Attorney general names chief of Investor Protection Bureau

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman last week chose Chad Johnson to serve as chief of the Investor Protection Bureau.

Johnson, who has more than 20 years of experience litigating securities cases on behalf of both shareholders and financial institutions, will enforce New York state securities laws in his new post. He joined the executive division of Schneiderman”™s office in 2012, initially serving as senior trial counsel and later as deputy attorney general.

“Chad has already successfully led a number of the most important and noteworthy matters in our office ”“ from investigating the conduct that led to the financial crisis in 2008 to ensuring that no one has an unfair early advantage in the markets,” Schneiderman said in a press release. “Under Chad”™s stewardship, I”™m confident that the Investor Protection Bureau will continue to advance Wall Street reforms that promote fairness and a level playing field, as well as hold wrongdoers accountable for their actions.”

Johnson had been a partner for nearly nine years with Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann L.L.P. in Manhattan, where he represented shareholders ”“ including both institutional investors and individual shareholders ”“ in securities fraud and corporate governance litigations.

He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Michigan.