Jerome Tomas

Jerome Tomas is Chair of the Firm’s SEC and Financial Institutions Enforcement Group and has been recognized by Chambers for White Collar Crime & Government Investigations. He represents multinational companies faced with government investigations and conducts internal investigations to assess and remediate legal and compliance concerns in domestic and global operations.

With his experience as a former member of the SEC Division of Enforcement’s Cyberforce, the agency’s internet and cyber fraud unit, Jerome regularly advises companies involved in data security breaches and incident response.

Jerome now leads teams of lawyers to address government law enforcement perspectives and where necessary, meet and refute government legal theories of corporate and individual liability head-on, while also being pragmatic and business-oriented for management and boards to compete internationally.

Jerome has extensive experience representing clients in government litigation and enforcement investigations before the SEC, DOJ, various United States Attorneys Offices and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. On multiple occasions, he has obtained complete declinations of enforcement action from federal and state agencies.

Jerome has handled investigations and prosecutions relating to the FCPA, securities fraud and manipulation, SEC reporting-related misconduct, financial statement disclosures, auditor independence, insider trading, commodities manipulation, money laundering, the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, including the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine, the US wire and mail fraud statutes and OFAC-related matters, among others.

Jerome also represents clients in connection with data security incidents, providing legal advice and navigating through initial reports of potential compromise, to investigating, coordinating, and reporting to federal and state authorities, consumer notification and ultimately remediating.

Jerome regularly advises multinational companies on risk mitigation and compliance in the context of international mergers and acquisitions, other business combinations, and general corporate transactions.

He has advised on anticorruption and trade compliance in transport, telecommunications, mining, oil and resource extraction, chemical, defense, pharmaceutical, health care, agriculture, technology, hotel, travel, hospitality, consumer products and manufacturing industries. He also advises on compliance with US and international anti-money laundering laws and the US Bank Secrecy Act.

Education:

• Loyola University Chicago School of Law (J.D. cum laude) (2001)
• Michigan State University (B.A. International Relations) (1996)

Admissions:

• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois~United States (2001)
• Illinois~United States (2001)

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• American Bar Association, ABA Securities Enforcement Committee – Co-chair
• Association of SEC Alumni (ASECA) – Member

Representative Legal Matters:

• Represented the special committee of a publicly traded consumer products company in conducting an internal investigation and SEC and DOJ investigations into potential FCPA violations in China.
• Represented a non-US, formerly publicly traded commodities company, in an SEC investigation into its restated financial statements.
• Represented a multinational US-based consumer products company in connection with SEC and DOJ investigations into potential violations of US federal securities laws in India, including the FCPA.
• Represented a US-based publicly traded company in an internal investigation into the reclassification of expenses and adjustment of reserves in connection with the close of the financial year.
• Represented a non-US financial institution investigated by the SEC for potential violations of US federal securities laws. Resolved SEC enforcement action on favorable terms.