Michael Stocker Dark

Michael Stocker Dark is Of Counsel in the San Francisco office.  In his 25-year career in investor and consumer protection and government oversight, Michael has played a leading role in developing and litigating cases. Relying on his background in complex financial investigation and analysis, he has pursued cases on behalf of consumers and institutional investors stemming from scandals at major investment banks, anticompetitive practices at leading drug manufacturers, and manipulation of market indexes. This work has seen him repeatedly recognized as a leading litigator in the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List and in Benchmark Litigation’s New York edition under Securities. In 2016 he was elected to the American Law Institute for his legal work and extensive writing and commentary on securities, business, and consumer protection issues.

Education

• University of California, Berkeley (B.A., 1989, East Asian Languages)
• University of California, Hastings College of the Law (J.D., 1995)
• Sydney University, Australia (M. Crim., 2001)

Experience

Michael Stocker Dark joined the firm in 2023 after serving as Deputy Inspector General for the County of Los Angeles and as a principal litigator and case developer for a leading plaintiff class action firm in New York City, representing U.S. and European institutional investors.

Honors & Distinctions

• Elected to American Law Institute, 2016.
• Courage Award, AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, 2008

Admissions

• State Bar of California
• State Bar of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• Minnesota District Court
• New York Eastern District Court
• New York Southern District Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit

Affiliations

• John L. Weinberg Center of Corporate Governance, Emeritus Board Member
• Council of Institutional Investors Markets Advisory Council, Emeritus Member
• American Law Institute, Member

Education

• Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly, San Francisco
• Community Advisory Board, U.C. San Francisco AIDS Health Project, Emeritus Member
• California Community Vaccine Advisory Committee, Emeritus Member

