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Jacob S. Frenkel
12505 Park Potomac Avenue
6th Floor
Potomac, MD 20854
T (301) 230-5214
F (301) 230-2891
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Jacob S. Frenkel brings his unique perspective as a former state and federal criminal prosecutor and former SEC Enforcement lawyer to his leadership of the Firm’s Securities Enforcement, White-Collar Criminal, Corporate Investigations and Corporate Governance practices.  Jacob is an internationally recognized expert media commentator about high profile corporate fraud, securities and corporate governance matters for such major domestic and international television and radio networks, print wire services and international publications as CNBC, NBC, CBS, BBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France Presse, and the Wall Street Journal.

Jacob’s practice emphasizes the representation of corporations and their officers, directors and other senior officials in federal and state securities investigations, proceedings before stock exchanges and capital markets self-regulatory organizations, and federal and state criminal investigations, including financial crimes and public corruption, and investigations by committees of the United States Congress.  Jacob conducts internal investigations for public, non-public and nonprofit corporations, and represents individuals in internal investigations.  Jacob also is an expert witness in cases involving corporate investigations, securities enforcement, securities fraud, stock manipulation and white collar criminal defense matters. 

In the area of corporate governance and counseling, Jacob serves as an independent counsel to advise Audit Committees and officers and directors of companies in connection with their fiduciary and compliance obligations, including under the Sarbanes-Oxley, Foreign Corrupt Practices and USA PATRIOT Acts.  Jacob’s international work includes defense of investigations and compliance counseling in connection with anti-money laundering and international bribery conventions.  Jacob previously advised the Indonesian Securities Commission, BAPEPAM, in connection with its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regulations and training.

Jacob also provides strategic advice to early stage, privately-held companies planning to go public and smaller publicly-held companies, and established companies considering growth and exit avenues.  His clients include individuals, Boards of Directors and their committees, and corporations, including, privately-held and publicly-held companies on United States and foreign securities markets, broker-dealers, stock transfer agents, and hedge funds.  Additionally, Jacob’s clients include mid-sized and small broker-dealers in their investment banking and regulatory compliance functions, and represents those firms and their brokers in capital raising transactions for issuers and in FINRA arbitrations.

Jacob’s 24 years practicing law includes 14 years as a government prosecutor, serving as an Assistant District Attorney in New Orleans, senior counsel in the Division of Enforcement at SEC headquarters in Washington where he specialized in stock manipulation and financial fraud cases and a federal criminal prosecutor in federal securities law-related and public corruption cases for the Office of Independent Counsel, in re Secretary of Agriculture Espy.

News

Publications

  • The Centrality of Corporate Compliance to Effective Governance, in Inside the Minds: Updating Your Company's Corporate Governance Policies (Aspatore Books pub., 2008)
  • Independent Advisors for Independent Directors: No Longer an Option, Lauer and Frenkel, 32 Directors Monthly, No. 6, National Association of Corporate Directors (June 2008)
  • Anti-Money Laundering Regulation in the Indonesian Capital Markets, Report to the Capital Market Supervisory Agency of Indonesia (2003)
  • U.S. Enforcement of Securities Law Violations in the International Arena, Frenkel (2001, 2002)
  • Corporate Anti-Gift Policies: Handbook or Handcuffs?, Frenkel (2001, 2002)
  • Investiga la SEC de EEUU escandalo IBM, Diario Ambito Financiero (Argentina), Frenkel and Gonzales (2001)
  • Recent SEC Enforcement Developments, Lynch, Goldstein, Marcelino and Frenkel (1988, 1989, 1990)
  • Legal Ethics and the General Counsel of a Presidential Campaign, Frenkel and Galinson, 2 Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics 359 (1988)

