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Overview
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Experience
Introduction
Lee has devoted his 45-year career to representing clients in litigation involving their most consequential matters.
Lee S. Richards III represents businesses, corporate boards, and individuals in white-collar criminal defense, securities enforcement defense, regulatory proceedings, internal investigations, and complex commercial litigations. He has extensive experience representing investment banks, hedge funds, public companies, investment advisers, corporate officers and directors, and other professionals in investigations and proceedings. These include matters before the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, New York Attorney General’s Office, New York District Attorney’s Office, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and other governmental entities and self-regulatory agencies. He also has significant trial experience in both criminal and civil matters.
Lee has served as the receiver in cases involving Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC and Westgate Capital Management, LLC. He was also appointed by the federal district court to serve as independent examiner for Computer Associates International, Inc. Lee leads Ashurst Perkin Coie's independent compliance consultant team for J.P. Morgan. He has also served as SEC special compliance counsel, receiver, and trustee in the liquidation of five securities firms, as well as three major insider trading cases.
A former assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Lee handled major prosecutions of insider trading and securities fraud, including the first successful criminal prosecution of an insider trading case in U.S. history. In that high-profile securities fraud case, he helped develop the misappropriation theory of insider trading still prevalent today.
Chambers USA has ranked Lee as a leading individual in white-collar and government investigations for 16 consecutive years and as a leading individual in securities regulation-enforcement from 2011 to 2025. He is also a fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel.
Education & credentials
- Columbia University School of Law, J.D., 1975
- Amherst College, B.A., summa cum laude, 1972
- New York
- Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP, New York, NY, Partner, 1990-2020
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, New York, NY, Assistant U.S. Attorney, 1977-1983
- Hon Milton PollackU.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Professional recognition
Ranked by Chambers USA as “America’s Leading Lawyer" for Litigation: White Collar & Government Investigations, 2007-2026; Securities Regulation: Enforcement, 2011-2026
Listed in Best Lawyers in America®: Bet-the-Company Litigation; Corporate Compliance Law; Corporate Governance Law; Criminal Defense: White-Collar, 2006-2026; Commercial Litigation, 2023-2026
Listed in Who’s Who Legal: Business Crime Defence, 2021-2022
Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Law Journal, 2018
American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Second Circuit, 2015
Top 50 Litigation Trailblazers & Pioneers by The National Law Journal, 2014
National Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, 2014-2019
Leading Lawyers by The Legal 500 in the area of Litigation: White Collar Criminal Defense, 2008-2021
Selected by Super Lawyers Magazine as a New York Super Lawyer, 2006-2025
Impact
- Federal Bar Council Inn of Court, President Emeritus
- Jazz Foundation of America Board of Directors, Member
- Columbia School of International and Public Affairs on corporate governance, Guest Lecturer
- Fordham Law School, Former Adjunct Professor
- American Inns of Court Board of Trustees, Former Member
- Advisory Board, Brennan Center for Justice, Former Member
- Represented a British interdealer broker in the global investigations into LIBOR fixings and the ISDAFX benchmark.*
- Represented several major New York investment banks in a variety of DOJ, SEC, and FINRA investigations, including investigations regarding internet gambling, securities lending, the accuracy of SEC filings by a company underwritten by a global bank, auction rate securities, and interpositioning.*
- Represented a major international bank in the DOJ and SEC investigations of a major energy, commodities, and services company.*
- Represented a global bank in the DOJ investigation of false statements by portfolio managers of an acquired subsidiary.*
- Represented an Argentinian sports marketing company in the FIFA investigation.*
- Represented several New York city officials in public corruption investigations.*
- Represented a senior attorney in the federal investigation of a leader of the New York state senate.*
*Prior experience
- Represented a global hedge fund in an insider trading investigation conducted by France’s stock market regulator.*
- Represented the audit committee of a public global hedge fund in an FCPA investigation.*
- Represented a New York hedge fund in an extensive insider trading investigation conducted by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office.*
*Prior experience
- Represented a global law firm in an internal investigation into alleged corruption by a partner.*
- Represented a global law firm and its counsel in the investigation of bribery by the Connecticut state treasurer.*
- Represented a global law firm in an investigation by the New York attorney into allegations of self-dealing by a nonprofit client of the firm.*
- Represented in-house attorneys in a variety of security fraud and money laundering investigations.*
*Prior experience
- Represented various audit committees for public companies including a major business information company, a media company, a branding company, a large software company, and a large real estate investment trust (REIT) in investigations of accounting and disclosure fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, trading violations, and embezzlement.*
- Represented a major pharmaceutical company in a Midwest Medicare investigation conducted by the DOJ.*
- Represented a special committee for an investigation of a shareholder demand regarding the bank’s anti-money laundering (AML) procedures.*
*Prior experience
- Represented the chief executive officer of one of the largest international insurance companies in an SEC investigation.*
- Represented the chief executive officer of a major bank in an SEC and DOJ investigation regarding the accuracy of public statements during the Great Recession.*
- Represented high level executives of financial institutions in a major trading loss case, the research analyst case conducted by the New York attorney general and others, the IMDB investigation, and an SEC and DOJ investigation into alleged bribery in Brazil.*
*Prior experience
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