Charles D. Riely, a former assistant regional director of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, has joined Jenner & Block as a partner in New York. He is a member of the firm’s Investigations, Compliance and Defense Practice.

As an assistant regional director for the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, Riely led teams of lawyers conducting investigations and litigations out of the New York Regional Office and Market Abuse Unit. Riely’s matters at the SEC generally entailed highly complex issues and included some of the most significant actions filed by the SEC during his tenure. These included matters against large hedge funds for insider trading, valuation fraud and other violations. He was also one of the original members of the Market Abuse Unit and worked on a number of market manipulation cases as well as cases involving dark pools.

“Charles’ experience and accomplishments at the SEC are notable and we are pleased to have him join in our long tradition of bringing professionals with public sector experience to the firm,” said Jenner & Block Managing Partner Terrence J. Truax. “He will provide significant bench strength to our globally recognized Investigations, Compliance and Defense Practice.”

Riely coordinated investigations with the US Department of Justice and worked on more than a dozen publicly filed SEC enforcement actions in which criminal authorities filed a parallel case. He also gained extensive experience working with international enforcement officials as well as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the New York Stock Exchange and other domestic agencies. He also consulted extensively with the compliance examiners and other professionals that conduct compliance inspections and examinations of regulated investment advisers and broker-dealers in the New York region.

Before joining the SEC, Riely was in private practice focusing on general litigation, with an emphasis on government investigations and commercial litigation. He represented clients in investigations conducted by the SEC, various US Attorneys’ Offices, the New York State Attorney General’s Office and FINRA and participated in all aspects of civil litigation.