[Photo: Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law]

Andrew Ceresney, who spent the past 3 years as the SEC Director of Enforcement, has rejoined Debevoise & Plimpton. As co-chair of its litigation department in New York, he expects to counsel clients who are under investigation for criminal and civil regulatory matters and will also work on civil litigation. Ceresney had been with Debevoise for 10 years, until he left in 2013 to join the SEC.

Back in 2007, Ceresny was one of the Debevoise lawyers who deposed now-President Donald Trump, pertaining to a lawsuit filed by Trump against Ceresney’s client, author Tim O’Brien. Mr. O’Brien allegedly understated Trump’s net worth in his book, “Trump Nation: The Art of Being the Donald.” Mary Jo White, who chaired the SEC during Ceresney’s tenure at the agency, had also represented O’Brien, who is executive editor of Bloomberg View.

During the presidential campaign, a transcript of the deposition, which was obtained by the Washington Post, briefly dominated the news cycle for about a week in August. The Post report described Ceresney and White as “relentless,” saying they forced Trump to confront his own falsehoods and exaggerations.

From the article:

• “I was paid more than a million dollars,” Trump said when Ceresney asked how much he’d been paid for a speech in 2005 at NYC’s Learning Annex, a continuing-education center.
• Ceresney was ready: “But how much of the payments were cash?”
• “Approximately $400,000,” Trump said.
• Trump said his personal math included the intangible value of publicity: The Learning Annex had advertised his speech heavily, and Trump thought that helped his brand. Therefore, in his mind he’d been paid more than $1 million, even though his actual payment was $400,000.
• “Do you actually say that, when you say you got a million dollars publicly?” Ceresney asked.
• “I don’t break it down,” Trump said.