John W Berry

Practice Areas

John Berry is an experienced litigator with over 20 years of experience in both government and the private sector. Mr. Berry focuses his practice on white collar defense and investigations, internal investigations and securities-related and other high stakes commercial litigation. He most recently served in senior-level positions in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, personally handling significant SEC enforcement matters, including first-chairing a large insider trading jury trial to verdict.

Mr. Berry joined MTO in 2019 from the SEC, where he was associate regional director for the SEC’s Los Angeles office, appointed by SEC Chair Mary Jo White to co-lead that office’s enforcement staff. In that role, he oversaw the office’s enforcement investigations and litigation, supervising over 100 investigations that led to more than 40 litigated or settled cases. Before taking on that position, Mr. Berry served as the regional trial counsel for the SEC’s Los Angeles office, where he managed the office’s senior trial counsel and oversaw all of the office’s litigated cases. He personally litigated or supervised almost 100 contested SEC enforcement actions in federal district court or in administrative proceedings.

Mr. Berry, in addition to other matters, is currently representing several executive officers in government investigations involving special purpose acquisition companies, or “SPACs.” He has also obtained several successful resolutions for his clients since joining the firm.

During his career at the SEC and in private practice, Mr. Berry has litigated 26 cases to summary judgment and argued more than 40 dispositive motions and appeals in federal and state trial and appellate courts. Given his experience and background, he is a frequent speaker on securities enforcement and litigation topics. While at the SEC, Mr. Berry worked on a wide variety of cases, including matters involving insider trading, financial and accounting fraud, public company disclosure fraud, cyber-related fraud, investment adviser and broker fraud, offering fraud, and registration and other non-fraud violations.