Michael J. Diver is the Chicago head of Katten's Securities and Enforcement Litigation Practice. He represents public companies, financial services firms and other regulated entities, as well as their individual officers and directors, in matters before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US Department of Justice, FINRA and various other regulatory agencies. Mr. Diver has successfully represented clients in a number of high-profile cases involving the financial services, banking, consulting, telecommunications, information technology and educational services industries. His case experience covers virtually all areas of recent SEC enforcement focus, including matters related to the credit crisis, subprime lending, 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 has brought a multitude of investigations to closure with no action taken against his clients, even after their receipt of Wells notices. Mr. Diver 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 SEC’s Chicago Regional Office. In this role, Mr. Diver 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 manipulation, insider trading and violations of investment adviser and investment company regulations. He prevailed in a number of litigated enforcement proceedings, including a high-profile case involving market manipulation by a registered investment adviser.
Mr. Diver writes and lectures regularly on various topics relating to regulatory enforcement, including current enforcement trends and priorities, corporate and individual cooperation criteria, whistleblower complaints, insider trading and best practices in defending against regulatory inquiries. He graduated from Bucknell University with a degree in economics and received his JD,
cum laude, from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar and has been admitted to practice in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Presentations
- “Engaging the SEC,” NIRI webinar (April 2013)
- “The Gathering Storm: Executive Compensation and 10b5-1 Plans Under Attack,” Katten webinar (January 2013)
- “Ethics and Professionalism in Securities Law,” PLI’s Understanding the Securities Laws 2012 (October 2012)
- “Critical Steps in Handling an SEC Investigation,” NYSE Corporate Board Member webinar (June 2012)
- “Insider Trading Compliance: Mitigating Risk in an Era of Heightened Scrutiny,” Katten webinar (April 2012)