Futures & Derivatives
Overview
We advise on civil litigation and enforcement actions of all kinds arising from commodities, futures, and derivatives—products that have become increasingly important drivers of the global financial marketplace. Our Futures & Derivatives group benefits from the experience of multiple former federal prosecutors and Commodity Futures Trading Commission enforcement attorneys, including a former chief trial attorney in the CFTC's Division of Enforcement and a former Department of Justice Criminal Division liaison to the CFTC and FERC. Our team members also understand the perspective of corporate legal departments as they address significant litigation and enforcement matters, having served in senior in-house roles such as senior enforcement counsel with the CME Group.
This experience gives us strategic insight as we anticipate and respond to the choices of government agencies and counterparties in both criminal and civil matters. We represent individuals as well as a wide range of domestic and international financial institutions such as commission merchants, swap dealers, swap execution facilities, commodity trading advisors, commodity pool operators, proprietary trading firms, derivatives clearing organizations, exchanges, brokerage firms, and banks. We have represented these clients and others in investigations, examinations, enforcement actions, and litigation initiated by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, CFTC, FERC, FINRA, the National Futures Association, exchanges, and other self-regulatory organizations.
Government Investigations and Enforcement
Rate manipulation
Represented a swaps dealer in a joint DOJ and CFTC investigation into alleged manipulation of the ISDAfix rates benchmark.
Fee reconciliations
Represented international bank in connection with CFTC investigation relating to client fee reconciliations.
Prearranged trading restrictions
Defended the futures commission merchant affiliate of a major US-based international bank in a CME/CBOT investigation of one of its associated person's repeated violation of prearranged trading restrictions in her trading of Treasury options.
Virtual currency
Defended an individual in a pending CFTC enforcement action in Boston federal court alleged to have fraudulently sold virtual currency in cash market transactions.
Third-party document request
Represented international bank in connection with document request relating to CFTC investigation of potential uneconomic transaction.
Senior broker
Represented a senior broker with a financial services firm in an ongoing CFTC investigation.
Senior energy trader
Represented a senior energy trader in an ongoing FERC investigation.
Foreign futures
Represented the futures commission merchant affiliate of a major British bank in a NYMEX examination which led to charges of systemic violation of the CFTC Part 30 requirements for safeguarding foreign futures customer funds.
Self-Regulatory Investigations
Options order handling
Represented an institutional broker-dealer in a FINRA investigation of options order handling.
Market maker hedging
Represented a market maker's use of options for hedging in an investigation by a self-regulatory organization.
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Futures & Derivatives: Contact Us
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