Events

Seminars & Speaking Engagements

  • Corporate Investigations
  • "Defense Counsel's Perspectives on Cooperation," Panelist, National Institute on Corporate Investigations and In-House Counsel, American Bar Association
  • "All Agencies Do Not Think the Same: Comparing the Design and Presentation of Internal Investigations to Different Agencies," Panelist, Corporate Internal Investigations, Georgia Bar Association
  • "Strategies, Challenges and Lessons in High-Stakes Corporate Investigations," Luncheon (Keynote) Speaker, Conducting Internal Investigations, Canadian Institute
  • "Corporate Counsel's Guide to Internal and External Investigations," Program Co-Chair for the Third, Fourth and Fifth National Conferences, American Conference Institute
  • Corporate Governance (including Audit Committees)
  • "Role of the Board," Panelist, Corporate Compliance and Ethics Institute 2009, Practising Law Institute
  • "Post-Armageddon Risk Analysis and Due Diligence," Speaker, Professional Risk Managers International Association
  • "The Aftermath of Enron - Can Corporations Let Down Their Guard," Keynote Speaker, Winter Global Equities Conference, Friedland Worldwide Investments
  • "Evolving Function of the Audit Committee in Forensic Investigations," Panelist, Conducting Forensic Investigations, American Conference Institute
  • "Enforcement Activities Involving Directors and Officers: The Latest Word," Panelist, Directors' and Officers' Liability, Canadian Institute
  • Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (and International Enforcement issues)
  • "Moving Business and People Across Borders: Strategies for Success on International Transactions," Panelist, World Trade Center Institute
  • "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Anti-Bribery and Enforcement," Speaker, International Government and Commercial Contracting, New Federal Publications Seminar, WestLegalWorks
  • "Foreign Issuers in US Securities Markets: Financial Reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley and the Enforcement Challenges for Dual-Listed Companies," Lecture, Law and Finance Institutional Partnership, University of Indonesia
  • "The New Environment for Corporate Governance and Enforcement," Lecture, Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Indonesia)
  • "Knowing Your Customer: An Overview of AML/CFT Standards," Lecture, Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Indonesia)
  • "International Anti-Money Laundering Initiatives and Their Impact on Canada's Policies," Panelist, Meeting the New Requirements for Anti-Money Laundering, Canadian Institute
  • SEC Enforcement
  • "Madoff: Could This Be Happening Under My Nose," Industry A.M. seminar, Investment Industry Association of Canada
  • "Insider Trading and Other Securities Investigations," Panelist, Conducting Internal Investigations, Canadian Institute
  • "Providing Effective Representation in Connection with Investigations and Enforcement Actions Initiated by Securities Regulators," Panelist, Securities, Litigation and Arbitration Law Section, Houston Bar Association
  • "Financial Transactions Under Scrutiny: Enforcement and Prosecution in a New Era," Panelist, Securities Superconference, Canadian Institute
  • "What Information is ‘Material'", Panelist, Corporate Disclosure, Canadian Institute
  • "Expanding Enforcement by Regulators and How It's Affecting Directors and Officers," Panelist, Directors' & Officers' Liability, Canadian Institute
  • "A Comprehensive Guide to U.S. Securities Investigation, Dispute and Penalty Processes-- Investigative Processes and Enforcement Priorities of U.S. Securities Regulators," Panelist, Post-Conference (U.S. Securities Law) Symposium, Securities Superconference, Canadian Institute
  • White-Collar Crime
  • "PIPE (Dream) Cases: Why the Prosecution Theories are in Hot Water," Panelist, Third Annual National Institute on Securities Fraud, American Bar Association
  • "Cooperation, Compliance and Controls: What Really Sways the Government Your Way," Panelist, Second Annual National Institute on Securities Fraud, American Bar Association
  • "Criminalization of the Securities Laws: Expanding Reach of U.S. Authorities," Speaker, Investment Industry Association of Canada
  • "Business Conduct Criminalized: The Government's New Focus on Corporate Conduct and Preventive Strategies," Panelist, Bar Association of Montgomery County, Business and Criminal Law Sections
  • "Responding to Alleged Corporate Misconduct and Fraud," Panelist, National Forum on Fraud Risk Management, American Conference Institute
  • "Investigating Business," Speaker, Covering Business and Economics, National Press Foundation
  • "The Criminalization of US Securities Law: What to do When the FBI Calls," Speaker, Investment Dealers Association (Toronto)
  • "Criminal Investigations of Securities Fraud: Federal and State Trends," Panelist, Securities Enforcement and Litigation, American Conference Institute
  • "Investigating Market Manipulation," Lecture, SEC International Training Institute: Program of Securities Enforcement and Market Oversight
  • "Market Manipulation" and "Prosecution of Securities Offenses under the Criminal Laws," Lectures, NIS/CEE Enforcement and Market Oversight Training Program

Professional & Community Affiliations

  • Maryland (State) Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors, Member, 2008 - 2111
  • Commission on Juvenile Justice, Montgomery County, Maryland, Member, 2008 - 2010
  • Corporate Investigations Subcommittee, White-Collar Crime Committee, Section of Business Law, American Bar Association, Co-Chair, 2008 - 2009
  • Eastern Area Recreation Advisory Board, Montgomery County, Maryland, Chairman, 1995 - 1998
  • Silver Spring Redevelopment Advisory Board, Member, 1995 - 1996
Education
  • Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1984, J.D.
  • Tulane University College of Arts and Sciences, 1981, B.A. in Public Policy
Bar & Court Admissions
  • Louisiana
  • Maryland