About Peter G. Wilson

The financial services industry is under constant scrutiny from regulators. Peter Wilson’s familiarity with the business of financial services firms, as well as the regulatory landscape, allows him to quickly assess clients’ potential legal exposure and identify the best solutions. He defends financial services firms and public companies in regulatory inquiries, criminal investigations and high-stakes litigation, advising them on how to interact effectively with the government and private plaintiffs to resolve matters efficiently and favorably.

Regulatory insight

Peter understands how regulators think and set priorities. He's successfully guided clients through probes by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and options and futures exchanges, and in related private litigation, in matters involving allegations of market manipulation, fraud, and antitrust violations. His work often involves disputes over derivatives and other complex financial products. With his ability to speak the language of the financial world and his fluency with its most esoteric products, Peter doesn't need time to understand the issues his clients are facing.

Peter’s practice also involves representing public companies and their directors and officers in a range of sensitive civil, criminal, and internal investigations and related litigation. He has particular experience investigating and defending against allegations of accounting fraud, foreign corruption, and insider trading.

Peter’s government experience, including his work enforcing the Dodd-Frank Act, positions him to craft arguments that resonate with regulators and courts. Whatever the issue, Peter seeks to bring about speedy resolutions that allow businesses to keep operating as profitably as possible.

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Practice Focus

  • Financial services regulation and compliance
  • Securities litigation and enforcement
  • White collar and internal investigations
  • Corporate monitorships
  • Consumer finance litigation
  • Internal investigations

Representative Experience

  • Represent a multinational investment bank in class action antitrust lawsuits in the interest rate swaps and stock lending markets.
  • Represent a major financial institution in regulatory and litigation matters relating to the collapse of a family office.
  • Represent proprietary trading firms, clearing firms, and investment banks in investigations by the DOJ, CFTC, SEC, FINRA, and futures and stock exchanges, in investigations and litigation regarding manipulation, disruptive trading, spoofing, and prearranged trading in futures, equities, and options markets.
  • Represent market makers in SEC investigations concerning compliance with Regulation SHO.
  • Represent foreign exchange market maker in litigation alleging antitrust violations and fraud.
  • Represented multinational investment bank in a CFTC inquiry into allegations of anti-competitive conduct.
  • Represent large national bank in parallel criminal and civil inquiries by Department of Justice concerning compliance with Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements. 
  • Represented Chief Compliance Officer of a registered investment adviser in an SEC enforcement investigation, resolving matter without charges.
  • Represented the Chief Compliance Officer of a registered broker-dealer in a FINRA enforcement investigation involving market access and anti-money laundering issues, resolving the matter without charges.
  • Represented the Chief Executive Officer of a technology firm in an SEC enforcement investigation involving financial reporting and violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, resolving the matter without charges.
  • Represent independent compliance monitor of a multinational pharmaceutical company convicted of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
  • Represent special litigation committees of the Boards of Directors of pharmaceutical companies in investigations into shareholders' derivative allegations of accounting and disclosure fraud.
  • Represent hospitals in self-disclosures to US Attorney's Office regarding potential health care fraud, resolving the matters without charges.

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Practices
Industries
Education
  • The University of Chicago Law School, JD
  • The University of Chicago, AB
Bar Admissions
  • New York
  • Illinois
Court Admissions
  • US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • US District Court, Southern District of New York
Languages
  • Spanish
Recognitions
Recognized or listed in the following:
  • Benchmark Litigation
    Under 40 Hotlist, 2018–2021
  • Super Lawyers Rising Stars
    Illinois, 2018
  • The Legal 500 United States
    Recommended Attorney, 2017, 2023–2024
Award Methodologies