CFTC Chief Trial Attorney Joins Latham & Watkins

February 29, 2016 -- Latham & Watkins LLP¹ is pleased to announce that Douglas K. Yatter has joined the firm as a partner in the Litigation & Trial Department and as a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice Group and its Financial Institutions and Energy – Oil & Gas Industry Groups.  Yatter joins the New York office after nearly five years in the Division of Enforcement of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where he most recently served as Chief Trial Attorney. 
 
At the CFTC, Yatter was a leader of two of the agency’s highest profile enforcement matters in recent years, including the investigation of the shortfall in customer funds at MF Global Inc. and the ISDAFIX investigation, involving a key benchmark in the interest rate markets. During his tenure, Yatter conducted and supervised investigations and litigation involving a wide range of violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations in the financial and energy sectors, including fraud, manipulation, false reporting, spoofing, trade practice abuses, customer protection and insider trading. His work addressed swaps, futures, and other derivatives across various markets, and it involved coordination with the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other domestic and international authorities.
 
Michèle Penzer, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in New York, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Doug to our New York team. His talents are well known in the legal community, and he joins a strong and deep team of white collar litigators. Our clients will benefit tremendously from Doug’s important agency experience, consummate litigation skills and strategic counsel.”
 
Miles Ruthberg, Chair of the New York Litigation & Trial Department, said: “As one of a small number of former CFTC litigators to enter private practice, Doug provides unique insights into this increasingly influential agency and into enforcement in the broader financial markets and energy sector. His knowledge directly aligns with the needs of our clients, who are now frequently seeking counsel in matters related to the CFTC and commodities regulation.”
 
Rafal Gawlowski, global Co-chair of the Financial Institutions Industry Group and Deputy Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in New York, added: “With the advent of Dodd-Frank and related regulations, the CFTC has become a major financial industry regulator. Latham is committed to providing sophisticated client service in the evolving regulatory environment that leverages the firm’s deep financial industry experience. Doug is an ideal addition to our team who will directly enhance collaboration between our interconnected regulatory and litigation practices.”
 
Yatter said: “It has been a privilege to contribute to the work of a dynamic agency that is reshaping America’s regulatory framework for the derivatives markets. I am delighted to join the outstanding team at Latham & Watkins, where I believe my background will provide a foundation to serve critical needs of the firm’s clients. Latham’s superb track record in white collar investigations and related litigation and regulatory matters is an ideal match for my experience.”
 
Yatter joined the CFTC in 2011 as a Trial Attorney and became a Chief Trial Attorney in 2014. In private practice prior to joining the CFTC, he advised major corporations, boards of directors and individuals in internal and government investigations, including high-profile Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and financial fraud matters. He also represented defendants and plaintiffs in all phases of complex civil litigation, including pre-litigation counseling, trials and appeals, with particular focus on shareholder derivative suits, antitrust matters and transactional disputes.
 
Yatter received his law degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center. He clerked for Judge Dennis Jacobs of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2002 to 2003.

About Latham & Watkins 
Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with more than 2,200 lawyers in its offices located in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, including: Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Century City, Chicago, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Paris, Riyadh, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information on Latham & Watkins, please visit the website at www.lw.com.