Practice Leader: Robert J. Higgins
Dickstein Shapiro LLP has a nationally recognized securities litigation and regulatory representation practice that specializes in handling high-profile cases for securities industry and corporate clients and is strategically located in Washington, DC and New York City. Many of the firm’s securities litigators and regulatory attorneys formerly served with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Offices of the U.S. Attorney and the New York District Attorney. These government officials, staffers, and prosecutors successfully have represented clients in a wide variety of adversarial and quasi-adversarial proceedings, including securities class action and derivative lawsuits, arbitrations, government agency and self-regulatory organization (SRO) investigations, enforcement proceedings, and federal and state white collar criminal trials.
During the past three decades, the firm has been at the forefront of securities litigation and regulatory developments with respect to areas as varied as stock option grant backdating, mutual fund market timing and late trading, alleged market manipulation, and the securities registration and insider trading issues arising out of private investment in public equity (PIPE) offerings. The practice’s clients are diverse in both the size and range of their activities and have included public and private companies, company officers and directors, investment banking firms, retail brokerage firms, trade execution and clearing firms, federal banks and other financial institutions, national accounting firms, and hedge funds.
The extensive trial experience of the practice’s attorneys distinguishes it from others in the field. Both as government prosecutors and as members of the firm, the attorneys in this practice have an impressive record of successfully litigating to conclusion numerous criminal securities trials, SEC enforcement actions, SRO proceedings, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA, formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)) arbitrations.
In addition to representing clients in adversarial and quasi-adversarial proceedings, the firm provides counseling on compliance with federal, state, and SRO securities regulatory provisions.
Government Agency Investigations and Enforcement Proceedings
The firm successfully has represented institutional and individual clients in a wide variety of matters before the SEC, Department of Justice (DOJ), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and state securities agencies. The investigations and enforcement proceedings that the firm has handled have focused on, among other things, accounting and financial disclosure issues, stock option grant backdating issues, PIPE offerings, sales of unregistered securities, executive conduct and perks, sales practices, soft dollars, late trading and market timing, insider trading, alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, alleged antitrust violations, money laundering compliance, and market manipulation.
In the above-mentioned matters, the firm has represented the largest New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) specialist and Nasdaq market-making firms, national retail brokerage firms and their management and representatives, as well as public companies and their directors and officers. Before both the SEC and in private litigation, the firm has represented the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of a Fortune 100 technology company in connection with a worldwide investigation of allegations of stock option backdating and earnings manipulation. During the SEC and DOJ proceedings against the Nasdaq market and its market-makers for anticompetitive conduct, the firm served as liaison counsel for the largest Nasdaq market-makers.
The firm successfully has represented the CEOs and CFOs of many Fortune 500 companies in investigations initiated by either the SEC or DOJ. The firm successfully represented the founder and former chairman of a cable shopping network in a protracted combined SEC and DOJ investigation, which resulted in termination with no charges. The firm has extensive experience representing foreign nationals accused of wrongdoing in the United States and has handled matters involving extradition proceedings and requests for assistance from foreign governments under Treaties of Mutual Assistance and Memoranda of Understanding.
The firm recently represented one of the nation’s largest energy companies and a large New York utility, in separate investigations by the SEC, two U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and (in the former case) the CFTC. The Firm also has represented public companies before the SEC and DOJ in connection with investigations into alleged improper accounting practices, antitrust violations, and market timing, in addition to representing numerous executives in insider trading investigations.
Securities Civil Litigation & Arbitration
In federal and state courts, and before FINRA, NYSE, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration forums, the firm successfully has represented a wide range of clients in litigated securities matters. The firm has represented large broker-dealers (including Merrill Lynch), the largest investment companies (including Vanguard Group, Inc. and Federated), investment banks (including Lehman Brothers), and Fortune 500 public companies (including Duke Energy Corp. and KeySpan Corp.) in class action, derivative, and other types of cases involving, among others, claims of securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, trading improprieties, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations, antitrust violations, Patriot Act violations, inadequate compliance and supervision, fraud in connection with private and public offerings, market structure issues, and accounting irregularities.
SRO Investigations and Proceedings
The firm has represented securities firms and their registered representatives in SRO regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings initiated by FINRA, NYSE, American Stock Exchange (AMEX), CBOE, Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), and various other exchanges. The firm has resolved matters involving allegations of failure to supervise, clearing and trading irregularities, trade reporting violations, specialist allocation procedure violations, research conflicts of interest, market manipulation, and sales practice rule violations. The firm also has represented public companies in Nasdaq delisting proceedings.
Securities Regulatory Representation and Compliance Counseling
The firm advises a number of securities firms on compliance with a wide range of regulatory requirements, such as those in the areas of SEC and state registration and disclosure.
Appellate Experience
Dickstein Shapiro’s attorneys regularly appear before the federal circuit courts of appeal to argue cutting-edge issues related to securities and corporate litigation. Appellate success requires innovation, experience, and careful investment of resources. Dickstein Shapiro’s securities and business litigation attorneys have received many significant favorable appellate decisions, including matters on behalf of the State of Hawaii Insurance Commissioner (9th Circuit), Herbalife (9th Circuit), and Charmer Industries (2nd Circuit). The firm’s substantial appellate work has involved a wide variety of industries and situations and has resulted in many favorable decisions for the firm’s clients.