Randall Fons is a partner in Morrison & Foerster’s Denver office. Mr. Fons, who spent 18 years with the SEC in trial and directorship posts around the U.S., serves as co-chair of the firm’s 125-lawyer Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White-Collar Defense Group and co-chair of the firm’s global FCPA +Anti-Corruption Task Force. In addition to his practice, Mr. Fons is a member of the firm's board of directors.
Mr. Fons represents corporations, their officers, directors, and employees in SEC and other law enforcement investigations. He also represents auditors before the SEC and PCAOB, as well as regulated entities before the SEC, FINRA, and self-regulatory organizations. Mr. Fons has assisted numerous boards of directors and their audit committees in conducting internal investigations, often advising clients on remedial measures responsive to the securities issues investigated. Mr. Fons also represents investment advisors, including advisors to hedge funds, in SEC proceedings, and has been appointed as an independent consultant by the FINRA pursuant to an enforcement action brought against a large independent broker-dealer.
From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Fons served as the Regional Director of the SEC’s Central Regional Offices. The Central Region, composed of three offices located in Denver, Ft. Worth, and Salt Lake City, focused on both enforcement and regulatory oversight programs across an 11-state area. Before his tenure with the Central Regional Office, Mr. Fons was Regional Director for the SEC’s Southeast Region, where he managed the work of the Miami and Atlanta offices. Mr. Fons began his impressive career with the Commission in 1988 as a staff attorney in the SEC’s Chicago office and rose to head that office’s enforcement program.
Mr. Fons received the SEC’s Distinguished Service Award, the Commission’s highest recognition, and the Capital Markets Award. He is ranked by Chambers USA 2013 for Commercial Litigation and is also listed in Best Lawyers in America for his expertise in Securities Law and is highly recommended by Legal 500 US for issues pertaining to the SEC. In 2008, he was the recipient of a Burton Award for Legal Achievement for an article he co-authored regarding securities enforcement.
Mr. Fons received his B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1984 and his law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law where he was a contributor to the University of Colorado Law Review. Following law school, Mr. Fons was a legal clerk to the Presiding Judge of the Wisconsin State Court of Appeals. Mr. Fons is a member of the Colorado and Illinois bars.