Phillip L. Stern

Phillip counsels corporate and financial entities on the legal and financial issues that drive complex securities cases, including securities and commodities regulatory defense and litigation, arbitrations and mediations and internal investigations and lawsuits involving liability of officers, directors, accountants and law firms. Phillip has represented JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Susquehanna International and UBS and individual financial advisors of numerous investment banks and brokerages. He also represents senior financial officers in Fortune 500 companies as well as board members.

Phillip has tried cases before state and federal courts and regulatory agencies, and he represents clients throughout the country in connection with investigations undertaken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and FINRA. Phillip is adept at tailoring strategies to meet his clients’ needs in criminal investigations and civil litigation and as a mediator for trading and commercial-related disputes. As a court-appointed receiver in several SEC proceedings he oversaw the liquidation of three public mutual funds and a trust company.

Before joining the firm, Phillip worked for 10 years with the SEC in Chicago, the last five as Assistant Regional Administrator for Enforcement, and also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. His deep industry experience gives Phillip invaluable knowledge of the laws and regulations impacting the securities industry.

• In The Matter of Edward Louis Schainker, State of Illinois, Secretary of State, Securities Department, File No. 0900049. 
  We represent former Merrill Lynch financial advisor in connection with the sale of variable life insurance policies, which are securities, to Illinois Funeral Directors Association. The Department alleges that the Respondent acted as an investment adviser to the Association and that the insurance policies, which were sold over a period in excess of twenty years, were unsuitable and did not comport with Illinois law.
• David Tipsword as Trustee of the Mildred E. Tipsword Trust. v. I.F.D.A. Services, Inc.. et. al., Case No. 3:09-cv-00390-WDS-DGW, United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
  We represent former Merrill Lynch financial advisor in a class action proceeding instituted by purchasers of pre-need funerals. The pre-need funerals were sponsored by the Illinois Funeral Directors Association. It is alleged that financial advisor sold variable life insurance policies to the Association which were unsuitable and did not comport with Illinois law. According to the complaint, the variable life insurance policies failed to generate sufficient income to cover the expense of pre-paid guaranteed funerals.
• United States v. Queri, et al., No. 5:09 CR 418(DNH). 
  We represent defendant charged with, among other things, insider trading, mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, transactions in criminally deprived property, concealing money laundering and tender offer fraud.
• Last Atlantis Capital LLC, et. al. v. AGS Specialist Partners, et. al., Case Nos. 04 C 0397, 05 C 5600, 05 C 5671, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 
  We represent Susquehanna International Group, LLP and Susquehanna Investment Group in defense of a claim seeking damages in the tens of million dollars based on claims of improper handling of option orders on each of the leading option exchanges.
• William Harris, et. al. v. James E. Koenig, et. al., Case No. 1:02-CV00618, United States District Court for the District of Columbia. 
  We represent a former trustee of the company’s profit sharing plan in a case alleging imprudent investment of plan assets.

Bar Admissions

• Illinois