Peter I. Altman is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Mr. Altman’s practice focuses on representing investment management firms, private and public companies, and individuals in white collar and other government enforcement and regulatory matters, securities class action litigation, and internal investigations. He is counsel to numerous investment management firms on issues of day-to-day regulatory risk and compliance, corporate governance, SEC examinations, and SEC enforcement investigations.
Developed through his practice in both the public and private sector, Mr. Altman has extensive experience with matters involving federal securities and commodities laws. He returned to the firm after serving for three years as senior counsel in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Enforcement, where he led the agency’s enforcement efforts as lead counsel in several investigations, including those designated with national-priority status. Mr. Altman was also a member of the Division of Enforcement’s selective national Market Abuse Unit, which investigates market structure and manipulation, dark pools and complex insider trading schemes.
Mr. Altman’s investigations at the SEC involved numerous aspects of the federal securities laws, including the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and SEC Rule of Practice 102(e), among others. In these investigations, Mr. Altman worked closely with other SEC offices and divisions, including the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations; the Division of Corporation Finance; the Division of Investment Management; and the Division of Trading and Markets, as well as with members of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York Attorney General’s Office, FINRA, and multiple state regulatory agencies. During his government service, Mr. Altman received the SEC Enforcement Director Award for distinction in investigating enforcement matters.
Mr. Altman is also a member of the Los Angeles hiring committee and is the chair of the pro bono scholars recruiting committee.
Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Altman served as counsel in Akin Gump’s litigation practice in New York and Los Angeles, where he represented numerous clients in criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions conducted by federal, state and local authorities, and self-regulatory organizations. He also advised clients in a variety of complex commercial matters, including class action litigation.
Additionally, Mr. Altman has provided extensive pro bono representation to multiple clients involved in immigration cases and received the Pro Bono Counsel of the Year award for the New York office in 2011.
Mr. Altman received his B.A. with honors in political science in 2001 from the University of Michigan. He received his J.D. cum laude in 2005 from Brooklyn Law School, where he was a notes and comments editor on the Brooklyn Law Review. Mr. Altman served as a law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank S. Maas of the Southern District of New York.
