Kenneth C. Rudd, Partner

Attorney Kenneth C. Rudd

Ken is a partner and member of the firm’s Anti-Money Laundering/Financial Crime and Government Investigations group and its commercial litigation practice.

Ken represents financial institutions in regulatory and compliance matters, with a focus on Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”) issues. Ken also advises clients in responding to grand jury, regulatory, and legislative investigations. He has counseled financial institutions responding to significant investigations conducted by the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (the “PSI”) and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He also routinely advises clients, including financial institutions, in complex litigation.

Ken presents BSA/AML training for bankers and in-house legal teams, and presents on AML for CLE credit. He frequently partners with larger firms to jointly represent clients concerning BSA/AML issues in a variety of matters, including RMBS, Ponzi, employment and fraud litigation. He is certified as an Anti-Money Laundering Specialist by ACAMS (which is not affiliated with any governmental authority).

Ken’s practice includes representing financial institution clients in actions involving fraud, contract, and other commercial disputes.

Ken’s notable matters and accomplishments include:

  • Representing a global bank in connection with investigations by a Congressional committee and the DOJ in connection with potential abuse of the U.S. financial system;
  • Representing a global bank in connection with an investigation by DOJ into corruption in multinational sport;
  • Representing two large banks in connection with a PSI investigation into financial activity relating to human trafficking;
  • Representing a global bank in a Senate Banking Committee investigation concerning compliance issues;
  • Representing a senior executive in connection with a PSI investigation regarding certain trading activity;
  • Representing a global large financial institution in a PSI investigation into tax haven abuse;
  • Securing before the trial court and on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, dismissal of an action by a borrower against one of the country’s largest mortgage servicers based on a variety of statutory and common law claims;
  • Successfully defeating claims brought by a major New York municipality against a large mortgage servicer seeking to recover the cost of repairing abandoned homes and remediating urban blight;
  • Representing a large Japanese trading company in an action brought by a developer of luxury properties based on the alleged breach of a joint venture agreement with an American subsidiary;
  • Representing an investment bank in an action brought by the principals of a company that had developed an electronic data and trading platform;
  • Representing a major financial institution in related investigations into foreign money service businesses being conducted by the New York County District Attorney’s Office and several regulators; and
  • Successfully defending a $160 million lender liability action in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s award of summary judgment.

Prior to joining ZEK, Ken was an Assistant District Attorney in New York City, handling cases at the trial, grand jury and appellate levels.

Ken serves on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Tumor Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated ending neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that strikes about 1 in every 3,000 people. He also chairs the Board’s Legal Affairs and Ethics Committee.

*Not admitted to practice in the District of Columbia