Former SEC Official, Bank of America GC Lynch Rejoins Davis Polk

Gary Lynch, a former top in-house lawyer at Bank of America Corp. and one-time enforcement chief at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has returned to Davis Polk & Wardwell as counsel in the firm’s litigation practice. Davis Polk announced the homecoming on Monday, saying Lynch—who was previously a partner at the firm from 1989 to 2001—would bring a wealth of experience that spans sectors and stands to benefit clients. The news of Lynch’s return to Davis Polk comes on the heels of another recent hire by the firm, which on Thursday announced that Michael Hong would join in New York as a partner in the investment management group. “Gary is a highly respected lawyer with an unmatched combination of public and private sector experience at the highest levels that makes him particularly attuned to the needs of our clients,” Davis Polk managing partner Thomas Reid said in a statement. “We are delighted to welcome him back to the firm.” Lynch had first joined Davis Polk in the late 1980s after more than a decade at the SEC, where he rose to become the agency’s enforcement director in 1985, when he was just 34 years old. [caption id="attachment_10650" align="alignleft" width="199"]

Gary Lynch.[/caption] After roughly a dozen years as a Davis Polk partner, Lynch moved to a series of in-house counsel roles at large financial institutions, including Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America. At Morgan Stanley, Lynch served as chief legal officer and executive vice president and oversaw the business’ transition to a financial holding company in the midst of the global financial crisis. Lynch’s time at Bank of America started in 2011 as head of legal, compliance and regulatory relations before he became global general counsel and, later, vice chairman. It also overlapped with a period in which the company, along with many of the world’s largest banks, faced fallout from the financial crisis and their role in the economic collapse. After stepping down from the general counsel position in 2016 to become vice chairman, Lynch retired from Bank of America a little less than a year ago. Remarking on his new position, Lynch said in a statement that he’s happy to rejoin friends and colleagues at Davis Polk. “I look forward to working with the extremely talented Davis Polk team to help clients on their important investigations and advisory matters,” he said. Davis Polk’s other recent hire, Hong, came to the firm from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and focuses his practice on private equity fund formation. Welcoming him to Davis Polk, head of the investment management group Nora Jordan said in a statement that the new partner would become a key part of a growing private equity practice at the firm. “He has impressive experience in both private equity fund formation and private equity M&A. That experience will be immensely valuable to our clients,” Jordan said of Hong.