Skadden is pleased to announce that Andrew Dean, a former leader in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, and Christopher Mulligan, a former senior advisor in the SEC’s Division of Examinations, have joined the firm as partners. Their arrival further strengthens Skadden’s market-leading SEC regulatory and enforcement capabilities and expands the firm’s ability to advise asset managers, investment advisers, registered funds, private funds and other financial services clients on their most significant regulatory, enforcement and compliance matters.
Mr. Dean, former co-head of the Asset Management Unit in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, joins the firm’s New York office in the White Collar Defense and Investigations Group, focusing on securities enforcement and regulation. With more than a decade of experience at the SEC, he will advise clients on complex investigations and regulatory and enforcement matters across the asset management industry, and on other key areas of SEC enforcement.
Mr. Mulligan, former senior advisor in the SEC’s Division of Examinations and co-coordinator of the agency’s Private Funds Specialized Working Group, joins the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as part of the Investment Management Group. He will represent a wide range of asset managers, as well as middle-market and newly formed advisers, across a suite of regulatory issues. In his role at the SEC, he advised on examinations, rulemaking initiatives and the development of risk alerts and other guidance.
Together, their perspectives give clients a unique 360-degree view of the SEC’s approach and evolving priorities with regard to the asset management industry, from examination and compliance matters to investigations and enforcement. Mr. Dean and Mr. Mulligan’s complementary SEC experience, alongside their deep credibility in the alternative investment and asset management sectors, is a market differentiator that significantly enhances Skadden’s ability to deliver comprehensive guidance and integrated advice tailored for private equity fund sponsors, hedge funds and adjacent regulated entities navigating the broader private capital ecosystem and evolving regulatory landscape.
Mr. Dean and Mr. Mulligan’s experience in asset management examinations and enforcement will further expand Skadden’s private capital advisory team, bringing together lawyers across the firm’s securities enforcement and regulation and investment management practices to provide comprehensive advice across the full life cycle of fund formation and structuring. Their arrival reflects the firm’s continued investment in the private capital arena and builds on the recent addition of investment management partners Robert Griffin, Kapil Vishnu Pandit and Skye Smith, who joined Skadden in June.
“We are thrilled to welcome Andrew and Chris and continue the firm’s strategic growth in the private capital ecosystem,” said Executive Partner Jeremy London. “Their combination of senior SEC experience, deep asset management knowledge and practical understanding of the agency’s regulatory, examination and enforcement priorities is exceptional. They are a natural complement to our existing premier SEC and white collar practice and will enhance the strategic advice we provide to investment management clients navigating an increasingly complex regulatory environment.”
“Skadden has built an outstanding SEC practice, and we are excited to join the firm and build on that strong foundation with a dedicated asset management capability spanning examinations and enforcement,” said Mr. Dean. “The firm’s depth across both litigation and transactional practices creates a tremendous platform for helping asset management clients anticipate regulatory developments, navigate examinations and investigations, and address their most significant regulatory challenges.”
“We have spent our careers working on matters involving the asset management industry, and we look forward to bringing that depth of experience to Skadden and its world-class clients,” said Mr. Mulligan. “Our goal is to help clients stay ahead of the SEC’s priorities and approach examinations, compliance and enforcement matters with a clear understanding of how the agency operates.”
Mr. Dean received his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his B.A. from Fordham University. After law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Leonard B. Sand of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Mr. Mulligan earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from Rockhurst University.