Rory C. FlinnRory C. Flynn

Rory C. Flynn, of counsel to the firm, has more than thirty years of litigation and appellate experience. He spent twelve of those years with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in its Division of Enforcement and, later, as an Associate General Counsel in its Office of the General Counsel. In between, Mr. Flynn spent thirteen years as Chief Litigation Counsel of NASD’s (and its successor, FINRA’s) Department of Enforcement. Some of his most significant responsibilities as a regulator included:

  • Successfully litigated scores of securities cases on behalf of the SEC, NASD, and FINRA across the U.S. involving complex law, procedural, and evidentiary issues.
  • Appointed by the SEC Chairman to lead the Office of the General Counsel’s Adjudication practice group, which is focused on appeals to the Commission.
  • Coordinated the NASD (and later FINRA’s) litigation matters across sixteen offices around the country.
  • Created and oversaw many of the SEC’s distribution plans for disgorged assets, which collectively exceeded hundreds of millions of dollars.

In recognition of his collective contributions at the SEC, Mr. Flynn received two letters of commendation from Chairman Arthur Levitt. He was also nominated to receive the Stanley M. Sporkin Award, which recognizes those who made exceptionally tenacious and insightful contributions to the SEC’s efforts to enforce compliance with the federal securities laws. Mr. Flynn also received several honors during his tenure at NASD and FINRA including the association’s Excellence in Service Award, its Chairman’s Award, and is a three-time recipient of its President’s Award. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center in its securities law graduate program.

Mr. Flynn was raised in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. He graduated from the Bernard M. Baruch College of the City University of New York (B.B.A. 1978, magna cum laude, Accounting) and from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University (J.D. 1981, cum laude), where he was a member of its Law Review. He also earned an LL.M. in Securities & Financial Regulation from the Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M., 1992). After graduating from Cardozo, Mr. Flynn served as a law clerk to the Hon. Reynaldo G. Garza of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He then served as an Assistant District Attorney in Houston, Texas where he prosecuted a wide variety of criminal cases at trial and on appeal.