Adrien Anderson is a member of the firm’s Securities Enforcement & Litigation practice group. Adrien’s practice consists of representing public and private companies, management, and employees in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations and enforcement proceedings, complex securities litigation, as well as U.S. financial regulatory compliance analysis.
Adrien has served as counsel to commissioners at both the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), allowing her to bring unique knowledge and insights about the priorities and internal workings of these agencies. She has represented clients across multiple industries in federal and state courts, primarily focusing on violations of federal securities law. She has also represented individuals and entities in a variety of professional liability and malpractice matters. Her experience include all phases of litigation including complex discovery, pleadings, dispositive motions, and trial preparation.
Adrien graduated from the University of Denver receiving both her J.D. and M.B.A. While in law school, Adrien served as the editor-in-chief of the Race to the Bottom securities law blog and research assistant to a former PCAOB board member, J. Robert Brown Jr. Additionally, Adrien published The Policy of Determining Significant Policy under Rule 14a-8(i)(7), a law review article analyzing the public policy exception to the ordinary business exclusion of the SEC’s shareholder proposal rules. Her article has been cited by a former Director of Investment Management at the SEC, as well as an SEC Commissioner. She received her B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Colorado - Boulder.
Experience
- Multiple large global asset managers in financial regulatory analysis and compliance work.
- Foreign sovereign investment entity in regulatory opinion memos in compliance with U.S. federal financial regulation.
- Large foreign financial firm in conducting cryptocurrency and carbon markets jurisdictional survey analysis.
- Industry trade organization in ghost writing comment letter to an SEC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
- Manufacturer in an SEC investigation into a private placement.
- Dually registered investment advisor/broker dealer in several parallel customer arbitration and litigation matters deriving from losses in a net-credit-spread options trading strategy.
- Multiple clients in FINRA arbitrations.
- National governing body for the U.S. Olympic Committee in civil litigation for sexual misconduct.
- Securities attorney in malpractice matter arising from a securities transaction resulting in fraud.
- Multiple registered representatives and securities professionals in securities fraud matters.
- Multiple clients, including accountants, attorneys, and board members, in professional liability and malpractice matters.
Perspectives
Credentials
Education
- J.D., University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 2017
- M.B.A., University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, 2017
- B.A., International Affairs, University of Colorado Boulder, 2010
Admissions
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Government & Military Service
- Counsel, Office of Commissioner Allison Herren Lee, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Senior counsel, Office of Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson, Commodity Futures Trading Commission