Securities Law Blog

Derek C. Anderson is the managing partner of the Michaels, Ward & Rabinovitz, LLP, Boulder, Colorado office. Mr. Andersons practice is concentrated in the areas of securities fraud litigation and regulation, and complex commercial and business litigation. He represents a wide variety of individuals and financial services clients, including national and regional broker-dealers, banks, registered investment advisors, pension advisory firms, and their employees in regulatory and litigation matters throughout the United States. His practice is devoted not just to the arbitration (and mediation) of securities fraud cases, but also the litigation of those matters in state and federal court. Mr. Anderson recently successfully represented a broker-dealer client before the United States Supreme Court, after having handled the case since its inception as a customer arbitration, and through several subsequent federal court challenges and appeals.

Mr. Anderson also represents clients in complex commercial and business litigation, real estate litigation, employment disputes, trust litigation, and general commercial disputes. Mr. Anderson has represented corporate and individual clients in cases involving derivative actions, partnership dissolution, shareholder disputes, claims of breach of fiduciary duty, claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, violations of confidentiality agreements, violations of non-competition agreements, claims of fraud, conversion, breach of contract, and business torts. Mr. Anderson has also defended corporate clients in employment cases involving claims for wrongful discharge, Title VII and ADA discrimination, and unpaid wages, and in cases involving claims of product liability and breach of warranty.

Mr. Anderson began his legal career as a Deputy District Attorney in Portland Oregon before entering private practice. Mr. Anderson received his B.A. from Duke University (1991) and his J.D. from Washington University School of Law (1994). Mr. Anderson is a member of the Colorado, Florida and Massachusetts bars and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

Mr. Anderson is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell, which is the highest possible rating, reflecting both legal ability and professional ethics. This rating is a reflection of Mr. Anderson’s experience, knowledge, and commitment to his clients.

Mr. Anderson is widely published in his field. For a representative list of some of his publications click here.

To speak with Mr. Anderson contact securities attorneys, Michaels, Ward & Rabinovitz, LLP.

David Ward represents financial services clients throughout the United States, including broker-dealers, investment advisors, banks, insurance companies and publicly traded entities before the SEC, FINRA and its predecessor agencies (NYSE and NASD), CFTC, U.S. Department of Justice and state regulators. He regularly assists clients in the defense of regulatory investigations, securities sales practice cases, corporate governance matters and securities-related litigation in state and federal courts nationwide. He advises clients on compliance issues, and has acted as the Independent Compliance Consultant in Massachusetts Securities Division matters.

David also represents firms, directors and officers in employment litigation, including discrimination, wrongful termination, recruiting and "raiding" matters, compensation and separation agreements, and Form U-5 issues. David is nationally recognized in this field and has litigated hundreds of employment matters across the country.

David received his B.S. and his J.D. from Oklahoma City University, where he was a Law Review member. Prior to law school, he served in the Peace Corps (Guatemala). David is a member of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association - Compliance and Legal Division, the Defense Research Institute and the Professional Liability Underwriters Society. He has been a featured speaker at the annual New England Securities Law Conference as well as the Securities Litigation Committee of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

To speak with David Ward contact securities attorneys, Michaels, Ward & Rabinovitz, LLP.

After a judicial clerkship at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Mr. Michaels began his legal career at Bingham, Dana & Gould (now Bingham McCutchen) in Boston, before joining Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York City. Mr. Michaels subsequently joined the in-house legal department of one of the world's largest brokerage firms, before returning to Boston in 1996. Hailed as a securities “industry veteran” by the Boston Business Journal, Mr. Michaels has spent many years representing multinational and regional financial services firms (including banks, investment advisers, insurance companies, and traditional and discount broker-dealers) and their employees, directors and officers in a wide variety of matters throughout the United States. Mr. Michaels has represented clients in matters before the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), National Futures Association, Philadelphia Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), American Arbitration Association (AAA), Pacific Stock Exchange, and the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange. He has also handled securities disputes, including class actions, in many state and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Michaels has also represented public and private corporations, hedge funds, mutual fund managers, traders and investment advisers (and their directors, officers and employees) in matters before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the NASD, NYSE, FINRA and many state regulatory agencies, as well as the United States Department of Justice. He is well known for his work with the Massachusetts Securities Division, including the representation of clients before the division, as well as acting as the Independent Compliance Consultant in Massachusetts Securities Division matters. In addition, Mr. Michaels is often sought for his risk management, due diligence and corporate governance expertise,. He regularly advises clients prospectively on the full range of compliance issues, including the drafting (and redrafting) of policies and procedures relating to all aspects of the securities industry. Mr. Michaels has also assisted clients by conducting a variety of internal investigations, from examining the actions of a single employee, to the detailed analysis of activities across business lines and geographic areas. He is also well-known for his handing of significant employment disputes around the globe.

Mr. Michaels frequently lectures on securities and corporate governance issues, most recently for the Practicing Law Institute and the American Conference Institute, both in New York City. Mr. Michaels is a member of the Board of Editors of both the Securities Litigation Commentator, and the ABA publication Securities Litigation Journal, and is widely published in his field. Mr. Michaels was a recipient of the ABA Outstanding Editor Award 2002-2003 and the ABA Section of Litigation Outstanding Service Award 2003-2004. For a representative list of some of his publications, click here.

Mr. Michaels serves as an arbitrator for FINRA the NASD and NYSE in New York City, Boston, Hartford, and Providence. Mr. Michaels is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, and was named a "Massachusetts Super Lawyer" in 2006 and 2007, and a "New England Super Lawyer" in 2007 and 2008. He has been selected for Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, to be published in 2009.

Mr. Michaels is a member of the Board of Visitors of the New England Conservatory of Music, and was appointed as an adjunct Professor of Law at Boston College Law School, teaching an upper level seminar on securities law. He is also a member of the Boston Athenaeum, the National Society of Compliance Professionals, the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society, the American, Federal, Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations, and the Securities Industry and Financials Markets Association (SIFMA)—Compliance and Legal Division. He is a member of a Massachusetts, Florida, and District of Columbia Bar(s). Mr. Michaels is resident in the Boston and West Palm Beach offices of the firm.