Steve Topetzes is a partner and his practice centers on the defense of financial services clients and other companies or individuals with respect to government investigations, regulatory or private litigation, and corporate internal investigations. He represents public companies, boards of directors, banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers, investment companies, underwriters, and individuals in investigations or examinations by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), federal banking regulators, and state securities regulators or attorneys general. He also has extensive experience handling complex litigation, regulatory enforcement proceedings, class action lawsuits, mutual fund excessive fee litigation, and arbitrations.
Steve advises clients with respect to investigations or litigation involving:
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His practice includes frequent representation of accountants and lawyers with respect to regulatory investigations or proceedings and related shareholder claims.
Steve was selected as one of the finest law firm writers of 2016 as announced by The Burton Awards, in association with the Library of Congress, and co-sponsored by the American Bar Association. He has also been named by The Best Lawyers in America® “Lawyer of the Year” in 2015 for Securities Regulation in Washington, D.C. Listed since 2010, Steve has consistently received recognition from Best Lawyers® in the categories of Securities Regulation and Litigation - Securities. Steve also has received the Martindale-Hubbell® AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 rating (the highest possible peer review rating in legal ability and ethical standards for all lawyers) for many years. In addition, he is consistently selected to Super Lawyers in the category of Securities Litigation.
- Recognized by Securities Docket's Enforcement Elite as part of the 2025 “Enforcement Elite” list
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Recommended Lawyer for Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense, 2025
- Speaker, Recent SEC and FINRA Enforcement Developments and Takeaways, Life Insurance Products 2023: Featuring Current SEC, FINRA, Insurance, Tax, and ERISA Regulatory and Compliance Issues, Washington, D.C., 3 November 2023
- Speaker, Fund Industry Civil Litigation: Year in Review, Investment Company Institute–Investment Management Conference 2023, Palm Desert, CA, 21 March 2023
- Speaker, Life Insurance Company Products Conference - Recent SEC and FINRA Enforcement Developments, ALI-CLE, 5 November 2021
- Speaker, 2018 Consumer Financial Services Symposium, 3 December 2018.
- Government Enforcement and Litigation Trends, 2017 Consumer Financial Services Symposium, 4 December 2017
Steve is a regular speaker and author regarding topics related to government enforcement, corporate governance, and internal investigations.
- “Government’s New Focus on Individual Liability in Corporate Probes Will Change the Way Companies Undertake Internal Investigations,” Bloomberg BNA, 27 November 2015
