Former Treasury Official Amir-Mokri Rejoins Skadden

NEW YORK – December 3, 2014 – Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP announced today that Cyrus Amir-Mokri, former Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of Treasury, has rejoined the firm as a partner in the New York office. Mr. Amir-Mokri will resume his complex litigation and advisory practice.

Mr. Amir-Mokri was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions in November 2011, a position he held until April 2014. Before serving at Treasury, Mr. Amir-Mokri was Senior Counsel to the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009-2011.

During his service at Treasury and the CFTC, Mr. Amir-Mokri was intimately involved in both the passage and implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and other aspects of financial reform.  In addition to working with U.S. and non-U.S. financial regulatory agencies on issues of financial stability, market structure, and safety and soundness, Mr. Amir-Mokri was responsible for developing and coordinating Treasury’s policy on insurance, consumer financial services, and cybersecurity. 

At Skadden, Mr. Amir-Mokri will represent clients in complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation and investigations, with a focus on matters relating to the financial services sector. He also will provide strategic advice regarding global regulatory and operational risk matters.      

"Navigating myriad global regulatory and enforcement regimes continues to be the most challenging issue facing financial institutions," said Eric J. Friedman, Skadden's executive partner. "Cyrus is uniquely positioned to provide our clients with practical guidance on the evolving nature of global financial services regulation and enforcement." 

At Treasury, Mr. Amir-Mokri’s most recent policy development efforts focused on the impact of emerging information and telecommunications technology on the financial services sector. In particular, he supervised Treasury’s efforts to develop a framework for cybersecurity policy and to coordinate the federal government’s response to incidents in the financial sector.

"Cyrus' experience handling regulatory and operational issues and his ability to navigate emerging risks, such as those associated with information security and cross-border transactions, will be of utmost value to our clients," said David M. Zornow, global head of Skadden's Litigation/Controversy practices. "Combined with his previous litigation experience as a Skadden partner, Cyrus' public service experience makes him an ideal fit for our practice and we are thrilled to welcome him back to the firm." 

"I'm extremely pleased to return to Skadden, and look forward to assisting clients on how best to manage their most challenging strategic and litigation concerns, regulatory matters and operational risk issues," said Mr. Amir-Mokri. "The firm's breadth of practice, international platform and reputation for client service are unparalleled."

Mr. Amir-Mokri received his A.B. in biochemistry from Harvard University in 1986 and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. A recipient of a Mellon Foundation dissertation year fellowship, Mr. Amir-Mokri authored a doctoral dissertation on Iranian constitutional history before receiving his J.D. from University of Chicago Law School in 1995. He later served as law clerk to the Honorable Bruce M. Selya of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Mr. Amir-Mokri is a recipient of the Treasury's Alexander Hamilton Award. He was included on the Carnegie Corporation's "Great Immigrants: the Pride of America" list in 2012 and is also a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Mr. Amir-Mokri is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.