Karen Patton Seymour is Of Counsel in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Litigation Group, a member of the Firm’s Criminal Defense & Investigations Group, and formerly a co-head of the Firm’s Litigation Group and a member of the Firm’s Management Committee. She has a multidisciplinary practice focusing on corporate governance, crisis management, complex commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense and internal investigations.
Ms. Seymour rejoined the Firm in 2021 from Goldman Sachs, where she served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel and was a member of the Management Committee. She oversaw the firm’s strategy regarding class action and other litigation and enforcement issues and served as a key advisor to the firm across a wide variety of legal, reputational and other matters. She successfully resolved a number of important matters on behalf of the firm and was key in negotiating the firm’s most critical legal matters, including the multijurisdictional settlement relating to 1MDB. She also advised the “Launch with GS,” Goldman Sachs’ $500 million commitment to narrow the gender investing gap and to increase access to capital for women and diverse entrepreneurs and investors, and served on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Prior to her time at Goldman Sachs, as co-managing partner of S&C’s Litigation Group, Ms. Seymour represented corporations and individuals in state and federal investigations and proceedings involving allegations of securities fraud and insider trading, FCPA, anti-money laundering, OFAC sanctions, and criminal antitrust violations. She often worked on complex, multi-jurisdictional matters, such as leading the negotiations of numerous significant settlements involving multiple jurisdictions. Illustrative of this is the high profile sanctions settlement Ms. Seymour secured for BNP Paribas in 2014 for which the Financial Times noted the “limited fallout.” Ms. Seymour has tried numerous jury and bench trials in federal court and argued many appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She has deep experience representing corporations and individuals outside of the United States in responding to U.S. inquiries and investigations, and assisting in complex international investigations.
Ms. Seymour has been recognized as a “Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal and was named “Attorney of the Year” twice, by Benchmark and Best Lawyers in America, for her white-collar and investigations work. In 2021, Chambers USA recognized Ms. Seymour as an “Eminent Practitioner,” a recognition that is given to a select few attorneys, for her work in financial services regulation and white-collar crime and government investigations. In 2023, Chambers USA designated Ms. Seymour a “Star Individual” in white-collar crime & government investigations. She was named “Investigations Professional of the Year” by Global Investigations Review in the inaugural presentation of the award in 2021.
