SEC Enforcement Leader Returns to Cooley in New York

New York – September 15, 2025 – Today Cooley announced that Tejal Shah has rejoined the firm as partner in its global litigation department. Shah returns to Cooley after nearly 12 years at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she served in a series of increasingly senior leadership positions, culminating in her service as one of the New York office’s Associate Directors. Shah now becomes a core member of the firm’s SEC enforcement practice.

“We could not be more excited to welcome Tejal home,” said Ian Shapiro, partner and chair of the firm’s global litigation department. “Tejal was a beloved colleague before she joined the SEC, and we have been extremely proud of her success there. She is one of the most knowledgeable and well-regarded SEC enforcement lawyers of her generation. Cooley has long had a market-leading securities litigation + enforcement practice, and Tejal’s return reinforces the depth of our enforcement practice.” 

In her role as Associate Director, Shah, alongside the New York office’s two other associate directors, supervised approximately 150 lawyers and accountants pursuing investigations and litigations relating to potential violations of the securities laws, including insider trading, market manipulation, accounting fraud, and compliance failures by broker-dealers and investment advisers. Shah was a litigation associate in Cooley’s New York office from 2006 to 2014 when she joined the SEC. 

“Tejal brings a rare depth of insight into the regulatory risks our clients face in navigating high-stakes investigations and enforcement actions from the Commission,” said Patrick Gibbs, partner and leader of the firm’s securities litigation + enforcement group. “She will provide invaluable perspective for our clients across the technology, life sciences and financial services industries.”

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to reunite with my talented and collaborative former Cooley colleagues,” said Shah. “I cannot imagine a better place to return to private practice and am looking forward to tackling the most complex challenges facing Cooley’s uniquely innovative clients.”

Cooley’s litigation department includes 460 lawyers in the US and Europe and is the leading department for the representation of tech, life sciences and other innovative companies. In 2025, Cooley has added elite next-generation lawyers to its litigation department throughout the country, including Elizabeth Prelogar, Ray Tolentino and Ephraim McDowell in DC; Simona Agnolucci, Ben Hur, Eduardo Santacana and Jonathan Patchen in San Francisco; Lyndsey Kruzer in Boston; and James Kim in New York.

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