Michele A. Coffey

Partner

Michele A. Coffey is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice. Her practice focuses on a variety of securities enforcement and litigation matters on behalf of financial institutions and individuals in regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and contested hearings involving the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and other self-regulatory agencies. In addition, Ms. Coffey has experience in the state and federal courts, and in arbitration and mediation forums. Ms. Coffey lectures frequently on securities regulatory and enforcement issues.

Recent representations include:

• Defense of a major financial institution in lengthy FINRA arbitration against claims by former financial advisors to fees associated with some of the largest institutional equity derivative, leveraged financing and securitization transactions in U.S. and Asian history.
• Representation of a mutual fund company in SEC investigation into directed brokerage and market timing (no action taken by SEC).
• Defense of a mutual fund company in SEC enforcement action involving gifts and gratuities.
• Representation of a major financial institution in regulatory investigation into short selling practices (no action taken by FINRA).
• Defense of a former sales executive in SEC investigation concerning practices associated with sale of credit default obligations to municipal entities (client not charged).
• Defense of an institutional equity traders in market manipulation investigation by NYSE (clients not charged).
• Defense of a financial institution and individual in contested hearing of enforcement charges brought by options exchange (complete exoneration of clients).
• Defense of individuals and financial institutions in numerous FINRA investigations into mark-ups, front-running and other trading practices and SEC investigations into allegations of insider trading.

Ms. Coffey also has experience in the defense and trial of commercial litigation matters, including the three-month trial, with two of her partners, of antitrust claims asserted by the United States Department of Justice against an international payment card association (U.S.A. v. Visa U.S.A., et al., S.D.N.Y.), and a premises liability case involving a multiple shooting incident in a fast food franchise.

Ms. Coffey serves as one of the leaders for the Firmwide Litigation Practice's financial services practice. In addition, she is Deputy Managing Partner of Morgan Lewis's New York office, a member of the office management committee, and chairs the New York Office Professional Evaluation Committee and its Recruiting Committee. 

Ms. Coffey is admitted to practice in New York.