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Pravin Rao
- Chicago
- Washington, D.C.
A former federal prosecutor and SEC enforcement branch chief, Pravin defends and counsels clients in criminal, regulatory, and civil litigation matters.
Informed by his experience with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Pravin Rao represents companies, boards, and senior executives in high-stakes criminal and regulatory matters. These include cross-border government inquiries and proceedings, internal investigations, cybersecurity matters, and other litigation. He assists clients in inquiries by the DOJ, SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state attorney general offices, and other governmental and self-regulatory agencies.
Pravin helps clients with issues related to accounting and financial fraud, foreign and domestic bribery and corruption, and Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions. He also handles matters involving money laundering, bankruptcy fraud, insider trading and other securities fraud, cyber breaches, ransomware attacks, data privacy, tax fraud, the False Claims Act, and related civil litigation.
Pravin was chosen by the DOJ and SEC in a multiyear appointment as a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) monitor of a large multinational corporation, overseeing, evaluating, and testing its anti-corruption compliance program. He has also served as a court-appointed examiner in a federal bankruptcy proceeding where he was tasked with investigating a company's pension program. In his role as an assistant U.S. attorney, Pravin supervised and developed strategies in investigations that targeted violations of federal criminal laws. He conducted parallel investigations with civil regulatory agencies in complex cases involving large publicly traded companies, officers and directors, broker-dealers, investment advisors, and hedge funds. He also first-chaired numerous jury trials and argued appeals in both federal and state courts.
Education & Credentials
Education
- University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., 1995
- Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School, M.B.A., Finance, 1989
- University of Michigan, B.S., Pure Mathematics, 1987
Bar and Court Admissions
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Illinois
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District of Columbia
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - Trial Bar
Related Employment
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, Chicago, IL, Assistant U.S. Attorney, 2003-2007
- U.S. 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 Inc., Chicago, IL, Business Strategy & Operations, 1989-1992
- Emerson Electric Co., St. Louis, MO, Financial Analyst, 1988-1989
Professional Recognition
Listed in Best Lawyers in America: Criminal Defense: White-Collar, 2019-2024
Consistently listed in Benchmark Litigation: Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys as a "Litigation Star" in National White-Collar Crime/Enforcement/Investigations
Ranked by Chambers USA as "America's Leading Lawyer" for White Collar Crime & Government Investigations, 2013-2024
Listed as an Illinois Super Lawyer as published by Super Lawyers Magazine, 2010-2022, 2024
Named to the Lawyers of Color Power List, 2020
Rated Superb on Avvo.com
"Chairman’s Award for Excellence," U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
"Performance Award," U.S. Department of Justice
"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 Administration
"Outstanding Contribution Award," Illinois Arson Award Committee
*The Supreme Court of Illinois does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no certificate, award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.
Impact
Professional Leadership
- Member of the CJA panel for the Northern District of Illinois representing criminal defendants in Federal Court as court-appointed counsel, 2017-2024
- University of Illinois College of Law Dean’s Advisory Board, 2020-2024
- Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate & Securities Law Institute, Executive Committee, 2018 -2024; Planning Committee, 2017-2018
- Lawyers-Lend-A-Hand, Treasurer, 2021-2023, Board of Directors, 2017-2023
- The Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, Board Member, 2016-2020
- Law360 White Collar Editorial Advisory Board, Member, 2015-2016
- Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, Former Board Member
- Asian American Law Foundation, Former Board Member
- Association of SEC Alumni (ASECA), Former Regional Chairman
- Asian American Bar Association, Former Board Member and Treasurer
Insights
News
Professional Experience
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.
- Represented Google in negotiating a NPA (non-prosecution agreement) with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island related to Canadian online pharmacy ads.
- Represented multiple companies in disputes related to Auction Rate Securities (ARS).
- 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 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.
- Represented multiple school districts in DOJ and SEC investigations involving issuance of municipal bonds. All matters, including some post-Wells with the SEC, resulted in no enforcement action.
DOJ, SEC, CFTC & Other Regulatory Investigations
- Represented officer at Investment Advisor in SEC investigation of investment in $800 million fraudulent scheme. Successfully argued for no enforcement action following a Wells Notice.
- Represented a trading firm and traders in DOJ and CFTC inquiries relating to alleged “spoofing” violations.
- Represented a proprietary trading group in a CFTC investigation concerning alleged “wash trades.” Enforcement staff determined not to pursue action against our client.
- 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.
- Represented a Mexican corporation in connection with a DOJ investigation into alleged money laundering that was ultimately closed with no adverse action taken.
- Represented Mexican corporation in securing release of an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blocking order.
- Represented multiple corporations in SEC and DOJ investigations related to data privacy and security issues involving their users’ information and content.
Internal Investigations & Compliance
- 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.
- Conducted internal investigations for a multinational Fortune 500 company involving antitrust issues and the FTC; provided counsel on both civil and criminal exposure and effective remediation efforts.
- Conducted investigation for public company of its options granting practices.
- Provided counseling to counsel for multinational company on FCPA exposure based on recent changes in DOJ/SEC enforcement efforts.
- Conducted internal investigation for U.S. multinational corporation on money laundering, import/export trade, possible violation of local laws, and other compliance issues in Mexico, and advised on potential civil litigation exposure.
- Advised U.S. multinational on multiple compliance issues in Mexico, including OFAC, anti-bribery, and money laundering.
- Conducted internal investigations and risk assessments for U.S. multinational corporation in Argentina related to anti-bribery, books and records, and import/export issues.