Stephen J Crimmins

Practice Areas

Steve defends enforcement matters involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and other financial regulators. He protects clients during regulatory inquiries, investigations and testimony. He advocates in meetings, white papers and SEC Wells submissions for "closing letters" terminating investigations and negotiates consent decree settlements. When needed, he fights for clients in federal court trials, administrative proceedings and appeals.

Based on peer surveys, Best Lawyers in America named Steve its 2026 "Lawyer of the Year" for Securities Regulation in New York City (as it had in 2017), and since 2006 has ranked him nationally for both securities litigation and securities regulation. Chambers USA has ranked him nationally since 2009 for "complex and sensitive SEC enforcement actions and investigations on behalf of public companies and broker dealers," with "significant strength in financial fraud and accounting issues," and reported peer comments that he is "a real leader of the SEC enforcement Bar."

Steve testified three times before Congress, including House Financial Services Committee hearings in 2019 on proposed SEC enforcement legislation, and in 2011 on "Fixing the Watchdog" with current and former SEC Commissioners. He has chaired the securities law sections of both the Federal Bar Association and the DC Bar. He presents professional panels, including PLI's Hedge Fund and Private Equity Enforcement and Regulation 2025, and Securities Docket's Enforcement Forum 2025. He publishes on SEC developments, including a detailed analysis of modern insider trading law in the Columbia Business Law Review (noted in The Economist), an article on the SEC's controversial "shadow trading" theory in the Columbia Blue Sky Blog, and a chapter in PLI's 2025 SEC Compliance and Enforcement Answer Book. He has guest-taught securities law classes and symposia at Columbia, Georgetown, Maastricht (Netherlands) and other law schools.

During 14 years at the SEC, Steve co-managed its Enforcement Division's Trial Unit in prosecuting securities cases in federal courts around the country and administrative proceedings. Beginning as a trial counsel at SEC headquarters, he continued to personally try cases while managing other trial lawyers as an SEC Senior Officer. He earned the SEC's Productivity Improvement Award for management results. A Brooklyn native, he graduated from Columbia Law School and began his career at a large New York law firm.