Former Southern District prosecutor Christopher LaVigne is joining Shearman & Sterling in its securities and white-collar enforcement practice as counsel, the firm said yesterday. LaVigne, 36, who joined the Southern District U.S. Attorney's Office in 2005, was most recently assistant U.S. attorney in the securities and commodities fraud task force. He served as lead trial counsel in the insider-trading case that resulted in the August 2012 conviction of Doug Whitman of Whitman Capital hedge fund.
In an interview, LaVigne said he spoke to several firms but was attracted to Shearman's "very strong white-collar practice group." The firm also has "a global presence and international stable of clients, which I think suits my background," he said, noting his work as a prosecutor also involved terrorism and national security issues. At Shearman, he said he anticipates working on white-collar enforcement and internal investigations, among other issues.
LaVigne said another factor in his move to Shearman was the addition last year of Mark Lanpher, a former Southern District assistant and former SEC enforcement lawyer, who joined the firm's Washington, D.C., office as counsel.