Publications, Presentations & Appearances

Published & Presented

• The Facts on SPACs: Why Wall Street Darlings Fell Back to Earth by Michael Stocker Dark and Nathaniel L. Orenstein, NCPERS PERSist, Fall 2023
• Panelist on Major SEC/DOJ Enforcement Actions and Crypto Litigation, Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) Shareholder Litigation and Securities Enforcement—A Year in Review program (Jan 30, 2024)
• Panelist on Uncovering Securities Fraud: Red Flags, State Association of County Retirement Systems (SACRS) Fall Conference (Nov. 7-10, 2023)
• Why Event-Driven Securities Class Actions Often Succeed, by Daniel E. Barenbaum and Michael Stocker Dark, Law360, Apr. 5, 2023
• Shareholders Demanding that PAC Contributions Align with Corporate Values, by Leslie R. Stern and Michael Stocker Dark, and Alexander Vahdat, Daily Journal, Mar. 15, 2023
• Private Antitrust Enforcement Key to Reining in Big Tech, by Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Michael Stocker Dark, and Alexander Vahdat, Daily Journal, Mar. 7, 2023
• The SEC “Cools Off” Insider Trading, by Michael Stocker Dark and Nathaniel Orenstein, Directors & Boards, Mar. 1, 2023
• What To Expect This Proxy Season With New Exec Pay Rules, by Nicole Lavallee and Michael Stocker Dark, Law360, Feb. 8, 2023
• The Rise in Event-Driven Securities Litigation, Law360, Mar. 26, 2018
• Panelist on Roadshow 2.0, Precision Advocacy: Reinventing Motion Practice to Win, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, Apr. 27, 2017
• Speaker on Legal Tsunami – The Growing Body of Cases and Associated Costs, and Moderator of Panel on Avoiding Shareholder Action – How to Integrate All Internal Stakeholders into the Cyber Risk Governance Defense, Skytop Strategies, Mar. 16, 2017
• Cyber Threats and Securities Litigation: The Emerging Landscape, Thomson Reuters Westlaw Journal Securities Litigation & Regulation, Oct. 27, 2016
• Shareholders Sue Companies for Lying About Cyber Security, Forbes, Oct. 27, 2016
• Speaker on Teleconference on Cybersecurity from an Investor’s Perspective, Council of Institutional Investors (CII), Oct. 26, 2016
• Post-Morrison: The Global Journey Toward Asset Recovery (White Paper), National Association of Public Pension Plan Attorneys (NAPPA), June 30, 2016
• Speaker on Cyber Securities Litigation: When Data Breaches Become Fraud Suits, Practicing Law Institute (PLI), June 9, 2016
• Moderator of Panel on Alternative Investments for Pension Funds: Balancing Return and Transparency in Volatile Markets, May 12, 2016
• Moderator of Panel on Private Suits While the Regulator Slumbers, Institute for Law and Economic Policy, 22^nd Annual Symposium, Apr. 8, 2016
• Panelist at the 2015 Fall National Meeting of the State Financial Officers Foundation, Sept. 22, 2015
• Securities Act Cases are Surging in … State Courts?, Daily Journal, July 28, 2015
• Panelist on 21^st Annual Symposium of the Institute for Law and Economic Policy, Institute for Law and Economic Policy, Apr. 17, 2015
• Teleconference: Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc., Council of Institutional Investors, 2015
• Panelist on 2014 Securities Litigation Overview, Association of Benefit Administrators, May 1, 2014
• Mandatory Arbitration Agreements: A New Attack on Access to the Courts, National Association of Public Pension Plan Attorneys, Apr. 30, 2014
• Accounting Danger Signs: Tools for Investors, Pensions & Investments, July 30, 2013
• JPMorgan Shareholders Chose Wrong Side of History, American Banker, June 4, 2013
• Panelist on Preparing to Clear OTC Derivatives to Ensure June 10^th Compliance: The Brave New World of Swaps Clearing under Dodd-Frank, German Bar Association, May 14, 2013
• Panelist on Litigating Banking Claims in U.S. Courts—An Insight, German Bar Association, Apr. 22, 2013
• Autonomy, HP and the FRC: Who Has the Most to Lose?, Economia, Feb. 18, 2013
• Flawed Credit Ratings and the Impact on Investment, Ethisphere, Jan. 31, 2013
• Legal Focus—USA: M&A Litigation, Lawyers Monthly Magazine, Jan. 1, 2013.
• Requiring SEC to Perform Economic Analyses Hinders Financial Reform, New York Law Journal, Dec. 17, 2012
• Rulemaking Chipping Away at Financial Reform, Pensions & Investments, Nov. 12, 2012
• The JOBS Act and the Future of U.S. Capital Formation, Brooklyn Law School, Nov. 7, 2012
• Return to Enron?, Accounting Today, Nov. 1, 2012
• Are Shareholders Happy with Your Company’s Political Spending?, Corporate Counsel, Sept. 26, 2012
• Startups, That Crowdfunding You’re Raising May Scare Off Other Investors, Business Insider, Aug. 21, 2012
• Venture Shift, Vator, Jul. 19, 2012
• The JOBS Act Creates Opportunities and Risks, Financial Executive, June 1, 2012
• Panelist on Annual Conference of the National Conference of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, May 7, 2012
• Financial Institutions Assume the Role of Plaintiffs in Securities Litigation, New York Law Journal, Apr. 16, 2012
• How JOBS Act Masks Pitfalls, PEHUB, Apr. 9, 2012
• What is the Most Important Volcker Rule Issue that Regulators Must Address Next Year?, Bloomberg Law Reports, Jan. 3, 2012
• A Scandal Like Olympus Can Happen in the U.S., Institutional Investor, Dec. 17, 2011
• Dodd-Frank Teleconference Series: Recent Court Decision Overview—Credit Ratings Are Not Always Protected by the First Amendment, Council of Institutional Investors, Dec. 1, 2011
• Proposals to Reform Credit-Rating Films Falling Short, Pensions & Investments, Oct. 31, 2011
• The Benefits of Investor Protection, Law360, Oct. 11, 2011
• Government Reliance on Private Litigants Diverges with Court Trends” New York Law Journal, Sept. 9, 2011
• Moderator of Panel on Developments in Handling Over-the-Counter Derivatives, West Professional Development, Aug. 11, 2011
• U.S. Changing to Looser Accounting Standards, Executive Counsel, Aug. 1, 2011
• Handle with Care, Corporate Counsel, July 1, 2011
• Shell Game, The Deal, June 26, 2011
• Are Regulators Retreating from Dodd-Frank?, Institutional Investor, May 24, 2011
• Shadowy Shares: The Dark Side of Contingent Value Rights, Forbes, May 9, 2011
• Resolving the Deadlock Over Credit Ratings, Pensions & Investments, Apr. 4, 2011
• Running on Empty, The Deal, Mar. 13, 2011
• SEC Contemplating Government Reforms, Executive Counsel, Dec. 1, 2010
• SEC Paper Focuses on Proxy Voting Shortcomings—Agency Signals it Has Serious Questions About Whether Current System Needs Structural Overhaul, The National Law Journal, Nov. 15, 2010
• Is the Shield Beginning to Crack?, New York Law Journal, Nov. 15, 2010
• What Wall Street Can Learn from the BP Spill, Institutional Investor, Nov. 9, 2010
• Moderator of Panel The Future of Over-the-Counter Derivatives, West Professional Development, Nov. 1, 2010
• Automated Trading Leaving Retail Investors in the Dust, Forbes, Oct. 15, 2010
• Toyota Debacle Spurs Reform Questions, Directorship, Aug. 9, 2010
• Say What? Pay What?, Corporate Counsel, Aug. 5, 2010
• Moderator of Panel The Derivatives Market After the Financial Overhaul, West Professional Development, Aug 3, 2010
• SEC Measures to Prevent Flash Crashes Are Sensible, but Are They Enough?, Forbes, May 20, 2010
• A Recall for Toyota’s Corporate Governance?, Pensions & Investments, Apr. 5, 2010
• Trade Talk: SEC Facing Thorny Issues with Flash Trading, Dark Pools, Naked Access, Pensions & Investments, Dec. 14, 2009
• Eying Executive Compensation, New York Law Journal, Nov. 17, 2009
• Undermining Accounting Rules, Investment Week, Oct. 19, 2009
• Role of the Event Study in Loss Causation Analysis, New York Law Journal, Aug. 20, 2009
• Reality Check,” The Deal Pipeline, May 27, 2009
• Japan’s Past Recession Provides a Cautionary Tale, The National Law Journal, Apr. 13, 2009
• Don’t Repeat UBS’s Mistake, International Financial Law Review, Apr. 2009
• In Debt Crisis, an Arbitration Alternative – Investors Have a Stronger Claim Under Rules Established by a Financial Industry Regulator, The National Law Journal, Mar. 16, 2009
• Balancing the Scales: The Use of Confidential Witnesses in Securities Class Actions, Bloomberg BNA Securities Regulation & Law, Jan. 19, 2009
• Key to Avoiding Compensation Suits, Financial Executive, July-Aug. 2008
• Analysis of Abbott Laboratories Antitrust Litigation, Bloomberg BNA Pharmaceutical Law & Industry, June 20, 2008
• Supreme Court Decides Stoneridge Case, Lead Counsel, Spring 2008
• “Tellabs”: PSLRA Pleading Test Comparative, Not Absolute, New York Law Journal, Oct. 3, 2007