Michael Koblenz has 40 plus years of experience in litigation and general corporate law, commodities, securities, administrative proceedings, arbitrations, directors’ and officers’ liability cases, real estate, entertainment law, and regulatory matters as set forth below.  Mr. Koblenz has provided advice on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Law.  His practice includes mergers, acquisitions, and private and public offerings.  Mr. Koblenz has represented commodities futures exchanges, clearing organizations, and broker/dealers as well as individual traders and brokers.

 

Having served as a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice, Mr. Koblenz also engages in the defense of white-collar criminal cases involving violations under the Sherman Antitrust Act, securities, commodities, telemarketing, and postal fraud.  He defends corporate and individual clients before the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the National Futures Association, the U.S. Postal Inspector Service, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the New York State Human Rights Commission.

 

Mr. Koblenz has been a Registered Legal Practitioner in the DIFC Courts (Dubai).  He is also qualified as a mediator in both state and federal courts including the Southern District of the New York Federal Court System.

 

HONORS

• Martindale-Hubbell, 1992-2023: Rated AV Preeminent for 31 Years (highest rating in legal ability and ethical standards); AV Peer Review Rated
• Who’s Who: Finance and Industry; American Law; Emerging Leaders in America
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (LCA)
• Recognized in Super Lawyers, New York Metro, Business/Corporate, 2012-2023
• Recognized in Super Lawyers, New Jersey, Business Litigation

 

MEMBERSHIPS

• Former Board of Directors of the Long Island Insurance Community (LIIC)
• Former member of the National Counsel for Arts & Sciences, Columbian School of Arts and Sciences of the George Washington University
• Diversity Law Institute
• The Trial Law Institute
• New York County Lawyers’ Association

 

SELECTED ACTIVITIES

• Mediator, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Mr. Koblenz has been Mayor of the Village of East Hills, Long Island, NY for the past 30 years.  He is credited with successfully acquiring the Roslyn Air National Guard property for the village, which was the subject of a New York Times story on December 24, 2000, and a Newsday story on January 21, 2001, in which Newsday called it “The Deal of the Century.”

 

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Graduate of Federal Bureau of Investigation Citizens’ Academy, New York Division Community Outreach
• Graduate of Nassau County Police Department, Citizen’s Police Academy
• Recipient of the Burton 2014 Distinguished Legal Writing Award
• Honoree at the 11th Annual Woodbury Ball for Autism
• Former Federal Prosecutor, US Department of Justice
• Former Special Assistant US Attorney, Northern District of Illinois
• Former Assistant Director of Enforcement for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• Former Regional Counsel for the Eastern Regional Office of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

 

ADMISSIONS

• New Jersey, 1972
• District of Columbia, 1973
• New York, 1980
• Registered Legal Practitioner in the DIFC Courts (Dubai), 2009

 

EDUCATION

• LL.M., George Washington University National Law Center
• J.D., American University, Washington College of Law
• B.A., George Washington University

 

MEDIA COVERAGE

• Quoted, “Tall tale: Nest Seekers’ ‘$50M’ Amagansett sale was actually $16.5M,” The Real Deal, July 23, 2021.
• Quoted in articles on CNBC.com and Yahoo.com regarding Raj Rajaratnam’s conviction of insider trading on May 11, 2011.
• Provided expert commentary for an article that appeared in the October 31, 2005, issue of USA Today on the collapse of Refco, a financial services company primarily known as a broker of commodities and futures contracts.

 

BYLINED ARTICLES

• “LIBOR:  Everything You Ever Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask,” co-authored with Kenneth Labbate and Carrie Turner, The Journal of Business Entrepreneurship & the Law, Pepperdine University School of Law, Volume IV, Number 11, 2013.
• “New Suitability and Fiduciary Standards for Financial Advisers Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and FINRA Rules,” co-authored with Barry Temkin, Securities Arbitration Commentator, March 2011.
• “Beyond Energy: Financial Service Opportunities in Arabian Gulf,” The John Liner Review, Spring 2008.
• “The SEC’s New Regulatory Agenda: What Every Hedge Fund Manager Needs to Know” Securities and Regulation Law Report, November 21, 2005.
• “Mergers and Acquisitions: A Closer Look at Due Diligence and Negotiation Strategies,” Winning Legal Strategies for Mergers and Acquisitions, Aspatore Books, June 15, 2005.
• His articles have appeared in The American Bar Association Journal, The Magazine of Bank Administration, Trusts and Estates Magazine, and The Commodities Law Letter, and he served on the editorial board of the latter for many years.

 

PRESS RELEASES

• 15 Attorneys Recognized in 2022 Super Lawyers, Rising Stars

 

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Speaker, “Conflicts of Interest at Credit Rating Agencies,” Ross Roundtable, The Vincent C. Ross Institute of Accounting Research, New York University’s Stern School of Business, April 5, 2011.
• Speaker, “Regulating Broker-Dealers and Other Investment Entities,” Ross Roundtable, 2009.
• In October 2006, Mr. Koblenz presented a full day program on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and is frequently called upon to speak on corporate matters.