Having practiced in securities regulation, litigation, and enforcement for more than 30 years, Marc Powers has developed a deep understanding of the legal, business and regulatory environments surrounding his clients. He is regularly engaged in high profile matters including complex securities litigation and arbitration, with his practice expanding to cover bankruptcy litigations as well. His combination of experience and knowledge has provided Marc with the well-earned confidence to aggressively, yet deliberately, act on behalf of his diverse client base. In the hedge fund industry, Marc possesses the flexibility to address each client concern and circumstance individually, providing proactive support throughout all aspects of fund operation, from inception to regulatory compliance to unavoidable litigations.

Marc has led the national Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement practice team since 2004 and leads the national Hedge Fund Industry group. He is regularly invited to speak at premier conferences for the securities industry and appears regularly in the media commenting on the SEC, insider trading cases, and the JOBS Act.

Experience

• Marc is representing a Latin-American investment fund in an insider trading investigation by the SEC Los Angeles office concerning its purchases of a public company’s stock and options prior to a tender offer announcement. He has negotiated testimony and document production in such a way to minimize any possible legal exposure to the client.
• Marc has been representing a well-known and highly successful South American businessman and his companies in several related federal and state litigations arising from an investment fraud involving an alleged Swiss bank affiliate. He filed an appeal of an international arbitration lost by the client’s former counsel, resulting in an eight-figure settlement in favor of the clients. With that in hand, Marc leveraged that settlement to resolve for no payment by his clients' several other cases which named them as defendants.
• During an investigation by the SEC headquarters and the CFTC of a hedge fund and commodity pool operator alleging cornering of the market in Treasury futures and false statements made to market regulators, Marc relied on his understanding of the sophisticated nature of the hedge fund industry and markets to ensure that no manipulation charges were brought against his client in conjunction with the case’s settlement, based on books and records violations.
• Marc represented an international investment banking firm located in Greenwich, Connecticut, involved in an international investigation by the SEC, the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K. and the Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores in Spain. The investigation arose from the failure and liquidation of an $850 million hedge fund with inflated portfolio valuations. Marc and his team developed a strategy to protect the interests of the client and minimize legal liability for the investment bank. One of the cases involved Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, allowing the liquidators’ foreign proceedings involving the hedge fund to be recognized in American courts. A criminal case was filed against the hedge fund portfolio manager, as well as a securities class action. Marc and his team guided the client through the parallel regulatory and civil litigations that developed throughout the matter, eventually resolving all matters through their diligence with no actions against the client by the government and a small class action settlement.
• Marc is a member of the BakerHostetler team serving as court-appointed counsel to the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS). One of the largest financial frauds in recorded history, the SIPA liquidation requires global investigations and litigation seeking tens of billions of dollars in worldwide asset recovery from hedge funds, funds of funds, investment banks, other financial institutions, investment managers, and other hedge fund fiduciaries. Marc’s primary focus to date has been the investigation and coordination of legal strategy for the SIPA Trustee’s actions involving the Rye Select, Tremont, and Merkin families of feeder funds. The Tremont settlement resulted in a recovery for the Customer Fund of over $1 billion and allowed the SIPA Trustee to move forward with a third interim pro rata distribution to BLMIS customers with allowed claims in the spring of 2013.
• Marc represented a bond trader’s assistant during an investigation by the SEC and U.S. Attorney in one of the first large internal investigations in the investment banking industry. The investigation was sparked by alleged phantom trades that caused a parent company to report a several hundred-million dollar loss. Not only was Marc involved in the case from its inception, despite his client not being criminally charged, the case also allowed Marc to be involved in the developing realm of internal investigations from its outset.
• Marc represented the broker’s assistant who became a star witness in a high-profile SEC and criminal insider trading investigation, securities class action, and criminal trial of Martha Stewart. Marc worked through the whole process, and while his client purportedly initially misled authorities about the stock trades in question, his client's testimony played a crucial role in the conviction of his boss and a major business woman. Marc’s representation assisted in saving his client from probation or prison time.
• Marc assisted in performing an internal investigation for a mutual fund board allegedly market timing and late trading mutual funds. Marc structured and led a large team of attorneys and developed tactics and strategies to lead the investigations during his complete immersion, which eventually was resolved for less sanctions and penalties than other similarly situated mutual funds.
• Marc represented a Midwestern public corporation during a three-year investigation by the SEC Chicago office alleging violations of Sarbanes-Oxley 404, Regulation FD and stock manipulation by a hedge fund. Marc worked with the corporation’s counsel to ensure that no charges were brought against the Company or its officer (after a Wells Notice) as a result of the investigation.

Recognitions

• New York Metro "Super Lawyer" in Securities Litigation (2006 to present)
• SEC Sustained Superior Performance Award
• Hofstra University Distinguished Alumni Award (2006)
• Martindale-Hubbell: AV Preeminent

Memberships

• Wolters Kluwer (CCH) Securities Regulation Advisory Board (2010 to present)
• American Bar Association: Presidential Task Force on the Attorney-Client Privilege (2005 to 2009)
• New York State Bar: Presidential Task Force on the Attorney-Client Privilege (2005 to 2009)
• New York County Lawyers’ Association
• Board of Directors (2002 to 2005)
• Committee on Securities and Exchanges: Co-Chair (1997 to 2002)

Education

• J.D., Hofstra University School of Law, 1980
• B.B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1977, Finance, with honors