Renato Mariotti

A former federal prosecutor, Renato is an accomplished trial attorney who represents a diverse group of clients in many types of complex high-stakes litigation, including securities class actions, derivative-related claims, and cyber theft.

Renato has tried and won over 15 civil and criminal cases in federal and state court. Most recently, Renato tried United States v. Jitesh Thakkar, the first-ever criminal case charging a non-trader with a form of market manipulation. After Renato's cross-examination of the government's star witness caused him to admit that there was no conspiracy, the judge acquitted Mr. Thakkar of conspiracy, finding that no rational jury could find him guilty. After 10 out of 12 jurors voted for acquittal on the remaining counts, the Justice Department dismissed them shortly thereafter, resulting in complete acquittal for Mr. Thakkar.

Prior to joining Thompson Coburn, Renato was a federal prosecutor in the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section of the United States Attorney's Office. In that role, Renato was best known as the lead prosecutor in United States v. Michael Coscia, the nation's first federal prosecution of a high-frequency trader for order entry and the first prosecution nationwide under the anti-spoofing provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. This landmark case captured national headlines and signaled a new era of enforcement in computer-aided trading. After securing a first-of-its-kind indictment, Renato successfully defended the constitutionality of the spoofing and commodity fraud statutes. After a lengthy trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict on all 12 counts after less than one hour of deliberation.

During his nine years at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Renato tried more than a dozen criminal trials and prosecuted a wide array of white-collar crimes, including commodities and securities fraud, spoofing, cybercrime, bank fraud, investor fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, tax evasion and Internet pharmaceutical sales. Renato has also briefed and argued numerous appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits.

At Thompson Coburn, Renato handles many types of government inquiries, including accounting irregularities, directors and officer liability, whistleblower allegations, board governance and oversight and internal controls. Renato defends firms and individuals in enforcement actions and conducts internal investigations and helps trading firms develop internal compliance programs to ensure that traders do not engage in disruptive trading practices.

Renato's national securities litigation practice extends beyond the commodity futures industry to cover a diverse group of clients facing many types of financial-related governmental inquiries, including accounting irregularities, directors and officer liability, whistleblower allegations, board governance and oversight and internal controls. Renato helps clients conduct internal investigations into allegations leveled by government agencies and whistleblowers, and helps firms develop and establish internal compliance programs.

Prior to becoming a federal prosecutor, Renato practiced antitrust and securities litigation at a large law firm. He was part of the trial team in the then-largest civil antitrust class action in U.S. history involving antitrust tying claims brought by a nationwide class of merchants seeking a purported $100 billion. That case settled for $3 billion in an agreement that was negotiated on the morning the litigation was to go to trial. He also represented a Fortune 500 company in a Ninth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court proceeding which extended the objective Brooke Group predatory pricing standard to "buy-side" cases.

Renato is an in-demand media source, legal analyst, and commentator on major national news events. He is a CNN Legal Analyst and has been quoted in the New York Times, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post. He is the Legal Affairs Columnist for POLITICO Magazine and has written for publications such as New York Times, Washington Post, and Time Magazine.