Overview
Ken Herzinger is the co-chair of the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice at Paul Hastings, based in the firm’s San Francisco office. His practice focuses on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations and enforcement actions, securities litigation, global and domestic internal investigations, and fintech regulatory matters and litigation.
A former SEC Enforcement Division attorney, Ken defends individuals and companies before the SEC and other federal and state agencies.
According to his clients, Ken is the "best SEC lawyer [they] have worked with" and "is an all-around excellent lawyer who deeply understands risks and the sensitivities of corporate investigations."
Ken has 25 years of experience defending companies and individuals in regulatory matters, litigation and investigations concerning a wide range of matters including accounting and financial statement fraud, internal controls, insider trading, cybersecurity, blockchain, cryptocurrency, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Acts whistleblower retaliation claims, and BSA/AML enforcement.
A seasoned securities litigator, Ken has defended officers, directors and companies in dozens of high-stakes securities class actions, derivative actions and M&A litigation. He has tried cases in federal and state court and in arbitration proceedings and was a member of the trial team that obtained a jury defense verdict in one of only 16 securities class action jury trials in the country to be tried to verdict since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act in 1995. Ken has also conducted over 50 global and domestic internal investigations for public and private companies and audit committees regarding myriad issues.
Ken is also a member of the Securities Litigation and Fintech practices of Paul Hastings.
Accolades
- Chambers USA, California Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
- Securities Docket, “Enforcement Elite” (2024)
- The Legal 500 USA, Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense: Advice to Individuals
- Benchmark Litigation Guide, Litigation Star (2023, 2025)
- The Legal 500 USA, Securities: Shareholder Litigation; M&A Litigation
Education
- Seton Hall University School of Law, J.D., 1998
- Clemson University, B.A., English, 1993
Representations
SEC and Regulatory: A former SEC Enforcement Division attorney, Ken has successfully defended corporations, officers and directors, financial institutions, broker-dealers, investment advisers, auditors, government officials and municipalities in dozens of investigations and enforcement proceedings by the SEC, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), State Attorney General offices and self-regulatory organizations, such as FINRA.
Securities Litigation: Ken has successfully defended officers, directors, and public and private companies in dozens of securities class actions, derivative actions and M&A litigation. His representative cases include:
- Represents Dapper Labs, Inc. in Friel v. Dapper Labs Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.)
- Represented Oracle Corporation in In re Cerner Corporation Merger Litigation (S.D.N.Y.)
- Represented the Elastos Foundation in Owen v. Elastos Foundation Securities Class Action (S.D.N.Y.)
- Represented Oracle Corporation in Klein v. Ellison, et al. (N.D. Cal.).
- Represented SandRidge Energy in Gernandt v. SandRidge Energy (W.D. Okla.)
- Represented PwC in In re Metropolitan Securities Litigation (E.D. Wash.)
- Represented Chesapeake Energy Corp. in UFCW v. Chesapeake Securities Class Action (W.D. Okla.)
- Represented PwC in Metropolitan v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (E.D. Wash.)
- Represented Retek Inc. in In re Retek Securities Litigation (D. Minn.)
- Represented Robertson Stephens, Inc. in In re Mutual Fund Trading Securities Litigation (D. Md. MDL)
- Represented Walmart in Furman v. Walton, et al. (N.D. Cal.)
- Represented Ocwen Financial Corporation in Powell et al v. Ocwen Financial Corporation (S.D.N.Y.)
Internal Investigations: Ken has conducted over 50 global and domestic internal investigations for public and private companies and audit committees regarding myriad issues, including accounting fraud, internal controls, disclosures, the FCPA, insider trading and whistleblower retaliation claims. He has conducted investigations in Asia, Europe, Central America and South America.
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: Ken has represented blockchain and cryptocurrency platforms, founders, funds and exchanges in SEC and state regulatory investigations, securities litigation and regulatory compliance matters. He has developed a deep knowledge of blockchain and cryptocurrency and has been working on such matters for several years.
Accolades
- Brad Bondi and Kenneth P. Herzinger Named in Securities Docket’s Enforcement Elite 2024 List - November 11th, 2024
- Paul Hastings Multidisciplinary Litigation Team Once Again Recognized in Benchmark Litigation USA 2025 - October 18th, 2024
- Paul Hastings Recognized in Benchmark Litigation 2023 - October 11th, 2022
Insights
- SEC Division of Examinations: 2025 Examination Priorities - November 11th, 2024
- SEC Decides Not to Seek Supreme Court Review of Decision Vacating Private Fund Rules - September 10th, 2024
- The Consequential Impact of the Supreme Court’s Monumental Ruling in SEC v. Jarkesy - July 11th, 2024
- NDCA’s New Whistleblower Pilot Program: A Unique Focus on Reporting Intellectual Property Theft - April 2nd, 2024
- FinCEN Proposes AML and SAR Filing Obligations for RIAs and ERAs - February 23rd, 2024
- California Passes New ESG Disclosure Laws Ahead of SEC, Triggering Increased Regulatory and Litigation Risk for Companies Doing Business in California - November 28th, 2023
- SEC Cyber Rules Published in Federal Register - August 4th, 2023
- The SEC Adopts Cybersecurity Disclosure Regime for Public Companies - July 26th, 2023
- Top PHive Crypto Enforcement Notes: January Edition - January 13th, 2023
- The SEC Scored Another Crypto Victory in the LBRY Case, but the Sky Is Not Falling - November 14th, 2022
Engagement & Publications
- "SEC suffers judicial setbacks for administrative hearings," Daily Journal (June 2022)
- Quoted in "Digital Assets: What to Do When the SEC Comes Calling," Crowdfund Insider (January 26, 2020)
- Co-author, "Challenging SEC Authority to Enforce the Bank Secrecy Act," Law360 (July 12, 2018)
- Co-author, "SEC's OCIE 2018 Areas of Focus," Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation (March 6, 2018)
- Co-author, "SEC Cybersecurity Enforcement at Watershed Moment: How Companies Should Prepare," Bloomberg Big Law Business (March 6, 2018)
- Co-author, "Government Leaks Lead to Landmark Insider Trading Case," Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation (June 14, 2017)
- Co-Author: "On Tap: The Government's Use of Wiretaps in Insider Trading Prosecutions Shows a Willingness to Use Nontraditional Methods of Investigation," Los Angeles Lawyer (April 2012)
- Presenter, "Bio-Rad: In-House Counsel - Trusted Adviser, Whistleblower or Both?", PLI Institute, On-Demand One-House Briefing, March 24, 2017
- A New Era of Federal Prosecutions: Challenges for Main Street and Wall Street, New York, February 2012
- AICPA Forensic Accounting Conference 2011, Insider Trading Investigations: Best Practices in Internal Investigations, Takeaways from the Rajaratnam Case, and the Government's New Insider Trading Initiatives, Chicago, September 2011
- AICPA Forensic Accounting Conference 2011, Navigational Skills for the Forensic Accountant, Chicago, September 2011