A top enforcement lawyer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the Dallas office of Holland & Knight as a partner in its white-collar defense and international investigations practice.
Former SEC Assistant Regional Director for Enforcement Scott Mascianica, who was involved in cases against Nikola Motor Corporation, Akazoo and Breitling Energy, said in an interview Tuesday that he chose Holland & Knight because last year’s merger with Thompson & Knight gives its partners a larger national platform to represent clients.
Mascianica, who left his position at the SEC’s Fort Worth regional office Dec. 31, handled or supervised more than 100 investigations of individuals or businesses and obtained judgments totaling more than $250 million during his decadelong time with the federal agency.
During the past couple of years, Mascianica developed expertise in handling some of the hottest legal issues involving corporate America, including digital assets, cybersecurity and special purpose acquisition companies, also known as SPACs.
SEC Regional Director David Peavler said he was disappointed to see Mascianica leave.
“Scott is really good with large, complicated contentious cases,” Peavler said. “Scott has a lot of strengths, and it is clear why a law firm would want him.”
Holland & Knight partner Jessica Magee, who was the SEC’s former associate director of enforcement in Fort Worth, said landing Mascianica is a coup for the firm.
“With the merger complete and behind us and the growth the firm is experiencing, this is an extremely exciting time for Scott to join us,” said Magee, who is also the former general counsel of the Beneficient Group, an alternative asset management firm.
Mascianica said he was “presented with some opportunities” in the fall from multiple firms. He reached out to Magee for suggestions.
“When he mentioned he was considering possibilities, I saw that it presented our firm with an opportunity to get a really great lawyer,” she said.
Mascianica said he knows several lawyers at Holland & Knight, which has 1,600 lawyers in 31 offices globally, and they spoke highly of the firm’s collaborative culture.
“HK, coming off of its merger with TK, is in a stage of dynamic growth and it is encouraging its lawyers to be more creative and work across practice groups,” he said. “With the merger, HK offers me a national platform to work with clients across the country.”
Shamoil Shipchandler, chief counsel at financial services giant Charles Schwab and former SEC regional director in Fort Worth, said that Mascianica’s “loss will be felt” at the regulatory agency.
“Scott is an exceptional lawyer with whom we entrusted some of the most significant cases we had when we were at the SEC’s Fort Worth regional office together,” Shipchandler said. “He is also truly gifted leader who never hesitated to roll up his sleeves and serve in any role that was needed – from lead to support and everything in between.”
At the SEC, Mascianica also served as the assistant director of the “Asset Management Unit,” which was a nationwide team that focused on investigations and enforcement actions involving investment advisers and investment firms.
Mascianica, who is ethically prohibited from handling a case before the SEC for one year, said the SEC is going to be more “aggressive going forward under Chairman [Gary] Gensler.”
He said resources or the lack of them remains a limitation on the Fort Worth regional office, which has seen the number publicly traded companies, financial companies and brokers and dealers dramatically increase during the past several years. Despite the growth, the office gets the same headcount as it did in 2016.
Even with those limitations, Mascianica and Magee said their old employer has excellent investigators and enforcement lawyers who present a “credible litigation threat” to those it regulates.
Brad Hancock, co-leader of Holland & Knight’s Texas litigation practice, said the firm’s clients will benefit from having two experienced former SEC enforcement supervisors in the region.