Skip to content
DWT logo
People Expertise Insights
About Locations Careers
Search
People
Expertise
Insights
About
Locations
Careers
Search
Desktop Image: Davis, Elizabeth
Mobile Image: Davis, Elizabeth

Elizabeth Lan Davis

she/her

Partner

Co-chair, Financial Services Practice

T 202.220.1933 Washington, D.C.
  •  

Download vCard Download bio Print this page
Share

Liz co-chairs the firm's national financial services practice. With nearly two decades of federal government experience at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and U.S. Department of Justice, Liz has the insights to effectively advocate before the CFTC, DOJ, Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Futures Association, and exchanges such as CME and ICE.

Liz represents individual and corporate clients in financial services examinations, regulatory investigations and proceedings, and white-collar matters. Her wide-ranging clients include financial institutions, proprietary trading firms, agricultural and energy firms, futures commission merchants, fintech firms, digital asset exchanges, commodity pools, and commodity trading advisors. Liz's depth of government experience allows her to handle government investigations efficiently and resolve civil and criminal matters in a way that significantly reduces penalties sought by the government, while zealously advocating on behalf of her clients in litigation. She also works with companies to conduct cost-effective internal investigations.

At the CFTC, where she served as a chief trial attorney in the Division of Enforcement, Liz led civil regulatory enforcement investigations on wide-ranging matters including fraud and manipulation, virtual currencies, ICOs, credit default swap indices, undercapitalization, and swaps reporting. Before her nine-year tenure at the CFTC, she served as counsel to the deputy assistant attorney general for civil matters within the DOJ Tax Division and was a trial attorney in the Tax Division's civil trial section. As a trial attorney, Liz tried numerous bench and jury trials to judgment, representing the IRS in federal district and bankruptcy courts.

Liz is the former chair of McGonigle, P.C., where she was a founding member of the firm's Commodities, Futures & Derivatives practice group.

Practice Highlights

Enforcement

Liz defends global financial institutions, as well as investment advisers, brokers, traders, senior management, and compliance officials in connection with on-the-record testimony, depositions, informal interviews, hearings, and other appearances in proceedings before federal government agencies, self-regulatory organizations, and exchanges.

Varied financial products

Liz's practice covers a wide variety of assets and financial products, including agricultural and energy commodities, digital assets, swaps, forex, precious metals, and Treasuries.

Digital asset regulation

Liz provides regulatory advice to digital asset exchanges and trading platforms in connection with registration issues, CFTC rule enforcement reviews, token listings, and state money transmitter licenses.

Selected Enforcement and Litigation Experience

*Denotes an attorney's experience prior to joining Davis Wright Tremaine
Searching...

Other Selected Experience

*Denotes an attorney's experience prior to joining Davis Wright Tremaine
Searching...

Admitted to Practice

  • District of Columbia, 1999

Education

  • J.D., Tulane University Law School, 1999  
  • B.A., University of Pennsylvania, 1996

Memberships & Affiliations

    • Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington D.C. Area
    • Past Fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
    • Women in Derivatives
    • Women in Listed Derivatives
    • Past Diversity Committee Co-Chair, Women's Bar Association of Washington, D.C.
    • Women's White Collar Defense Association

Professional Recognition

    • DOJ Tax Division Outstanding Attorney Award (2004, 2006, 2007)
    • Washington Business Journal's "Women Who Mean Business" (2021)
    • Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Area Pioneer Award (2021)
Clear Filter
Searching...
Your search returned no results. Please try another search or remove search criteria.
DWT logo
©1996-2022 Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
NAVIGATE
Home People Expertise Insights
About Locations Careers Events Blogs
STAY CONNECTED

Subscribe to stay informed.

Subscribe
Employees
DWT Collaborate
EEO
Affiliations
Legal notices
Privacy policy
©1996-2022 Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Close
Close

CAUTION - Before you proceed, please note: By clicking “accept” you agree that our review of the information contained in your e-mail and any attachments will not create an attorney-client relationship, and will not prevent any lawyer in our firm from representing a party in any matter where that information is relevant, even if you submitted the information in good faith to retain us.