Michelle Reed > Akin > Dallas, United States > Lawyer Profile

Akin is known for its expertise in representing leading financial institutions and public companies, including private investment funds, broker dealers, and public accounting firms in private litigation arising under the federal securities and commodities laws, as well as regulatory investigations. Practice head Stephen M. Baldini in New York and key partner Neal Marder in LA achieved a landmark victory for Eastman Kodak Company by securing a motion to dismiss a purported direct stockholder class action. Marder also represented Armistice Capital in a high-stakes securities fraud class action involving biotech firm Vaxart, which is working on oral vaccine technology, including an oral COVID-19 vaccine. New York-based Douglas Rappaport is acting for Inclusive Capital Partners Spring Master Fund in a case alleging that is aided and abetted in breach of fiduciary duty by officers and directors of Nikola Corporation who failed to prevent, intervene or ameliorate various allegedly false or misleading statements made by its former CEO. Scott Barnard and Michelle Reed in Dallas also play key roles in the practice. They both acted for former directors of FTS International and Chesapeake Energy in a securities class action arising from Chesapeake’s IPO.

San Francisco-based Natasha Kohne and Dallas-stationed Michelle Reed, co-heads of Akin’s data privacy team, advise clients from a range of industries, including retailers, data brokers, healthcare services, energy companies and private equity firms, on the full range of cyber law and data privacy mandates.  The pair have expertise in dealing with class action litigations, regulatory actions, law enforcement enquiries and incident response preparations. Kohne is also a key contact for global mandates, working on high profile cybersecurity projects in the Middle East. Jo-Ellyn Sakowitz Klein, in Washington DC, is the firm’s specialist on healthcare and life sciences data-related matters involving HIPAA and HITECH regulations. The team frequently provides federal policy advice to large defense contracts and global companies for the development of privacy issues. A cross-disciplinary approach with the litigation, white-collar, international trade and public law and policy teams is a key feature of the team.