Former SEC Division of Enforcement Assistant Director Ranah Esmaili Joins Sidley in Washington, D.C.

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Ranah Esmaili, former Assistant Director in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has joined the firm in Washington, D.C., as a partner in its Securities Enforcement and Regulatory practice. Esmaili served as Assistant Director of the Asset Management Unit, a national specialized unit that focuses on misconduct by private funds, investment advisers, and investment companies. Esmaili joins Sidley on the heels of Sonia Barros, the outgoing Chief Corporate Governance Counsel in the Division of Corporation Finance at the SEC.

In her role as the Assistant Director of the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit, Esmaili oversaw investigations into the asset management industry concerning investment strategies contrary to disclosures, undisclosed affiliated transactions and misleading performance history, undisclosed fees and compensation, and undisclosed conflicts arising from side-by-side management. The statutes and rules Esmaili enforced pertained to investment advisors, private equity firms, hedge funds, registered investment companies, venture capital firms, and separately managed accounts