George E. Greer

Partner
Securities Litigation & Regulatory Enforcement
(206) 839-4403
ggreer@orrick.com
Read full biography at www.orrick.com

George Greer, a partner in Orrick's New York and Seattle offices, is a member of the Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Group. Mr. Greer's practice focuses on complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on securities, corporate governance and professional liability for accounting firms, class actions and energy issues. Chambers USA currently reports that "Greer has particular expertise in matters relating to allegations of false accounting and financial reporting." A prior edition of Chambers USA reported that "The market describes him as a 'bright, strategic' lawyer who 'understands how to deal with people effectively' and 'gets great results.'"

Mr. Greer's current matters include the following. 

  • Representation of a Big Four accounting firm in a grand jury investigation.
  • Representation of an investment bank in an action brought by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle seeking to rescind the purchase of more than US$500 million in RMBS certificates.
  • Representation of a Big Four accounting firm in a wage-and-hour class action challenging the exempt status of unlicensed accountants.
  • Representation of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Fortune 500 company in internal investigation concerning FCPA issues.

Mr. Greer has represented issuers, officers, directors, accountants and underwriters in class action securities litigation and in SEC investigations and enforcement proceedings. Mr. Greer’s practice also includes representation of companies, Special Litigation Committees and individuals in corporate governance disputes. He has conducted a number of internal investigations on behalf of boards of directors of both public and private companies. His experience in the energy arena includes the representation of the Bonneville Power Administration in an arbitration involving more than a billion dollars in claimed damages. 

George Greer

Posts by George E. Greer

Scienter

In the SDNY, Hindsight Is No Substitute for Red Flags When Alleging Scienter

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On April 8, 2013, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York granted auditor Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA’s (“DTTC”) motion to dismiss a shareholder class action, finding that plaintiffs failed to sufficiently allege scienter or any misstatements by DTTC pursuant Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act. Plaintiffs alleged that DTTC issued unqualified audit opinions on behalf of its client Longtop from 2009 to 2011. During that period, Longtop reported very strong financial results, which were later revealed to be fraudulently inflated.

In May 2011, DTTC released a public letter of resignation as Longtop’s auditor, disclosing that its second round of bank confirmations were cut short by Longtop’s deliberate interference, that Longtop’s CEO admitted the company’s books were fraudulent, and that DTTC had resigned due to that admission and Longtop’s deliberate interference with its audit. As a result, the NYSE stopped trading on Longtop’s securities and delisted the company.

In dismissing shareholder claims against DTTC, the court applied the stringent test for plaintiffs to meet when alleging scienter against an auditor. Because “an outside auditor will typically not have an apparent motive to commit fraud, and its duty to monitor an audited company for fraud is less demanding than the company’s duty not to commit fraud,” an auditor’s mere failure to identify problems with a company’s internal controls and accounting practices will not constitute recklessness.  Read More

CFTC, SEC

President Barack Obama’s Win Also a Win for the SEC and the CFTC

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) can breathe a little easier after President Barak Obama’s re-election on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, according to legal scholars and attorneys.

Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney voiced his criticisms of the Dodd-Frank Act during the October 3, 2012, presidential debate, promising to repeal and replace Dodd-Frank. While the political climate in the United States Congress made repeal of Dodd-Frank unlikely, Romney’s administration may have eliminated or weakened provisions of the Act, appointed SEC and CFTC heads who were less interested in aggressive enforcement, and reduced both agencies’ funding.

Legal scholars and attorneys predict that President Obama’s re-election will allow the SEC and the CFTC to continue their aggressive enforcement campaigns of 2011. President Obama’s re-election is particularly important for the CFTC, which Dodd-Frank awarded new oversight powers. The Romney administration may have eliminated key provisions of the Act, returning the CFTC to the limited role it exercised under President George W. Bush. Under President Obama, the CFTC is likely to continue its expanded watchdog role and receive the funding necessary to do so. Read More

CFTC

CFTC Tightens Hold on Swap Participants

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On September 10, 2012, the CFTC issued rules mandating new record-keeping and registration requirements for swap dealers and major swap participants in the $700 trillion derivative global market. The rules were published in the Federal Register on September 11, 2012 and will take effect on November 13, 2012. The issuance finalizes rules adopted in a 5 to 0 CFTC vote on August 27, 2012. The rules were issued under Section 731 of the Dodd Frank Act, which amended the Commodity Exchange Act to require the adoption of standards relating to the confirmation, processing, netting, documentation, and valuation of swaps. Through these regulations, CFTC aims to effectively regulate swap dealers and major swap participants, and impose rigorous clearing and trade execution requirements on a previously unchecked derivatives market.

A swap is a derivative product in which counterparties exchange the cash flows of their financial instrument for the cash flows of the other party’s instrument. Swaps can include currency swaps, interest rates swaps, and, more recently, credit default swaps.

The final rules require swap dealers and major swap participants to timely and accurately confirm swap transactions by the end of the first business day following the date of execution. The rules also mandate portfolio reconciliation on a daily, weekly, and quarterly basis, and portfolio compression as a risk management tool. Furthermore, swap dealers and participants must now establish and enforce policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that each dealer and participant and its counterparties agree to all of the terms in the swap trading relationship documentation. The rules also require dealers and participants to agree with their counterparties regarding the methods, procedures, rules, and inputs for swap valuations. Read More

SEC

New SEC Rule Requires Securities Exchanges and FINRA to Work Together to Improve Monitoring of Trading Activity in the U.S.

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On July 11, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a new rule, which will require the national securities exchanges and self-regulatory organizations like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to establish a market-wide consolidated audit trail. The new consolidated audit trail will improve regulators’ ability to monitor and analyze trading activity. With the approval of Rule 613, the exchanges and FINRA must jointly submit to the SEC a comprehensive plan of how they plan to develop, implement, and maintain the consolidated audit trail. Rule 613 also requires that the consolidated audit trail collect and identify every order, cancellation, modification, and trade execution for all exchange-listed equities and equity options in all U.S. markets. Read More