Antonia Apps is a partner at Paul, Weiss and Co-Chair of the Litigation Department. She is a former senior official at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a former federal prosecutor, an experienced trial lawyer and a lecturer at Harvard Law School. In addition to her government roles, Antonia has 20 years of experience in private practice representing Fortune 500 companies, global financial institutions, asset managers and private equity firms in a broad range of civil, regulatory and criminal matters. She has tried 19 cases, argued numerous federal court appeals and federal and state court motions, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Investigations Lawyers | 2026 | White Collar, Investigations, Securities Litigation |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management | 2026 | Litigation, Investigation, White Collar |
| The 2025 Lawdragon Legends | 2025 | |
| The 2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2022 | Litigation, esp. White Collar |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2022 | |
| The 2021 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2021 | Litigation, esp. White Collar |
| The 2020 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2020 | Litigation, esp. White Collar |
| The 2019 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2019 | |
| The 2018 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2018 | |
| The 2017 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2017 | |
| The 2016 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2016 | |
| The 2014-15 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers | 2014-2015 |
Apps served in multiple senior roles at the SEC. From 2023 to 2025, she led the SEC’s New York office, the largest regional office with over 600 attorneys, accountants, investigators, securities compliance examiners and others. During her tenure as the office’s Regional Director, the New York office was highly active in bringing standalone enforcement actions and completing examinations. In January 2025, Apps was promoted to Acting Deputy Director of the Enforcement Division, where she helped oversee the SEC’s enforcement activities and manage a 1,300-person division handling the agency’s investigations and trials. In April 2025, Apps was named Deputy Director of Enforcement overseeing the enforcement program in the New York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia regional offices.
Before joining the SEC, Apps was a litigation partner at another large law firm, representing public companies, financial institutions, investment banks, asset managers and private equity firms in white collar and internal investigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and high-stakes commercial litigation. Her private practice experience during that period included representing:
- BlackRock in SEC and DOJ investigations arising from investment of a BlackRock closed-end mutual fund of $75 million to finance a film distribution company.
- Infinity Q Capital Management in connection with investigations by the SEC, CFTC, NFA and DOJ regarding valuation of complex securities, and in parallel civil litigation alleging violations of the federal securities laws.
- The audit committee of Ginkgo Bioworks in an internal investigation regarding accounting and other allegations contained in a short-seller report.
- American Realty Capital Properties (now known as VEREIT, Inc.), a publicly listed real estate investment trust, in investigations by the DOJ, SEC and Massachusetts Securities Division; in federal securities class actions; and in derivative actions in federal and state court arising from the company’s public disclosure of accounting irregularities following a whistleblower investigation and restatement of previously issued financial statements.
- A committee of the board of American Renal Associates Holdings in connection with DOJ and SEC investigations, and in a shareholder class action and derivative action.
- SEACOR Power in investigations and a public trial conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board concerning the capsizing of a vessel in the Gulf of Mexico resulting in 13 fatalities.
- The ad hoc committee of secured lenders to education company EDMC in an out-of-court restructuring at a preliminary injunction hearing in federal district court concerning a novel issue under the Trust Indenture Act; and successfully argued the Second Circuit appeal in the same case.