| Admission Details | 1997, Florida; 1998, District of Columbia; U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida |
| Education | University of Florida, B.S.; University of Miami School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1996 Order of the Coif; University of Miami Law Review, Editorial Board; University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, Associate Editor; Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M., Securities/Financial Regulation, with distinction, 2000 |
| Birth Information | West Palm Beach, Florida, 1964 |
| Associations & Memberships | Federal Bar Association; American Bar Association (Member, Securities Litigation Committee, Securities Commodities and Exchange Committee, Litigation Section) |
| Awards & Recognition | Thomas Bradbury Chetwood, S.J. Prize, Georgetown University Law Center (awarded for highest academic average in graduating class)
CALI Excellence for the Future Award, Georgetown University Law Center (awarded for best graduate paper)
Recipient, "Put Something Back" Pro Bono Award for Real Property (2008-2009), presented by the Eleventh Judicial Circuit and the Dade County Bar Association
Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts 2000 Legal Services Award (awarded for outstanding pro bono client service)
Who's Who in American Law Students (1993-1996) Phi Delta Phi International Honorary Legal Society |
| Reported Cases | A representative selection of matters in which Ms. Knapton was involved during her tenure with the SEC include:
Lead counsel in an investigation of a publicly-traded manufacturing company and its outside auditor involving the company's recording of fictitious assets, artificial inflation of revenue using round-trip transactions, and failure to write-off obsolete assets and properly reserve for potentially impaired assets.
Lead counsel in an investigation of executive compensation disclosure by the chief executive officer of a public company.
Lead counsel in an investigation of insider trading in advance of a bank merger announcement, by the target bank's officers, directors, and their affiliates.
Lead counsel in an investigation of a registered investment adviser in connection with its fraudulent proprietary hedge fund offerings, and various Investment Advisers Act custody and disclosure violations.
Lead counsel in an investigation of sales practice violations by a registered securities broker and its affiliated broker-dealer, including trading ahead of customer orders, unauthorized trading, churning, and failure to supervise. |
| Pro Bono Information | LegalArt, Pro Bono Legal Services Organization - Volunteer Attorney - Intellectual property and corporate counseling
Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. Volunteer Attorney - Mortgage rescue scams, fraud, and real property litigation |
| Representative Clients | Legal counsel to the Receiver in SEC case, SEC v. Digges, et al.
Representation of financial services companies in SEC investigations.
Representation of financial services company in investigation by state securities regulators.
Investment adviser registration and compliance counseling for start-up international investment adviser.
Investment adviser registration and compliance counseling for national insurance company domestic investment adviser affiliate.
Federal and state securities compliance counseling for financial publisher.
Broker-dealer registration and compliance counseling for start-up international broker-dealer.
Counsel to a national insurance company involving claims by an insured broker-dealer.
Defense of insurance company in private securities litigation with an investment bank. |
| Civil Associations | Advisory Board Member, University of Miami School of Law Miami Law Women (affiliate of the Florida Assn. of Women Lawyers (FAWL))
Georgetown Club of Miami, Board of Directors, Director (2005-2008)
United Way Impact Council (2007-present)
Organization Volunteer, National Campaign for Fair Elections Lawyer's Committee Election Protection Minority Language Project |
| Publications | Co-Author, "The World of Evolving Annuity Products," For the Defense Magazine published by the Defense Research Institute (2008 Fourth Quarter). |
| Additional Bio Details | Ms. Knapton is a member of the firm's Business Litigation, White Collar Crime & Criminal Defense and Corporate and Business Services Practice Groups. Her practice includes representation in regulatory and enforcement investigations and proceedings by the SEC, Self Regulatory Organizations (SROs), state securities regulators, and other government agencies. Ms. Knapton's practice also includes foreign and domestic investment adviser and broker-dealer registration and compliance counseling, private and derivative securities litigation, White Collar criminal defense, and general commercial litigation.
Ms. Knapton was employed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement at the Headquarters Office in Washington, D.C. from 1996 - 2002 and at the Southeast Regional Office in Miami, FL from 2002 - 2006. During her tenure at the SEC, Ms. Knapton had responsibility for scores of SEC investigations, including investigations of public companies, accounting firms, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and hedge funds, involving various issues including accounting fraud, audit failure, market manipulation, insider trading, fraudulent offerings, illegal securities touting, broker-dealer sales practice violations, and investment adviser custody, disclosure, and recordkeeping violations. |