Corporate Defense and Disputes

Important developments in U.S. securities law, white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement and other emerging issues impacting financial services institutions, publicly traded companies and private investment funds

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Stephen Ratner

Stephen L. Ratner is the former co-head of our Financial Institutions Group. His practice focuses on the representation of banks and other financial services institutions in complex litigations, investigations and enforcement proceedings, arbitrations and mediations, compliance issues, and regulatory controversies involving securities, commodities, and derivative products.

Matters Steve handles include the defense of class actions and other actions involving, for example, high frequency and algorithmic trading, short selling practices, IPO allocations, and data security and privacy issues. He also handles internal investigations and investigations and enforcement proceedings by the SEC, CFTC, Department of Justice, FINRA and other regulators regarding issues such as high frequency and algorithmic trading, market access, securities lending, trade reporting, short selling, electronic communications, and supervision. Steve also represents banks and other financial institutions in fraudulent transfer litigation and other litigation based upon failed LBOs and alleged Ponzi schemes.

Steve has served as a member of Proskauer’s Executive Committee, an adjunct professor of law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and a mediator appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Steve is the author of the section entitled “Broker-Dealer Litigation and Arbitration” in the multi-volume treatise, Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts, and is a frequent speaker on matters related to the financial services industry.

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New York AG May Face A Tough Road In High Frequency Trading Case Against Barclays

Ruling on Barclays’ motion to dismiss the action brought by the New York Attorney General regarding Barclays’ alternative trading system (“ATS”), Justice Shirley Kornreich suggested that the AG may face substantial hurdles in proving its case, although the Court narrowly upheld the Martin Act claim as a matter of law. The AG based its claim … Continue Reading

SEC Sanctions Two Exchanges for Failing to Accurately Describe Order Types and Making Preferential Disclosure to High Frequency Traders

On January 12, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had obtained a $14 million settlement against two exchanges formerly owned by Direct Edge Holdings, EDGA and EDGX (the “Respondent Exchanges”) for their failure to file Exchange Rules that accurately described the order types they offered, and for providing preferential disclosure to certain … Continue Reading

FINRA’s 2015 Examination Priorities Zero In On Abusive Trading Algorithms and Other Issues Involving Trading Technology

FINRA’s recently-released Regulatory and Examinations Priorities Letter for 2015 reflects substantial regulatory interest in high-frequency trading and other issues arising from trading technology.  Regulatory concern over these issues has been previously reported on this blog here and here. The 2015 Letter states that FINRA has adapted its surveillance program to identify potentially violative conduct such … Continue Reading

SEC Working Papers Suggest Market Benefits From Certain Types of High-Frequency and Low-Latency Trading

Bringing quantitative analyses to the debate over high-frequency trading, two working papers recently made available by the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis present economic models suggesting that there are market benefits from certain forms of high-frequency and low-latency trading.   In light of the on-going interest in high-frequency trading among various regulators, the recognition of … Continue Reading

Regulators Continue To Address High-Frequency Trading

Regulators across markets continue to show interest in high frequency trading and algorithmic trading generally. Recent developments in this area include: On October, 16, 2014, the SEC imposed a $1 million sanction on a high frequency trading firm, Athena Capital Research, which allegedly placed large numbers of rapid-fire orders in the final two seconds of … Continue Reading
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