Ivan Knauer
Partner, Commercial Litigation Practice Group
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Ivan B. Knauer is a partner in the Commercial Litigation Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton LLP, resident in the Washington office. Mr. Knauer focuses his practice on securities litigation and enforcement. He also is a member of the firm’s White Collar and Corporate Investigations Practice Group.
Mr. Knauer rejoined Pepper in early 2008 from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), where he held a senior staff position as Vice President and Managing Trial Counsel in the Department of Enforcement. He had been a partner with Pepper from 2003 until 2005, and he also has practiced with other major law firms. Earlier in his career, he served as senior counsel in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division, where he led investigations into insider trading, sales practices involving mutual funds and other securities law violations. He also has served as a special assistant district attorney in Massachusetts.
Mr. Knauer represents public companies, broker-dealers, investment companies, investment advisers and individuals in class actions and arbitrations, and in enforcement matters brought by the SEC, FINRA and other regulatory bodies. He also counsels financial institutions on regulatory compliance matters.
The following engagements are representative of Mr. Knauer’s practice. He has:
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• represented a broker at trial against FINRA in a matter involving trading in accounts held
away from his firm
• wrote amici curiae brief for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and
Futures Industry Association in appeal to the Second Circuit in Gredd v. Bear Stearns on the
issue of whether a clearing broker was an “initial transferee” and could be ordered to return
to a customer’s estate money invested and lost by the customer who was running a Ponzi
scheme
• represented large investors seeking to recover money invested in alleged Ponzi schemes
• served as an expert witness in a federal court action involving insider trading (U.S. Dist.
Ct., MD)
• conducted an internal investigation on behalf of the audit committee of a public company
regarding allegations made by a whistleblower that the company president made false and
misleading statements at an analysts’ conference
• conducted an internal investigation of a broker-dealer regarding possible insider trading
based on confidential information about the departure of a profitable trading desk
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• conducted an internal investigation on behalf of the audit committee of a bank regarding
alleged insider trading by one or more board members
• conducted an internal investigation regarding possible insider trading at a broker-dealer due
to a potential breach of “Chinese Wall” procedures
• won an SEC administrative trial on behalf of a former president of a broker-dealer involving
whether the president violated the terms of a prior suspension order imposed by the SEC
• represented several brokers and their branch manager in connection with an NASD
investigation regarding possible unsuitable sales of CMOs; the staff declined to pursue the
matter after testimony and meetings with the staff
• represented an investment adviser and its officers in connection with an SEC investigation
regarding whether the adviser complied with its fiduciary duty when allocating shares of
“hot” initial public offerings to its clients
• represented an options dealer in connection with an SEC investigation regarding
interpositioning of trades on regional exchanges
• represented a branch manager of a broker-dealer in connection with an SEC investigation
regarding market timing and late trading; the staff declined to pursue the matter after
receiving a Wells Submission
• represented a mutual fund complex and a portfolio manager in connection with an SEC
investigation regarding market timing and late trading
• represented a mutual fund complex in connection with an SEC investigation regarding
revenue sharing; the staff declined to pursue the matter after testimony and meetings with
the staff
• won dismissal of a securities class action complaint against the independent directors of a
government-sponsored mortgage enterprise (U.S. Dist. Ct., D.C.)
• won dismissal of a securities class action complaint against a public company and its inside
directors alleging improper use of the percentage of completion method of accounting to
recognize revenue (U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D.N.Y.)
• defeated class certification on standing grounds against investors in two out of four mutual
funds in a securities class action alleging improper valuation of senior secured floating-rate
loans in a mutual fund portfolio; the case later settled on favorable terms (U.S. Dist. Ct.,
D. Mass.)
• won dismissal of a securities class action complaint against a high-yield bond fund alleging
failure to disclose risks in the fund’s prospectus; won partial summary judgment on the
amended complaint and settled the case on favorable terms (U.S. Dist. Ct., D. Mass.)
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• won a AAA arbitration on behalf of a broker-dealer and sponsor of a wrap fee mutual fund
program against a sub-adviser regarding each party’s fiduciary duty vis à vis the client with
respect to participation in a tender offer for a foreign security.
Mr. Knauer is a frequent speaker and author on securities enforcement, litigation and compliance
issues. His recent publications include:
• “The Law is the Law (Unless and Until it Changes): Broker Does Not Owe Fiduciary Duty
to Purchaser of Variable Life Insurance” (co-author), Financial Services Alert, Pepper
Hamilton LLP (September 21, 2009)
• “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: Recent Regulatory Initiatives Regarding Sales to
Seniors” (co-author), Securities Regulation Law Journal (Winter 2008)
• “SIFMA and FIA File Brief as Amici Curiae in Appeal to Second Circuit of Decision
Holding that Broker-Dealer Had ‘Dominion and Control’ over Hedge Fund Account”
(co-author), Client Alert, Pepper Hamilton LLP (November 19, 2008)
• “Now Is the Time for Compliance: SEC Official Provides List of Exam Focus Areas”
(co-author), Financial Services Alert, Pepper Hamilton LLP (October 21, 2008)
• “SEC Fines Broker-Dealer $275,000 for Failing to Safeguard Customer Information”
(co-author), Securities Enforcement Alert, Pepper Hamilton LLP (September 23, 2008)
• “Proposed SEC Rule Would Streamline Insider Trading Surveillance, Investigation and
Enforcement, ” Securities Enforcement Alert, Pepper Hamilton LLP (September 12, 2008).
His recent speaking engagements include:
• “Who is a Senior, and What Are the Regulatory Issues?,” National Society of ComplianceProfessionals Annual Meeting, October 5-7, 2009, Philadelphia, PA.
Mr. Knauer received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983, and his law degree from the New York University School of Law in 1989. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts and New York.