Crowell & Moring Gains Seasoned Financial Institutions Regulatory Partner Mark Egert

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Apr 26, 2010, 10:19 ET

WASHINGTON, April 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the addition of partner Mark A. Egert to the firm's New York office. Egert will draw upon 15 years of in-house counsel experience to spearhead the firm's regulatory and compliance practice serving broker-dealers, banks, asset management firms, and a variety of alternative investment clients. Egert, who joins from his role as Managing Director & Chief Compliance Officer of Cowen Group, Inc., is also the former Vice President & Associate General Counsel of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and Executive Director & Chief Legal Officer for the Wholesale North America Region of ABN AMRO Bank, N.V.

Egert will be a partner in the firm's Corporate and Financial Services groups, leading the firm's financial institutions regulatory area, as well as a member of the firm's White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group. His significant experience managing regulatory risk, advising on complex legal issues, structuring transactions and creating and implementing sophisticated compliance programs will help Crowell & Moring's financial services clients navigate the changing regulatory climate.

"Mark brings incredible in-house counsel and industry experience to Crowell & Moring's financial services clients, who are faced with complex regulatory, trading and market issues. They're looking for a problem solver, for the kind of practical advisor who can tell them what's coming next and how best to manage it. They get that at the highest level with Mark," said James R. Stuart, chair of Crowell & Moring's Corporate Group.

Through his involvement with SIFMA and other industry groups, Egert has been at the forefront of many cutting-edge issues, commenting on and helping to shape rule proposals and advocating policy initiatives with regulatory authorities and legislative officials. With the government's continued focus on financial regulatory reform, Egert is well positioned to provide timely and insightful guidance to a broad range of financial institutions. He has worked with investment banks, securities firms, hedge funds, registered and unregistered investment companies, asset managers, investment advisors and other alternative investment managers, and appeared before the SEC, FINRA, other self-regulatory organizations and state securities authorities.

At Crowell & Moring, Egert will offer regulatory counsel to U.S. and foreign-based financial institutions on various matters, including advising on transactions, drafting and implementing policies and written supervisory procedures regarding, among other areas, insider trading, information barriers and conflicts of interest, research independence, anti-money laundering, surveillance and detecting and preventing fraud, and improving and auditing internal controls and compliance programs. Additionally, he will assist clients on CEO certifications and annual reviews, regulatory inquiries and investigations, and defending enforcement actions.

According to Egert, "I am extremely excited to join Crowell & Moring because of the entrepreneurial nature of building a regulatory practice. The firm's Corporate, Financial Services and White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement groups offer an impressive platform. I look forward to bringing to bear my capital markets and in-house experience in senior legal and compliance positions to help clients seamlessly complete their transactions, effectively manage regulatory risk, enhance their internal controls and address and resolve their regulatory concerns."

Before joining SIFMA, Egert began his legal career in private practice. He joined ABN AMRO in 1997 before being named Chief Legal Officer in 2001, became Legal & Compliance Director at RBC Capital Markets in 2003 and was appointed as Chief Compliance Officer at Cowen in 2005. Egert earned his J.D., cum laude, from George Washington University Law School, where he served as Notes Editor for the George Washington University Law Review. He received a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Delaware, where he was invited into Phi Beta Kappa.

Crowell & Moring's Corporate Group has recently been ranked by Chambers USA and other leading national and international directories for its transactional and complex agreement work. In recent years, the Group has been ranked among the top 16 law firms in the United States for corporate transactions in the BTI Consulting Group's "Masters of the Deal" report. The firm's Financial Services Group offers an extensive scope of services in a variety of areas, including commercial lending, structured finance, real estate finance, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, and financial institutions litigation.

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with more than 500 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Anchorage, London, and Brussels. Visit Crowell & Moring online at http://www.crowell.com.

Contact: Meredith Reilly, (202) 508-8941, [email protected]

SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP