Jared L. Kopel (Senior Counsel)

Jared has represented clients in more than 100 SEC and other governmental or regulatory investigations. Jared has conducted internal corporate investigations and advised clients on compliance with the securities laws and SEC regulations. Jared also has successfully represented clients in securities class action and derivative litigation, as well as general business litigation.  

Before joining Alto, Jared was a partner in the litigation group of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and had his own law firm. Jared is also a former Branch Chief of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. 

EDUCATION

New York University School of Law
(J.D. 1976)

Columbia College
(B.A. 1972)       

Knight-Bagehot Fellowship, Columbia University
(1978-79)        

PRACTICE AREAS

Securities Class Action and Stockholder Derivative Litigation
SEC Investigations
Internal Corporate Investigations
General Business Litigation and Counseling

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Securities Litigation:

  • Represented Chairman and founder of Silicon Valley company in stockholder derivative litigation.

  • Successfully represented officer/director of Mercury Interactive Corp. in shareholder derivative action. Also prevailed (in a related appeal) in establishing that sealed discovery filed in Court was not presumptively public under the California Sealed Records Rules unless it was used at trial or submitted in connection with the adjudication of a substantive matter.

  • One of lead counsel representing current and former officers of Leap Wireless in an arbitration filed by a former stockholder that concluded with a complete defense victory.

  • Lead defense counsel in Dietrich v. Harrer, in which the Delaware Chancery Court held that most of plaintiff’s claims were derivative, not direct, and that plaintiff had lost standing to pursue the claims.

  •  Lead attorney for underwriters in In re Rectifier Securities Litigation, which is considered a leading decision on the due diligence obligations of underwriters in a public offering.

  • One of lead defense counsel in Worlds of Wonder Securities Litigation, in which the Ninth Circuit adopted the “bespeaks caution” doctrine.

  •  Successfully represented co-founder of Silicon Valley start-up in shareholder consent action under Delaware law.

SEC Investigations:

  • Represented CEO of Silicon Valley company in SEC investigation and settlement.

  • Successfully represented hedge fund in SEC investigation concerning compliance of derivative transactions with Dodd-Frank.

  • Lead attorney in SEC v. Truong, a decision in the Northern District of California which limited the ability of the SEC to bring insider trading cases to trial based on circumstantial evidence

  • Successfully represented employees of Silicon Valley companies in SEC insider trading cases that did not result in recommendation for an enforcement action.

  • Successfully represented officer and director of Mercury Interactive Corp. in option backdating investigation, which resulted in decision of SEC not to bring enforcement action.

  • Successfully represented former CEO of Smartalk Teleservices that resulted in decision of SEC not to pursue enforcement action.

Internal Investigations:

  • Conducted internal investigations of Silicon Valley companies concerning possible violations of securities laws and/or potentially unethical conduct.

  • Conducted internal investigation of major oil company concerning possible illegal transactions.

PUBLICATIONS & LECTURES

Quoted in “What’s Next: SEC’s Big No in Crypto,” law.com, December 5, 2018.

“Takeaways from SEC’s First Action After New Cybersecurity Guidance,” The Recorder, May 18, 2018.

“SEC Directs Regulatory Fire at Initial Coin Offerings,” The Recorder, January 30, 2018.

“SEC Fires Warning Shots at Pre-IPO Sales,” The Recorder, July 20, 2015.

“D.C. Circuit Breathes New Life Into Attorney-Client Privilege,” SecuritiesLaw 360, June 30, 2014.

“The Core Operations Inference,” Review of Securities and Commodities Regulation, May 2011.

“The SEC’s View of the Reasonable Investor,” Insights Magazine, January 2011.

Chapters on Insider Trading and the responsibilities of underwriters in registered public offerings, for Securities Law Techniques, a treatise on securities regulation.

Panelist on 2017 Securities Litigation Year in Review, Bar Association of San Francisco, December 2017.

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