Renato Mariotti
Partner
Chicago
312 580 5056
direct
- OVERVIEW
- INSIGHTS
- NEWS & EVENTS
INDUSTRIES
PRACTICES
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Education
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Yale Law School,
J.D.
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University of Chicago,
A.B.
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Admissions
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California
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Illinois
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Affiliations
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Yale Law School Association
Regional Representative, Executive Committee
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Chicago Lincoln Inn of Court
Board of Directors
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Retail Organized Crime Coalition
Board of Directors
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University of Chicago Alumni Law Society
Board of Directors
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7th Circuit Advisory Committee, American Inns of Court
Member
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International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators
Member
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Employment
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Thompson Coburn LLP
Partner, 2016-Present
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U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois
Assistant U.S. Attorney, 2007-2016
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Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP
Associate, 2002-2007
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U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham
Clerk
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Community
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Lakeview YMCA
Board of Directors
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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 cybertheft.
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. 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. Finally, Renato 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's been quoted in the New York Times, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post, written for publications such as Newsweek and Politico, and appears regularly on MSNBC, CNN, CBS News and other networks.
Thompson Coburn Publications
Newest criminal spoofing case features coordinated spoofing, front running
Presentations
Panelist, "Ethics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,"
Futures Industry Association, 2017 Law & Compliance Conference, May 4, 2017
Panelist, "What to Do When the Inquiry Arrives,"
National Introducing Brokers Association New York City Conference, April, 26, 2017
Moderator, "Bankruptcy Crimes: What General Bankruptcy Practitioners Need to Know to be Professionally Responsible,"
Chicago Bar Association, Bankruptcy and Reorganization Committee, February 15, 2017
Moderator, "2016 Disruptive Trading Practices Symposium,"
Chicago, Oct. 17, 2016
"Enforcement and Investigation: Tools and Resources,"
International Organization of Securities Commissions AMCC Annual Seminar, September 27, 2016
"Anatomy of a Criminal Spoofing Case: United States v. Coscia,"
Internal Training, National Futures Association, July 18, 2016
Featured Speaker,
Chicago Bar Association 2016 Futures & Derivatives Seminar, June 10, 2016
Panelist, "Recent High Frequency Trading and Spoofing Enforcement Actions: Lessons Learned and Compliance,"
American Bar Association Business Law Section, 2016 Annual Meeting, April 7, 2016
"Anatomy of a Criminal Spoofing Case: United States v. Coscia,"
Internal Training, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, December 3, 2015
"Securing a Successful Prosecution—A Federal Prosecutor’s Perspective,"
2015 Annual Training Conference, International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, Illinois Chapter, International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, October 21, 2015
"Securing a Successful Prosecution—A Federal Prosecutor’s Perspective,"
2015 Annual Training Conference, National Chapter, International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, September 1, 2015
"Investigation and Charging of Disruptive Trading Practices/Spoofing: Potential Legal Issues,"
Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group, June 18, 2015
"Long Term Investigations,"
Internal Training, United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, April 24, 2015
"Litigating on the Cheap,"
Chicago Bar Association, Intellectual Property Committee, October 20, 2012