Mr Michael Diver > Katten > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile
Katten Offices

525 WEST MONROE STREET
CHICAGO, IL 60661-3693
ILLINOIS
United States
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Mr Michael Diver

Work Department
Securities Litigation
Position
Diver has built a national practice advising public companies, financial services firms and individuals in securities litigation and regulatory investigations. In these high-stakes matters, Michael’s past experience as a branch chief in the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gives him valuable perspective, and he has a long track record of achieving very favorable results for his clients.
As an Enforcement Division branch chief, Michael managed a team of SEC enforcement attorneys in investigating and prosecuting securities law violations, including matters involving complex financial fraud, market manipulation, insider trading and violations of broker-dealer, investment adviser and investment company regulations.
Applying his government experience in private practice, Michael represents public companies, financial institutions and their individual officers and directors in regulatory matters and civil litigation. With over 20 years of experience, Michael is adept at devising effective defense strategies to address legal risks across a broad spectrum of circumstances. He is often called upon to defend clients that are facing concurrent private actions and regulatory investigations, and to defend against claims involving complex legal or compliance issues.
In addition to handling investigations and litigation, he also regularly advises clients in connection with corporate governance matters, shareholder claims, financial restatements, internal investigations and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) and stock exchange inquiries.
Education
JD, Lewis & Clark Law School; BA, Bucknell University
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
(Leading lawyers)Katten‘s securities litigation practice frequently defends securities class actions, stockholder derivative suits, M&A litigation, proxy disclosure suits, and SEC investigations and enforcement actions. The firm counts among its lawyers more than a dozen former Assistant US Attorneys and SEC enforcement attorneys and a DOJ Associate Attorney General. Veteran litigator Bruce Vanyo, who works from both Los Angeles and New York, is described by clients as ‘a master in his area of expertise and is soothing in stressful situations‘, and has vast experienced in defending class actions and stockholder derivative litigations alongside other SEC investigations. Key partner Christina Costley in LA is ‘smart, practical and strategically savvy‘. Vanyo and Costley recently acted for NextCure Inc. in Section 10(b) and Section 11 securities class action alleging that the company misrepresented the potential efficacy of NC318, a potentially revolutionary cancer immunotherapy. Michael Diver in Chicago, a former Enforcement Branch Chief of the SEC’s Chicago office, is also highly recommended.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading lawyers - United States > Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Securities litigation: defense - United States > Dispute resolution
Top Tier Firm Rankings
Firm Rankings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m)
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Investment fund formation and management > Alternative/hedge funds
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Industry focus > Transport: aviation and air travel - finance
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Industry focus > Sport
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Industry focus > Healthcare: service providers
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense