
Breon S. Peace is partner of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Breon Peace’s practice focuses on white-collar defense, regulatory enforcement matters, and complex civil litigation.
Breon regularly conducts sensitive internal investigations on behalf of boards of directors and management of leading corporations. He represents domestic and multinational corporations and business executives in regulatory and criminal investigations involving, among other things, allegations of fraud, insider trading, money laundering, and corruption. He also advises boards of directors and audit committees on corporate governance issues and compliance programs.
Breon frequently handles matters involving authorities in the United States and abroad, including the Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, various state attorneys general, and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In addition, he represents corporations, officers, and directors in complex commercial litigation matters.
Breon joined the firm in 1996 and became a partner in 2007. He left the firm in 1999 to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York where he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. In that position, he handled a wide array of federal criminal investigations and prosecutions trying cases to verdict and arguing appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. From August 2002 to July 2003, Breon was an Acting Assistant Professor of Clinical Law at New York University School of Law where he taught the Prosecution Clinic. He rejoined the firm in September 2003.
EXPERIENCE:
Litigation
- BNP Paribas in federal court litigation related to the Madoff Ponzi scheme and the bankruptcy of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities in which over $1 billion is being sought.
- CARBO Ceramics in a federal securities class action litigation under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in securing dismissal of the complaint.
White-Collar Defense and Investigations
Because of the nature of Breon’s assignments, many of his successful matters have not resulted in public charges and remain confidential.
- HSBC in various parallel investigations being conducted by, among others, the DOJ, the CFTC, the SEC, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the European Commission, and other authorities in Latin America, Europe, and Asia regarding allegations of manipulation and collusion in the foreign exchange market, as well as in similar investigations relating to LIBOR and other benchmark reference rates.
- BHP Billiton, Vale and Samarco to conduct the investigation into the cause of the collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in Brazil.
ACTIVITIES:
- Appointed by the Honorable Nicholas Garaufis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to serve as a Special Master in the U.S. and The Vulcan Society, Inc., et al. v. City of New York discrimination case involving the Fire Department of the City of New York
- Member, Criminal Justice Act Advisory Committee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Member, Board of Directors, Office of the Appellate Defender
- Member, Lawyers Committee of the Innocence Project
- Member, New York Council of Defense Lawyers
- Member, Federal Bar Council
EDUCATION:
- New York University School of Law, J.D., 1996
- University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1993
BAR ADMISSIONS:
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals: Second and Fourth Circuits
- U.S. District Courts: Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Cost
Rate : $$$