Paul Curnin is a partner in the Litigation Department, Co-Administrative Partner of the Firm, and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. He concentrates on securities matters, takeover litigation, and government and internal investigations.  Mr. Curnin has represented JPMorgan Chase, KKR, Travelers and WorldCom, Inc. in securities matters, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in connection with federal investigations, and the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Whitewater Hearings.  He has handled numerous Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement proceedings and class and derivative actions in federal and state court, including the representation of Bear Stearns & Co. in connection with In Re Cendant Securities Fraud Litigations.  He has conducted numerous internal investigations. 

Mr. Curnin was lead counsel in SEC v. WorldCom and negotiated WorldCom’s settlement with the SEC.  He also represented the outside directors of WorldCom, including its Audit Committee, in the civil securities class actions suits filed against them.  Mr. Curnin obtained the dismissal of the Section 10(b) claims against the Audit Committee and negotiated the resolution of all civil exposure facing the outside directors.  Mr. Curnin is currently lead counsel for a major insurer that is the subject of SEC, New York Attorney General and other regulatory investigations, as well as multiple related civil actions. 

Mr. Curnin joined Simpson Thacher in 1990 and became a partner in 1995.  In 2003, he was named one of the country’s top “45 Lawyers Under 45” by American Lawyer magazine.  He is cited in the 2004 through 2008 Chambers USA listings of Leading Business Lawyers in America for securities litigation and government investigations.  In 2008, Mr. Curnin was appointed to the Second Circuit Committee on Admissions and Grievances by the Chief Judge of the Second Circuit.  Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Curnin was a Staff Attorney in the Federal Defenders Services Unit for the Southern District of New York, and served as a law clerk to the Hon. Roger Wollman of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals as well as the late Hon. Lloyd F. MacMahon of the Southern District of New York.

Mr. Curnin received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1983 and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1987. 

Honors/Associations

•	American Bar Association
•	Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Secretary, Committee on Criminal Law, 1992-1995
•	Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Committee on Professional Responsibility, 1991-1992
•	Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Faculty, Effective Trial Advocacy Workshop, 1998-2000
•	The Legal Aid Society of New York, Board of Directors, 2000-2005

Recent Cases

•	Matsushita v. Epstein Supreme Court 1996

Publications

•	SEC Announces Significant New Initiatives to Encourage Cooperation in Investigations and Enforcement Actions
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
•	The Supreme Court Considers the ‘Inquiry Notice’ Standard in Federal Securities Fraud Cases
•	The Supreme Court Rejects "Scheme" Liability For Secondary Actors In The Absence Of Actual Reliance On The Deceptive Conduct Or A Separate Duty To Speak
•	Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Expanding Securities Fraud Liability to Secondary Actors Based on Allegedly Fraudulent, Arm's Length Business Transactions
•	Supreme Court Adopts Heightened Standard for Pleading Scienter in Federal Securities Fraud Cases
•	Federal Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrines, Current Developments in Federal Civil Practice (PLI 2003)
•	Temporary Restraining Orders, Preliminary Injunctions and other Expedited Relief, Current Developments in Federal Civil Practice, PLI 2002
•	The Critical Issue of Standing under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933
•	Defending Class Actions (with John J. Kerr and Lynn K. Neuner) AsiaLaw Magazine, April 1996

Admissions

•	New York 1988
•	U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York 1988
•	U.S. District Court Southern District of New York 1988
•	U.S. District Court Western District of New York 1997
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit 1989
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit 2002
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit 1989
•	U.S. Supreme Court 1995

Clerkships

•	Hon. Roger Wollman, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1987-1988; Hon. Lloyd F. MacMahon, U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1988-1989.

Education

•	Fordham University School of Law, 1987 J.D.
•	Dartmouth College, 1983 B.A. With Honors