William R. Stein is the Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Hughes Hubbard and the Chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. He is a senior litigator with 40 years of experience in complex financial, commercial, and regulatory litigation and investigations. Bill represents issuers, officers, directors, and professionals in SEC and PCAOB investigations and enforcement proceedings under the securities laws. He has been retained by companies and boards of directors to defend companies and individuals in governmental investigations, and to undertake internal investigations, into allegations of wrongdoing or regulatory non-compliance. In addition, Bill is a senior advisor to the major accounting firms in legislative, regulatory, public policy, risk management, and structural matters.
Bill represents clients in litigation and arbitration across a wide array of substantive areas, including disputes involving financial instruments and derivatives (such as mortgage-backed securities litigation and disputes arising out of the Lehman Brothers liquidation), contractual matters, fraud allegations, business valuation disputes, auditing and accounting issues, insurance coverage, and product liability. In recent years, he represented the Trustee in the liquidation of Lehman Brothers, Inc. Bill represented the FDIC and Receiver for IndyMac Bank in the dismissal of MBIA’s attempt to recover $500 million in losses from insuring IndyMac Bank mortgage-backed securities. He was counsel for the FDIC as Receiver for Washington Mutual Bank in defending against claims for billions of dollars in losses asserted by investors in mortgage-backed securities.
Bill’s appellate practice includes handling appeals in most of the federal circuits and many state appellate courts. He also has considerable experience preparing briefs to the Supreme Court of the United States at both the certiorari and merits stages, including amicus curiae briefs in cases of significant interest.
Bill represents issuers, officers, directors and professionals in SEC and PCAOB investigations and enforcement proceedings under the securities laws, as well as in civil litigation under the securities laws, and in shareholder direct and derivative litigation. Bill has particular expertise representing the major accounting firms in such cases, as well as in professional liability claims asserted by clients and others.
Bill represents companies in commercial and financial disputes across a wide array of substantive areas, including disputes relating to financial instruments (including mortgage-backed securities) and derivatives, contractual matters, business valuation disputes, insurance coverage, technology disputes and toxic torts. He has litigated in state and federal courts, as well as before domestic and international arbitral tribunals.
Bill has long represented the major accounting firms in legislative, regulatory, public policy, risk management and structural/organizational matters. Bill has vast knowledge of the accounting industry and the regulatory and policy issues it faces, and has advised the major firms on a host of issues, including international organization, risk management, partnership issues, professional activities and professional liability. Bill also represents the firms before the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and state licensing and disciplinary authorities on a variety of regulatory, licensure and disciplinary matters.
Bill heads Hughes Hubbard's Appellate practice group. He has handled appeals in most of the federal circuits and many state appellate courts. He also has considerable experience in briefing cases in the Supreme Court of the United States at both the certiorari and merits stages and has often prepared amicus curiae briefs in cases of significant interest.