Peter Kazanoff is a Partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department and serves as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Recruiting Committee.  His practice focuses on securities matters, including change-of-control litigation, shareholder and derivative actions, and government and internal investigations. 

Mr. Kazanoff’s substantial experience in transaction-related litigation includes representing KKR in its acquisitions of Del Monte, TXU, HCA, Dollar General and Laureate Education; Blackstone in its acquisitions of Polymer Group and Prime Hospitality; Apax in its acquisition of Kinetic Concepts; Xerox in its acquisition of ACS; Wyeth in its sale to Pfizer; Mars in its acquisition of Wrigley; Schwab in its acquisition of optionsXpress; and People’s United Bank in its acquisitions of Danversbank, Smithtown Bank and Riverbank.  Mr. Kazanoff currently represents several companies and individuals associated with Fairfield Greenwich in shareholder and other litigations arising out of investments made with Bernard Madoff.  He also participates in the Firm’s government and internal investigations practice, including the representation of clients in proceedings brought by the SEC, FINRA, and other regulatory authorities.

Chambers and Partners has recognized Mr. Kazanoff as having “exceptional mastery of securities law” and for his skills in “dealing with individual clients.”  He is the Co-Editor of Securities Law Alert, a monthly newsletter that reports on developments in securities litigation and related areas.  Mr. Kazanoff also is a contributor to PLI’s Securities Law Practice Center.

Mr. Kazanoff joined Simpson Thacher in 1997 and became a partner in 2006.  He received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Bowdoin College in 1992 and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Chicago Law School in 1997. 

Honors/Associations

•	Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2010, 2011)
•	The Legal 500 “leading lawyers in the U.S.” for securities and shareholder litigation (2007)
•	Contributor, PLI's Securities Law Practice Center, 2011 - Present
•	American Bar Association, 1997 - Present
•	New York State Bar Association, 1997 - Present
•	City of New York Bar Association, 1997 - Present

Publications

•	Securities Law Alert, January 2012
•	New York Court of Appeals Rejects Martin Act Preemption of Common Law Claims of Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Gross Negligence
•	Securities Law Alert, December 2011
•	Supreme Court Considers Tolling of Statute of Limitations in Section 16(b) Claims
•	Securities Law Alert, November 2011
•	Securities Law Alert, October 2011
•	Securities Law Alert, September 2011
•	Securities Law Alert, August 2011
•	Second Circuit Affirms Madoff Trustee’s Use of “Net Investment Method” to Calculate Net Equity Under SIPA
•	Securities Law Alert, July 2011
•	Securities Law Alert, June 2011
•	The Supreme Court Limits Rule 10b-5 Liability to Person or Entity Making Alleged Misstatement
•	The Supreme Court Rejects Loss Causation Requirement at Class Certification Stage
•	Securities Law Alert, May 2011
•	Securities Law Alert, April 2011
•	The Supreme Court Considers Loss Causation at Time of Class Certification
•	Securities Law Alert, March 2011
•	The Supreme Court Rejects Bright-Line Rule on Disclosure of Adverse Event Reports
•	Securities Law Alert, February 2011
•	Securities Law Alert, January 2011
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Materiality Requirement in the Context of Drug Companies’ Disclosure of Adverse Event Reports
•	Securities Law Alert, December 2010
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Liability of Investment Advisers in Federal Securities Fraud Cases
•	Securities Law Alert, November 2010
•	Securities Law Alert, October 2010
•	Securities Law Alert, September 2010
•	The Supreme Court Affirms the Constitutional Validity of the PCAOB; Strikes Down “Double For-Cause” Removal Provisions as Unconstitutional
•	The Supreme Court Limits the Extraterritorial Application of the Antifraud Provisions of the U.S. Securities Laws
•	The Supreme Court Rejects “Inquiry Notice” as Trigger to Start Running the Statute of Limitations in Securities Fraud Cases
•	The Supreme Court Adopts the Gartenberg Standard to Determine Whether an Investment Adviser Breached its Fiduciary Duty in Approving Fees
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Application of the Antifraud Provisions of the United States Securities Laws in “Foreign-Cubed” Cases
•	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 Heightened Pleading Standard of Twombly Applies to All Federal Civil Claims
•	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
•	The European Court of First Instance Annuls the European Commission’s Decision Approving the SonyBMG Joint Venture - July 18, 2006
•	Private Anti-Trust Remedies Under US Law, Competition Law 2004-2005 (Practical Law Company)
•	Antitrust Developments in the Media and Entertainment Industries, 2005 Antitrust Review of the Americas - a Global Competition Review special report
•	The International Anti-Bribery Act of 1998 Amends the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Implements the OECD Convention Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials

Speaking Engagements

•	Peter Kazanoff and Jonathan Youngwood to Speak at PLI’s “Securities & Shareholder Litigation: 2011 Year-End Update and Recent Developments” Webcast November 21, 2011
•	7th Annual National Directors & Officers Insurance ExecuSummit April 22, 2011
•	PLI's "M&A Litigation 2011" Program March 7, 2011

Admissions

•	New York 1998
•	U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York 1998
•	U.S. District Court Southern District of New York 1998
•	U.S. District Court Western District of New York 2000
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit 2001
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit 2010

Education

•	University of Chicago Law School, 1997 J.D. cum laude
•	Bowdoin College, 1992 A.B. magna cum laude, Economics and Government