Jennifer S. Leete is a member of Cravath's Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement Practice. She is a former Associate Director in the Division of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she served for more than 20 years.
Leete represents public and private companies, financial institutions, auditors, audit committees, boards of directors, executives and board members in connection with sensitive and complex investigations, enforcement and regulatory matters. She also conducts internal investigations on behalf of board committees and companies and advises clients on corporate governance and regulatory compliance issues.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2026 | Investigations, Regulatory Enforcement |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2025 | Investigations, Regulatory Enforcement |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2025 | Investigations, Regulatory Enforcement |
| The Lawdragon 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management | 2025 | Investigations, Enforcement, Securities |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2024 | Investigations, Regulatory Enforcement |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2024 | Investigations, Regulatory Enforcement |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2022 | Investigations, Regulatory Enforcement |
Leete’s representative matters include:
- Represented a biotechnology company in connection with an SEC investigation into public statements related to the company’s accounting for its acquisition of a healthcare company. The SEC closed its investigation without recommending any enforcement action.
- Represented an automobile manufacturer in connection with an internal investigation arising out of a whistleblower allegation.
- Represented the audit committee of a consumer products company in an internal investigation and SEC investigation concerning accounting, financial and workplace matters, following its acquisition of two other companies in a de‑SPAC transaction.
- Represented an international food and personal care company in an SEC investigation concerning accounting issues related to two business transactions and the company’s earnings guidance issued in recent years. The SEC closed its investigation without recommending any enforcement action.
- Represented an autonomous vehicle company in connection with an SEC investigation. The SEC closed its investigation without recommending any enforcement action.
- Represented a global provider of solar energy equipment in connection with an SEC subpoena. The SEC closed its investigation without recommending any enforcement action.
- Represented the board of directors of a start‑up company that recently became public in connection with an SEC enforcement investigation concerning whistleblower claims related to potential reporting issues.
- Represented a software development company that built decentralized finance (DeFi) tools and services related to an internationally available decentralized blockchain protocol in connection with an SEC investigation and potential related litigation.
- Representing a healthcare company in connection with an SEC subpoena related to the restatement of financial statements.
As a Senior Officer and member of the Division of Enforcement’s leadership team, Leete supervised a broad range of highly complex investigations and enforcement actions, managed a team of approximately 50 attorneys and collaborated closely with the SEC’s regulatory divisions. She regularly coordinated the resolution of matters with other authorities, including the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, state securities regulators, international securities regulators and self‑regulatory organizations, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
During her tenure at the SEC, Leete investigated, supervised and filed enforcement actions involving financial fraud and disclosure violations at public companies, as well as misconduct at major broker‑dealers, investment advisers, accounting firms, private funds and self‑regulatory organizations. She also led investigations in emerging areas of the securities laws, including issues related to ESG, digital assets and cryptocurrencies, SPACs and Regulation Best Interest, in addition to insider trading, internet and offering frauds, and Ponzi schemes.
Leete joined the SEC in 1999 as a Staff Attorney in the Division of Enforcement. She became a Branch Chief in 2003 and an Assistant Director in 2010. She is a recipient of the Capital Markets Award, the Chairman’s Award for Excellence and several Division Director Awards. Prior to joining the SEC, Leete was a litigator in private practice in Washington, D.C.