Luke Cadigan

Practice Areas

Luke is head of business litigation for the East Coast and an experienced trial attorney. He concentrates his practice on securities enforcement matters, shareholder disputes and actions, complex commercial litigation, internal investigations, and regulatory compliance.

Luke also has handled investigations, examinations and inquiries by numerous government entities, including the SEC, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), US attorney’s offices (USAO), attorneys general offices, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Massachusetts Securities Division.

Career

Luke is a former assistant director in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division, serving in the Boston regional office and in the SEC’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) unit. He managed investigations conducted by staff attorneys and accountants, including matters related to accounting fraud, offering fraud, insider trading, whistleblower complaints, investment advisers and broker-dealers. Luke also oversaw investigations into potential FCPA violations and, while serving as a member of the agency’s Cross-Border Working Group, he supervised investigations into the accounting practices of Chinese and other non-US companies trading on US markets.

Prior to becoming an assistant director, Luke spent 7+ years as SEC senior trial counsel, investigating and litigating dozens of high-profile matters. As lead counsel, he also successfully tried several complex matters in federal court and in the SEC’s administrative forum, including allegations of insider trading by a hedge fund employee, accounting fraud, insider trading by a director, a pay-to-play scheme by a former state senate majority leader, fraud by an investment adviser, and fraud by a broker-dealer (resulting in the largest penalty awarded in a SEC administrative proceeding at the time). He was a recipient of the Chairman’s Award for Excellence in 2002 and 2007, and the Enforcement Division Director’s Award in 2007 and 2008.

Luke served as law clerk for US District Court Judge Edward F. Harrington of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts and as a special assistant district attorney in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.