Barry O'Connell

Barry O'Connell spent more than a decade in high-level enforcement roles, prosecuting a variety of conduct as a senior counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission's Enforcement Division, primarily as part of its Market Abuse Unit. During that time, Barry prosecuted, among other conduct, complex insider trading, first-of-their-kind trading manipulation cases, one of the largest FCPA settlements in history, and novel asset management actions. The majority of those cases involved a parallel criminal action. Barry also litigated heavily on behalf of the commission, including at trial. He won several awards during his time at the SEC, among them the Enforcement Division's highest honor, the Ellen B. Ross Award. Barry also spent time in the commission's policy division in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis playing a vital role in drafting SEC Dodd-Frank rule proposals, particularly concerning conflicts of interest in asset-backed securities. 

Following his time at the SEC, Barry worked as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Offices in both the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey. Barry prosecuted insider trading criminally as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the EDNY and then went on to prosecute violent crime and drug offenses as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. 

Barry has deep regulatory and statutory knowledge in the securities space and pairs that experience with knowledge of criminal actions — making him ready to handle all variety of white-collar dilemmas from investigation to criminal trial. He also draws on experience as a corporate attorney in private practice and understands complex business structures and transactions for both private and public companies. 

Barry is a Cornell Law graduate with an undergraduate degree also from Cornell in industrial and labor relations.