Daniel C. Zinman
Daniel has more than 25 years of experience representing institutions and individuals in securities enforcement proceedings, white collar criminal matters, complex commercial litigations, and internal investigations.
Daniel C. Zinman represents law firms and attorneys in professional liability disputes, and board committees and board members in investigations and litigations.
Dan's clients include investment banks, hedge funds, broker dealers, private equity firms, investment advisers, corporate officers and directors, law firms and lawyers, and other professionals. He often represents them in simultaneous parallel proceedings involving civil litigations, arbitrations, and mediations, as well as in investigations and matters before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), state attorneys general offices, and other governmental and self-regulatory bodies.
Dan has served as the court-appointed receiver, and as lead counsel to the court-appointed receiver, in multiple matters.
Dan has been recognized by The Legal 500 for his business and securities litigation work, as well as for his white collar criminal defense experience. He has also been named a local litigation star by Benchmark Litigation.
Active in his local community, Dan has served as a volunteer for many community-based youth organizations. He also taught legal writing for several years at Fordham Law School.
Areas of focus
Education & Credentials
Education
- Fordham University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1993
- College of William & Mary, B.A., 1984
Bar and Court Admissions
-
New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Related Employment
- Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP, New York, NY, Partner, 2002-2020
- Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP, New York, NY, Associate, 1995-1998
Clerkships
- Hon. William H. Timbers, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Hon. Harold Baer, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Professional Recognition
Named a New York Local Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, 2015, 2017-2020
Recommended by The Legal 500 United States in the areas of Securities Litigation, 2015-2020, General Commercial Disputes, 2020, and White Collar Criminal Defense, 2015-2016, 2020
Selected by Super Lawyers Magazine as New York Super Lawyer in Business Litigation, Securities Litigation, and White Collar Criminal Defense, 2009-2022
Impact
Professional Leadership
- Fordham University School of Law, Former Adjunct Legal Writing Professor
Insights
News
Professional Experience
Parallel Proceedings
- Represented senior executives of leading financial institutions in SEC and DOJ investigations and numerous related litigations arising out of the offer and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.*
- Represented sales executives and traders in multinational foreign exchange trading investigations and civil litigations.*
- Represented executives in DOJ and SEC proceedings relating to allegations of insider trading.*
- Represented numerous senior securities industry professionals and hedge funds in SEC investigations and parallel civil litigations concerning collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and other structured products transactions.*
- Represented senior executives in SEC and DOJ investigations, and related civil litigations, concerning allegations of accounting fraud.*
- Represented broker-dealer in SEC and DOJ investigations relating to allegations of wash trades, spoofing and other forms of market manipulation.*
- Represented large broker-dealer and its managers in SEC and DOJ investigations concerning fraud and misappropriation of client assets.*
*Prior experience
Law Firm Defense
- Represented an Am Law 25 law firm in malpractice litigation involving a corporate takeover.*
- Represented an Am Law 100 law firm in litigation involving the restructuring of a defaulted debt facility.*
- Represented the partner of a prominent law firm in securities fraud litigation brought in federal court by the SEC.*
- Represented the general counsel of a Fortune 500 company in parallel DOJ, SEC, and civil litigations relating to corporate disclosures.*
- Represented legal counsel in an SEC investigation concerning the sales of unaffiliated stock under Section 5 of the Securities Act.*
- Represented legal counsel in civil litigation relating to the adequacy of disclosures in investor offering materials.*
*Prior experience
Board Committees and Board Members
- Represented a demand committee of a global financial services institution with respect to shareholder derivative demands alleging that officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to respond adequately to red flags of money laundering violations.*
- Represented the special litigation committee of the board of a Fortune 500 public bank in an investigation of shareholder derivative demands relating to allegations that directors and officers violated their fiduciary duties and made false and misleading financial disclosures concerning compliance with federal mortgage underwriting standards.*
- Represented special committee members of a digital signage company in a securities class action brought in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleging that they breached their fiduciary duties by approving transactions allowing company insiders to take company private and squeeze out the interests of minority shareholders.*
- Represented an audit committee of a publicly traded company in an investigation of accounting fraud allegations.*
*Prior experience
Court-Appointed Receiverships
- Served as the court-appointed receiver in a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint alleging false and unsubstantiated potential earnings claims against a business opportunity promoter.*
- Served as the court-appointed receiver in a case alleging failure to provide COBRA continuation coverage, breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA, and breach of employment agreement.*
- Served as lead counsel to the receiver in a high-profile securities fraud case brought by the SEC.*
- Served as lead counsel to the independent examiner in an antitrust case against a major computer manufacturer.*
*Prior experience