Anna Moody is a counsel in Debevoise’s Litigation Department, resident in the Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on securities-related enforcement defense, including cybersecurity regulatory counseling and defense, SEC examinations, internal investigations and white collar criminal defense.
Ms. Moody represents individuals, private firms and public companies in SEC and DOJ investigations and internal investigations. She advises on a variety of regulatory and enforcement issues, including with respect to cybersecurity and chief information security officer liability. Ms. Moody regularly counsels financial institutions in high-stakes insider trading investigations and advises on information barriers and related compliance. In addition to her regulatory defense work, Ms. Moody has represented corporate clients and their officers and directors in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation, and has also successfully litigated significant cases in the appellate courts and the Supreme Court of the United States.
In recognition of her work, Ms. Moody was named as a Bloomberg Law’s They’ve Got Next: 40 Under 40 2023 honoree in both the Appellate and White Collar, Investigations and Crisis Leadership categories. Bloomberg Law’s annual 40 Under 40 list recognizes “the best of the future of the legal profession”--outstanding lawyers across the U.S. with a successful track record of achieving significant, high-impact client wins. The honorees are evaluated on a range of criteria including performance for their clients, leadership skills, and pro bono service.
Among her professional associations, Ms. Moody is Vice-Chair of the Securities Enforcement Committee of the DC Bar Association. Ms. Moody is executive editor of the Debevoise Insider Trading Disclosure Update.
Ms. Moody’s recent publications include “SEC Settles Charges for Defrauding Investors in “AI Washing” Scheme,” Harvard Forum on Corporate Governance (October, 2024); “SEC Order Provides Warning to Fund Managers with Access to CLO-Related MNPI,” NYU PCCE (September, 2024); “Supreme Court Holds That “Pure Omissions” Are Not Actionable Under Rule 10b-5(b),” NYU PCCE (April, 2024); “Resisting Hindsight Bias: A Proposed Framework for CISO Liability,” Infosecurity Magazine (February 2024); “Ex-OpenSea Staffer Case May Clarify When Info Is Property,” Law360 (January 2024); and “Insider Trading Enforcement Against Lawmakers Is Growing,” Law360 (November 2022).
Ms. Moody joined the firm in 2009. From 2010 to 2011, she clerked for the Hon. James G. Carr, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Ms. Moody received a J.D. from Columbia University, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and head articles editor of the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. She received a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish, with honors, from Washington University.
Ms. Moody is a member of the Bars of New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. She is conversant in Spanish and German.