Charles F. Walker
Partner
Government Enforcement Matters
T: 1.202.371.7862
F: 1.202.661.9162
Charles F. Walker is a partner in the firm’s Securities Enforcement and Compliance practice. A former prosecutor and regulator, he regularly represents corporations, their officers, directors and employees in SEC investigations, as well as investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal and state enforcement agencies. Mr. Walker also frequently represents public company boards and audit committees in internal investigations in response to allegations of accounting irregularities, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other misconduct. In addition, Mr. Walker has substantial experience representing accounting firms and individuals in SEC and PCAOB investigations and enforcement proceedings.
Mr. Walker’s engagements include the representation of a financial services firm in an SEC investigation stemming from the agency’s subprime enforcement initiative; successfully defending a bank holding company in connection with SEC allegations of financial statement fraud; representation of a major accounting firm in investigations by the SEC and PCAOB involving a company in the financial services industry; and defending a foreign private issuer in a concurrent SEC/U.S. Department of Justice inquiry. Mr. Walker also is representing various individuals in financial accounting and insider trading investigations by the SEC.
Mr. Walker rejoined Skadden, Arps after serving as securities commissioner for the State of Delaware from 1996 to 1999. Earlier in his career, he served as a deputy attorney general for the State of Delaware and special counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission.
During his tenure as the Delaware securities commissioner, Mr. Walker oversaw the civil, administrative and criminal enforcement programs of the Delaware Securities Division and served as a member of the North American Securities Administrators Association Corporation Finance Section. Prior to his appointment as securities commissioner, Mr. Walker was a deputy attorney general in the Felony Trial Unit of the Delaware Department of Justice. Previously, as special counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of General Counsel, Mr. Walker litigated matters on behalf of the SEC in federal district court and the U.S. courts of appeals.
Mr. Walker has authored numerous articles on state and federal securities law issues.
Bar Admissions
Education
J.D., New York University School of Law, 1984
M.A., Northwestern University, 1980
B.A., Boston University, 1979 (magna cum laude)
Associations
Member, Board of Directors of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Government Service
Securities Commissioner, State of Delaware (1996-1999)
Deputy Attorney General, State of Delaware (1993-1996)
Litigation Section, Office of the General Counsel, Securities and Exchange Commission (1989-1990)
Authorships
“The SEC Enforcement Process: Practice and Procedure in Handling an SEC Investigation” (BNA 2011)
“SEC Enforcement Trends,” Enforcement 2011: Multi-Agency Enforcement Efforts in the New Decade (PLI 2011)
“Conducting an Internal Investigation” (Federated Press 2010)
“SEC Enforcement Trends,” Securities Litigation and Enforcement Institute (PLI 2008)
"The SEC Enforcement Process: Practice and Procedure in Handling an SEC Investigation in the Sarbanes-Oxley Era" (BNA 2007)
"Internal Investigations and the Defense of Corporations in the Sarbanes-Oxley Era," The Business Lawyer, November 2006
"The SEC Enforcement Process: Practice and Procedure in Handling an SEC Investigation After Sarbanes-Oxley," The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., November 2005
“Current Developments in SEC Enforcement,” 37th Annual Institute on Securities Regulation (PLI 2005) (Co-author)
“SEC Enforcement After Sarbanes-Oxley,” Coping with Broker/Dealer Regulation & Enforcement (PLI 2004) (Co-author)
“SEC Enforcement in the New Environment,” Securities Litigation and Enforcement Institute (PLI 2003) (Co-author)
“Delaware’s Response to the Increased Enforcement Responsibilities of State Securities Regulators: A Comprehensive Revised Regulatory Scheme,” Delaware Law Review (1999)
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