Patrick T. Murphy

For over two decades, Mr Patrick T. Murphy has been involved in high-stakes securities law matters, both in private practice and through government service. After beginning his practice as a securities litigator at large international law firms in New York and San Francisco, he joined the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the San Francisco Regional Office in 2000. As a S.E.C. Branch Chief, he oversaw attorneys and accountants in the investigation and litigation of matters in the Division of Enforcement, including complex financial and accounting fraud, misconduct by investment advisers and broker-dealers, FCPA, insider trading, securities offering fraud and market manipulation schemes. The majority of his cases involved close coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice on concurrent federal criminal investigations.

While at the S.E.C., Mr. Patrick T. Murphy was responsible for leading some of the most significant enforcement matters in California and the Pacific Northwest. Some of his notable matters include:

• Leading a landmark investigation resulting in the first financial fraud charges in the country for options backdating in S.E.C. v. Reyes, and a negotiated settlement imposing the first penalty against a public company for options backdating fraud.
• Brought charges against former general counsel of a public company in one of the first post-Sarbanes-Oxley “gatekeeper” cases against an attorney.
• Successfully tried an insider trading case to verdict in a two-week jury trial, as well as three successful bench trial verdicts.
• Led successful investigation of one of the largest financial collapses in the history of Washington State leading to multi-jurisdictional civil and criminal charges against top officers and broker-dealers at Metropolitan Mortgage for accounting and sales practice fraud.
• In S.E.C. v. Martin, et al., led investigation of complex offering fraud in the municipal bond industry leading to civil and criminal charges against 8 individuals and 5 entities, including underwriter, bond counsel and disclosure counsel.
• Investigation of financial fraud involving cost accounting concluding in significant settlement with former CFO of leading Silicon Valley technology company.
• Parallel criminal and civil charges for revenue recognition fraud involving round-trip transactions against CEO and CFO of San Jose technology company; in related action brought aiding and abetting charges against third party customer.

After leaving the S.E.C. in 2008, Mr. Patrick T. Murphy practiced at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr in its Palo Alto Office where he led internal investigations, represented clients in S.E.C. investigations and grand jury investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, actively litigated matters against the S.E.C. and the California Attorney General’s Office, provided clients with securities trading and compliance counseling and handled complex business litigation.

Mr. Patrick T. Murphy graduated from Brown University in 1990 with an A.B. in Semiotics and received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1994. He is admitted to practice law in both New York and California, and federal courts throughout the country.