Michael J. Diver concentrates his practice on securities regulatory and compliance matters, corporate governance and corporate and securities transactions. In addition to counseling clients with respect to securities offerings and compliance matters, Mr. Diver has extensive experience in representing public companies, financial services firms and other regulated entities, as well as individual officers and directors, in matters before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, FINRA and various other regulatory agencies. He has successfully represented clients in a number of high profile cases involving the financial services, subprime lending, telecommunications, information technology, banking and for-profit education industries. His case experience covers virtually all areas of recent SEC enforcement focus, including matters related to the credit crisis, municipal securities offerings, securitization and other structured products transactions, hedge fund activities, insider trading, broker-dealer suitability and underwriting practices, and disclosure and financial fraud. He also has advised audit committees and boards of directors in connection with corporate governance matters, internal investigations, financial restatements, special accounting reviews and FINRA and stock exchange inquiries.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Diver served as a Branch Chief in the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Chicago Regional Office. During his tenure with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he was responsible for managing a team of enforcement attorneys in investigating and prosecuting violations of the federal securities laws, including cases involving complex financial fraud, market manipulations, insider trading and violations of investment adviser and investment company regulations.
Mr. Diver graduated from Bucknell University in 1991 with a degree in economics and received his Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark Law College, cum laude, in 1996. He is a member of the Bar of the State of Illinois and has been admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.