Former Cravath Employee Charged in $70K Insider Trading Scheme
Chetram Balli, ex-Cravath staff, charged with insider trading on major deals.
Why it matters: Why it matters: The case spotlights ethical risks in top law firms and may prompt stricter regulatory oversight of confidential information handling.
- Chetram Balli, 54, arrested Nov 12, 2026, on insider trading charges.
- Balli used nonpublic info from Cravath to trade ahead of 5+ deals, including a $110B Paramount-Warner acquisition.
- Alleged illegal profits exceed $70,000 from trades between April 2025 and Oct 2026.
- Balli worked at Cravath since 1989, handling SEC filings via EDGAR, and is no longer employed by the firm.
Chetram Balli, a former document processing specialist at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, was arrested on November 12, 2026, charged with insider trading. Balli allegedly exploited confidential information from his decade-plus tenure at Cravath, including preparing filings for the SEC’s EDGAR system, to trade ahead of significant corporate deals.
Prosecutors state Balli profited over $70,000 illicitly by trading before at least five major transactions, including the blockbuster $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corp. The trades occurred between April 2025 and October 2026.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. emphasized, "Balli repeatedly traded on inside information that he misappropriated from his employer and his employer's clients." FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle Jr. warned this case serves as a clear message about the consequences of abusing material non-public information.
Cravath stated that Balli, who was never part of the legal staff, is no longer with the firm and that it is fully cooperating with law enforcement investigations. The firm denies any allegations of wrongdoing against itself.
Insider trading cases involving law firm personnel are rare but raise significant concerns about the safeguarding of sensitive client information and maintaining ethical standards. This incident may increase regulatory scrutiny on how elite firms monitor access to privileged data.
By the numbers:
- $110 billion — value of the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
- $70,000 — illicit profits allegedly earned by Balli from insider trading.
- 1989 — year Balli began working at Cravath.