Michael D. Torpey

Michael Torpey, a partner in the San Francisco office, is the Chair of the Securities Litigation Group.

Mr. Torpey specializes in litigation involving the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, The Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Act of 1934, the Uniform Standards Act and proceedings initiated by the Securities Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers and other self-regulatory organizations.

Mr. Torpey has extensive experience in litigation involving breaches of fiduciary duty and conducting various types of corporate investigations.

Mr. Torpey has represented Adaptec; Broadcom; Cadence Design Systems; Caterpillar; Citrix Systems; CommTouch; Dain Rauscher Wessels; Digital Lightwave; Employee Solutions, Inc.; Endosonics Corporation; Intel Corporation; Kleiner, Perkins Caufield & Byers; NCI Building Systems; NFT Ventures; Nvidia Corporation; OrthoLogic Corporation; Pacific Telesis Group; Powercerv Corporation; Raster Graphics Corporation; Siebel Systems, Inc.; Sumitomo Bank of California; Sunglass Hut International; TD Waterhouse Inc.; Transcrypt International; Valley National Bank; Versata Inc. and Western Farm Credit Bank.

Mr. Torpey was previously a partner at Clifford Chance and at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison.

Admitted in

• California
• Oregon

Court Admissions

Supreme Court of the United States

United States Court of Appeals

• Eighth Circuit
• Fifth Circuit
• Ninth Circuit
• Seventh Circuit

United States District Court

Memberships

• State Bar of California
• Oregon State Bar
• Former President (1999), Bar Association of San Francisco, Securities Litigation Section
• Officer, State Bar of California, Section on Litigation
• Former Chairman (1995-1996), San Francisco Committee on Education, American Bar Association
• American Bar Association, Litigation Section
• Committee on Class and Derivative Actions
• Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities
• Member, AIG Senior Advisor Council on Securities Litigation

Multimedia

• Video: General Trends in Securities Litigation [2 min.]
• Video: U.S.-Based Securities Class Action Against European Companies [2 min.]
• Video: U.S.-Based Securities Action Against Asian Companies [2 min.]

Publications

• "Roundtable: Securities Litigation," California Lawyer, August 2009

Speeches & Programs

• Moderator, ALI-ABA Annual Program on Defending Securities Class Actions, 2001-2005
• Author/Editor, “Securities Enforcement and Litigation: The Latest Developments on Financial Reporting Violations, the Consequential Lawsuits and Enforcement Actions – Triggers, Targets, Major Policy R
• Stanford Director’s College, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1999
• Debater, Corporate Directors Forum, “The Great Debate: Securities Litigation 2000 – Michael D. Torpey and William S. Lerach,” 2000
• Moderator, “How to Prepare For and Successfully Try a Securities Class Action in the Post-Reform Era,” Practicing Law Institute, 2000
• Moderator, “The Criminalization of Securities Law – Life After California Micro Devices,” San Francisco Bar Association, Securities Law Section, 1999
• Lecturer, “Two Years After the Quake: The Status of Securities Litigation After the Reform Act,” San Francisco Bar Association, Securities Law Section, 1998
• Lecturer, Executive Briefings, “Dealing with the Street – Strategies for Managing Communications with Wall Street & Avoiding Securities Lawsuits,” San Francisco Bar Association, Securities Law Section, 1987