Capital One Chief Counsel of Litigation Heads to Kirkland

Charles J. Clark, chief counsel of litigation at Capital One Financial Corp., and a former assistant director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's division of enforcement, has joined Kirkland & Ellis as a partner in the firm's Washington office.

A litigator with more than 20 years of experience, including nearly nine years at the SEC, Clark will work in the firm's white-collar defense and securities enforcement practice. At Capital One, Clark served as managing vice president and chief counsel of litigation from 2004. He oversaw individual and class-action consumer finance litigation, antitrust and securities litigation, commercial and contract disputes, as well as various regulatory inquiries.

"We are very pleased that Charles has joined our firm," said Thomas D. Yannucci, chair of Kirkland's worldwide management committee and partner in the Washington, D.C., office, in a press release. "Charles' extensive experience in the securities enforcement arena will complement our premiere litigation practice."

Before joining Capital One, Clark served as assistant director at the SEC, Division of Enforcement, from 2001 to 2004. At the SEC, he led the commission's investigation into Enron Corp. in which he supervised the work of more than 20 lawyers and accountants, coordinated the SEC's investigation with the U.S. Department of Justice Enron Task Force and various other law-enforcement and regulatory authorities, and responded to media and other public inquiries concerning Enron-related enforcement proceedings.

Clark is a graduate of the New York University School of Law.

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