William E. Walsh

Overview

Bill represents clients across a wide range of industries in litigation and regulatory matters. He has extensive knowledge of global securities and commodities markets. As a former regulator, he understands the challenges market participants face in navigating the complex regulatory environment. He is an accomplished commercial litigator, with a track record of success in matters related to securities fraud, market manipulation, auditor liability, and high-frequency trading. Bill represents clients in SEC, CFTC, and exchange investigations and prosecutions.

Prior to joining Benesch, Bill spent four years in market regulation at American global markets company CME Group Inc., the world’s largest financial derivatives exchange. As Senior Enforcement Counsel, he prosecuted rule violations, conducted hearings before exchange disciplinary panels, and administered the exchange arbitration process. Bill’s experience at CME Group provided him valuable perspective that informs the advice he provides to clients in the complex litigation, investigative, and regulatory matters he now handles in private practice.

Bill has served as an adjunct professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, teaching Securities Regulation.     

Broad Litigation Experience

Bill is a seasoned litigator, with experience in various forums, including federal and state courts, administrative agency proceedings, and arbitration. In financial markets, he has experience with a broad range of financial products and asset classes, including securities, agricultural products, currencies, energy, interest rates, metals, stock indexes, and digital assets.

Prosecutorial Experience

As Senior Enforcement Counsel in CME Group’s Market Regulation Department, Bill investigated and prosecuted rule violations on CME Group Exchanges related to matters such as disruptive trading and messaging, spoofing, trading algorithms and system malfunctions, wash trades, position limit violations and non-competitive trading.

Digital Assets Expertise

Bill has written and advised on numerous issues surrounding cryptocurrency and coin offerings, including ongoing developments in regulation of digital assets by the SEC, CFTC and other regulators.