Kevin Askew represents companies, and their officers and directors, in securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, complex business litigation matters, regulatory proceedings, and internal investigations. For nearly two decades, he has litigated matters in federal and state courts around the country, in arbitration, and on appeal.
Kevin has extensive experience defending securities class actions, including on behalf of high-profile clients in the technology and finance sectors. He also regularly represents clients in shareholder derivative suits, including actions alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and failures of oversight.
Kevin has handled a wide range of other complex litigation matters, including contract disputes, civil RICO actions, and cases related to corporate breakups.
Clients also turn to Kevin when they face scrutiny from government regulators. Kevin represents companies, and their officers and directors, when they receive subpoenas in connection with investigations by the SEC and other agencies. And when necessary, Kevin defends his clients in regulatory enforcement actions, including cases brought by the SEC and state Attorneys General.
Kevin devotes significant time to pro bono matters. Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project awarded Kevin its annual Pro Bono Award in recognition of his representation of an asylum seeker in a long-running Immigration Court matter.
Kevin has authored articles on securities-related topics in numerous publications, including the Daily Journal, the National Law Journal, and Bloomberg BNA.
On March 8, 2017, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in Somers v. Digital Realty Trust Inc. that further widened a circuit split on the issue of whether the anti-retaliation provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act apply to whistleblowers who claim retaliation after reporting internally or instead only to those who report information to the SEC. Following the Second Circuit’s 2015 decision in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy LLC, the Ninth Circuit panel held that Dodd-Frank protections apply to internal whistleblowers. By contrast, the Fifth Circuit considered this issue in its 2013 decision in Asadi v. G.E. Energy (USA), LLC and found that the Dodd-Frank anti-retaliation provisions unambiguously protect only those whistleblowers who report directly to the SEC. READ MORE →
