Milbank LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Olivia Choe as a partner in Washington, DC, starting on October 1. Ms. Choe’s arrival adds significant depth to the firm’s experience and capabilities in Securities and Exchange Commission matters, and further strengthens the firm’s Litigation & Arbitration group. Ms. Choe joins Milbank from the SEC, where she served as Chief Litigation Counsel. In this role she oversaw the nationwide litigation and trial program for the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, leading over 150 trial attorneys across the country.
As the agency’s top enforcement litigator, Ms. Choe developed and directed litigation strategy across the Division’s highly active docket and advised trial teams in a wide range of high-profile cases, including SEC v. Panuwat; SEC v. Musk; SEC v. Coinbase; SEC v. Binance; and SEC v. Terraform. She also provided strategic advice and guidance to Commission leadership and enforcement staff on complex policy issues and legal developments. Ms. Choe joined the SEC as a trial attorney in 2016 and has tried multiple SEC cases in federal court. She previously served for six years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (Miami), where she tried numerous complex and white-collar cases and argued multiple appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
“We are thrilled to welcome Olivia to Milbank,” said Milbank Chairman Scott A. Edelman. “During her tenure at the SEC, Olivia decisively led litigation strategy for the Commission’s highest-profile and most complex cases. We know that our clients will benefit from her fierce advocacy, her ability to lead talented teams and her invaluable experience as both a federal prosecutor and as a senior SEC official.”
Milbank has been actively developing its litigation practice and has been engaged to handle large-scale white-collar and securities regulatory matters for corporations and their senior executives and officers. Last year, the firm welcomed Nola B. Heller, a market-leading white-collar and investigations partner and former unit chief at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Andrew M. Leblanc, managing partner for Milbank’s Washington, DC office, said, “Olivia will greatly enhance our DC office’s litigation and white-collar strengths. Our clients, and Olivia’s new colleagues, will benefit from her experience as the SEC’s top litigator, as well as the stature she has built through years of success and leadership.”
Equally adept at criminal and civil litigation, Ms. Choe will work closely with Milbank partner George S. Canellos, global head of the Litigation & Arbitration group and a former co-director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.
“As a former federal prosecutor and senior SEC enforcement official myself, I am extremely pleased to welcome a colleague with similar government experience to our practice,” said Mr. Canellos. “Milbank’s clients seek not just talented individuals, but strong teams. Olivia is not only a proven member of top-performing legal teams, but a proven leader as well.”
As Chief Litigation Counsel, Ms. Choe also oversaw the SEC Division of Enforcement’s Distributions, Collections, Bankruptcy, and Receivership programs, including the return of nearly $1 billion annually to harmed investors. During her eight years at the SEC, Ms. Choe was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Arthur F. Mathews Award for creativity in applying federal securities laws for the benefit of investors.
“I cannot think of a law firm I would rather join than Milbank,” said Ms. Choe. “The firm operates at the apex of the legal profession, and I am tremendously excited to bring my experience to bear on behalf of our clients and my new colleagues.”
Ms. Choe received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as articles editor of the Yale Law Journal. She received her B.A. from Harvard College, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Ms. Choe clerked for Judge Rya W. Zobel of the US District Court for Massachusetts and Judge John M. Walker, Jr. of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
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