail, wire, securities, bank, mortgage, and tax), money laundering, and criminal forfeiture

• Represented officers and directors in SEC investigations concerning insider trading, Ponzi schemes, internal controls, revenue recognition issues, and investment advisory fraud, while also assessing and dealing with possible criminal exposure 
• Conducted internal investigation for a multinational company in matters involving the FCPA, and provided counsel on both civil and criminal exposure, and effective remediation efforts 
• Provided counseling to counsel for multinational company on FCPA exposure based on recent changes in DOJ/SEC enforcement efforts 
• Represented and counseled individuals facing simultaneous actions by multiple regulators, including the SEC, CFTC, Federal Reserve, IRS, FINRA, Illinois Department of Securities, and various state prosecutors

Professional Recognition

• Listed as an Illinois Super Lawyer as published by Law & Politics, 2010 - 2012
• Rated Superb on Avvo.com 
• Chairman’s Award for Excellence, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Performance Award, U.S. Department of Justice, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Outstanding Service Award, U.S. Internal Revenue Service
• Superior Contribution Award, U.S. Secret Service
• Award for Exceptional Work and Dedication, U.S. Drug Enforcement Admin.
• Outstanding Contribution Award, Illinois Arson Award Committee

Professional Leadership

• Asian American Law Foundation, Board Member
• Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, Board Member
• Association of SEC Alumni (ASECA), Former Regional Chairman
• Loyola University School of Law, Adjunct Faculty, 2001 - 2002
• Asian American Bar Association, Former Board Member and Treasurer

Related Employment

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, Chicago, IL, Assistant U.S. Attorney, 2003 - 2007
• Securities and Exchange Commission, Chicago, IL, Branch Chief, 2000 - 2003; Senior Attorney, 1999 - 2000
• Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Chicago, IL, Assistant State’s Attorney, 1995 - 1999 
• Inland Steel Industries, Chicago, IL, Project Manager/Consultant, 1989 - 1992 
• Emerson Electric Co., St. Louis, MO, Financial Analyst, 1988 - 1989