Ralph Ferrara's practice includes a wide range of litigation, business regulatory and corporate governance matters. He represents corporations and individuals in complex securities class and shareholder derivative actions, advises corporate clients on Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and disclosure requirements, represents corporations and individuals in government investigations and enforcement proceedings, conducts corporate internal investigations, handles consumer financial services issues and counsels corporate officers and boards on all of these matters. Mr. Ferrara has argued on five occasions before the United States Supreme Court on cases, appeared in each of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal and represented clients in state and federal courts across the country.
Prior to joining Proskauer, Mr. Ferrara was Vice Chairman at Dewey & LeBoeuf. Before that, he was the managing partner of Debevoise & Plimpton's Washington, DC office and a member of their Management Committee. Mr. Ferrara also served as General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In that capacity, Mr. Ferrara argued several cases before the United States Supreme Court including: Burks. v. Lasker; Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v.Lewis; Aaron v. Securities and Exchange Commission; and Steadman v. Securities and Exchange Commission. During his career with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Ferrara was appointed as Chief of Staff or Special Counsel to three Chairmen.
Mr. Ferrara has authored many books and treatises, as well as numerous articles for academic and professional journals and has lectured before a number of associations and institutes. Included among his publications are: Debt Despair & Deliverance: Commentary and Analysis on The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2011); Takeovers: A Strategic Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions (Aspen Law & Business, 2011); Ferrara on Insider Trading and the Wall (Law Journal Press, 2d ed., 2001); Managing Marketeers: Supervisory Responsibilities of Broker-Dealers 2nd Investment Advisers (CCH, 2000); Shareholder Derivative Litigation: Besieging the Board (Law Journal Seminars-Press, 2008 and updates); Ferrara on Insider Trading and the Wall (Law Journal Press, 1995 and updates); Takeovers II: A Strategist's Manual for Business Combinations in the 1990s (Butterworths, 2d ed., 1993); Beyond Arbitration: Designing Alternatives to Securities Litigation (Butterworths, 1991); Stockbroker Supervision: Managing Stockbrokers and Surviving Sanctions (Butterworths, 1989); Redeeming Fallen Brokers: Managing the Aftermath of Broker-Dealer Enforcement Proceedings (Butterworths, 1988); Takeovers: Attack & Survival (Butterworths, 1987); Securities Practice: Federal and State Enforcement (Callaghan, 1985 and updates).
Mr. Ferrara received his B.S. and B.A. degrees from Georgetown University, a J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and an LL.M., summa cum laude, from George Washington National Law Center.