Michael A Asaro

July 18, 2017 | New York Law Journal

Michael A. Asaro and Richard R. Williams Jr. of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld write: Spoofing has clearly become a high enforcement priority for the SEC and other regulators. As a result, investment firms and broker-dealers who condone this activity, or who fail to have policies reasonably designed to prevent it, do so at their own risk.

By Michael A. Asaro and Richard R. Williams Jr.

16 minute read

August 29, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In their Investor Issues column, Eric R. Komitee, general counsel at Viking Global Investors, and Michael A. Asaro, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, write: For years, sell-side brokerage firms have arranged, for compensation, meetings between managers of publicly-traded corporations and institutional investors. This practice - commonly referred to as "corporate access" - has recently attracted an increasing amount of attention. While there may be few clear directives regarding this area, the one thing that appears likely is that scrutiny of the practice of corporate access will increase over time.

By Eric R. Komitee and Michael A. Asaro

15 minute read

July 31, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Michael A. Asaro and Robert H. Hotz, Jr., partners at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, write that much has been written about the tremendous leverage that white-collar prosecutors hold over corporations faced with the prospect of vicarious criminal liability for the wrongful acts of their employees. The government has taken full advantage of this leverage in recent years, they say, by allowing companies to escape criminal liability through deferred prosecution or non-prosecution agreements in exchange for cooperating with its investigations.

By Michael A. Asaro and Robert H. Hotz, Jr.

16 minute read

September 15, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Michael A. Asaro and Robert H. Hotz Jr., partners at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, discuss the recent decision in SEC v. Lyon, a case in which the SEC alleged a hedge fund being solicited to invest in a PIPE offering used its inside information about the impending PIPEs by covering its short positions after the deals were announced and the market prices of the issuers' securities declined as a result, and how professional investors involved in overlapping public and private investments in the same issuer might reduce their risk of facing a potentially long and costly investigation or litigation with the SEC.

By Michael A. Asaro and Robert H. Hotz Jr.

14 minute read

May 12, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Michael A. Asaro, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, reviews a recent Southern District decision that grappled with the important and, in the Second Circuit, unsettled issue of whether a series of otherwise legitimate "open market" stock transactions can be transformed into an illegal market manipulation scheme based solely on the trader's state of mind when the trades were executed.

By Michael A. Asaro

10 minute read

August 01, 2008 | Law.com

Attorneys Michael A. Asaro and Robert H. Hotz Jr. examine a new trend of federal prosecutors once again raising the bar for corporate cooperation by demanding that companies fire high-ranking executives who have not been charged with any crime, presumably because the government lacks sufficient evidence to mount a successful prosecution. The DOJ's recent push to oust managers and other corporate employees it cannot otherwise punish raises serious constitutional questions, Asaro and Hotz write.

By Michael A. Asaro and Robert H. Hotz Jr.

16 minute read