Amelia A. Cottrell is Co-Chair of the Securities Enforcement Practice Group and a partner in the Litigation Department. Amelia is frequently sought by companies for her extensive experience in a range of securities enforcement proceedings and also often represents individual clients in high-stakes securities matters, including criminal and regulatory investigations. Chambers USA has ranked Amelia among the leading SEC Enforcement practitioners nationwide, where clients have described her as “extremely effective” and “[a]n outstanding lawyer.”
Drawing on her experience as co-head of Enforcement in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York office, Amelia not only represents public companies, private entities, and individuals in connection with SEC and other government inquiries, investigations, and actions, but also counsels clients on compliance matters including in connection with SEC examinations. Amelia’s decade at the SEC in the New York Regional Office and her sterling reputation across the Enforcement Division is widely recognized by and sought after by clients and peers across the breadth of securities-related enforcement and regulatory government-facing matters.
Immediately prior to joining Willkie in 2015, Amelia served as Associate Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office. As one of the top enforcement officials at the SEC’s New York office, Amelia oversaw and managed SEC investigations and enforcement actions and was responsible for directing the New York Regional Office’s enforcement program. She had oversight responsibility for approximately half of the New York office’s investigations and litigations, supervising a large team of attorneys, investigators, accountants and paralegals.
Amelia's articles include:
- “Don’t Call It a Comeback: The SEC’s Continued Pursuit of ‘Broken Windows,’” The Investment Lawyer (April 2019) (with Benjamin Haskin)
- “Context Makes a Difference: SEC Loses Controversial Case,” The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation (June 2016) (with Mary Eaton, Elizabeth Gray, Benjamin Haskin, James Anderson and Juliet Mun)
- “Will the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Proposed Changes to Administrative Proceedings Quiet Critics?” The Investment Lawyer (December 2015) (with William Stellmach, Elizabeth Gray and Katherine Hanniford)
- "SEC Attempts To Address Due Process Concerns," Law360 (September 2015) (with Elizabeth Gray)
Amelia's speaking engagements include:
- “White Collar Litigation Trends,” New York City Bar Securities Litigation & Enforcement Institute
- “SEC Enforcement – Do Alternative Asset Managers have their Act together?” Duff & Phelps New York Alternative Investments Conference
- “Hot Topics in SEC Enforcement: The SEC Gets Tougher - Inside the Wells Process,” New York City Bar
- “Regulatory Enforcement Trends,” International Conference on Private Investment Funds (London, U.K.)
- “Career Moves: Strategies and Pathways” New York City Bar