Attorney Profiles

John D. Singer
New York, New York
Los Angeles, California
San Francisco, California
Partner & Co-Founder

phone (212) 682-4224
fax (212) 682-2006
email Email Me

John D. Singer – a Georgetown University Law Center graduate and former Proskauer Rose Attorney – is a Partner with, and Co Founder of, Singer Deutsch LLP. Mr. Singer was designated as a "New York Super Lawyer" in 2009, having been chosen for this distinction by both his peers and through independent research conducted by Law & Politics. Only five percent of New York metro attorneys have been named to the list. Mr. Singer, a Member of both the New York and California Bars, has been a Securities, Commodities, and Employment litigator throughout his entire legal career. Prior to co founding Singer Deutsch LLP, Mr. Singer worked for over 10 years at 2 large, pre-eminent law firms, in both New York (Proskauer Rose and Rosenman & Colin, now Katten Muchin Rosenman) and Los Angeles (Proskauer Rose), concentrating almost exclusively in Securities, Commodities, and Employment matters.

Mr. Singer makes regular appearances as a legal analyst for various media outlets. On December 17, 2007, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” to discuss the proliferation of Wall Street Bonus cases. On January 10, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “Happy Hour” to also discuss Wall Street Bonus cases. On February 8, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “Happy Hour” to discuss cases involving Broker and Investment Advisor Misconduct.

On March 6, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “America’s Nightly Scoreboard” to discuss Congress’ probe of Executive Compensation. On March 20, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “Happy Hour” to discuss litigation against Bear Stearns on behalf of current and former Bear Stearns employees. On March 28, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” to also discuss litigation against Bear Stearns on behalf of current and former Bear Stearns employees. On April 24, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “America’s Nightly Scoreboard” to discuss stock market trends.

On May 1, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “Happy Hour” to discuss internal Deutsche Bank Policies and Procedures governing Traders. On May 28, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “America’s Nightly Scoreboard” to discuss potential antitrust implications of a Microsoft-Yahoo merger. On July 2, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “America’s Nightly Scoreboard” to discuss class action shareholder litigation against commercial banks. On August 19, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “Happy Hour” to discuss Auction Rate Securities. On September 12, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “Happy Hour” to discuss Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and JP Morgan.

On October 2, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC India to discuss employment arbitrations involving Bear Stearns, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Barclays, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Wachovia, and Citigroup. On October 31, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “Happy Hour” to discuss Team Continuum, the marathon team of which Mr. Singer is a Board Member that raises money for individuals afflicted with Cancer. On December 15, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network’s “Happy Hour” to discuss litigation against Hedge Funds and Fund of Funds emanating from the Bernard Madoff scandal. On December 17, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on Yahoo Finance's "Tech Ticker" to discuss litigation against Hedge Funds and Fund of Funds emanating from the Bernard Madoff scandal. On December 18, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on Yahoo Finance's "Tech Ticker" to discuss arbitrations on behalf of individual investors and brokerage firm customers against brokerage firms and investment banks emanating from market losses.

On December 18, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC's "Power Lunch" to discuss whether Bernard Madoff should have been released on bail or remanded. On December 18, 2008, Mr. Singer appeared on the Fox Business Network's "America's Nightly Scoreboard" to discuss bankruptcy litigation emanating from the Bernard Madoff scandal. On January 6, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC's "Power Lunch" to discuss again whether Bernard Madoff should have been released on bail or remanded. On January 12, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC's "Power Lunch" to discuss again whether Bernard Madoff should have been released on bail or remanded. On January 15, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on Fox Business News to discuss Class Action Litigation against Apple. On February 2, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" to discuss Wall Street Bonuses. On February 2, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNN's "Situation Room" to discuss Wall Street Bonuses.

On March 4, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC "Reports" to discuss Bonuses at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America. On March 6, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC "Reports" to discuss Wall Street Bonuses. On June 4, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC "Reports" to discuss Insider Trading and Securities Fraud. On June 16, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC "Reports" to discuss Employee Furloughs and Severance. On July 10, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC's "The Call" to discuss Wall Street Bonuses. On July 10, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNN's "Situation Room" to discuss Wall Street Bonuses. On October 9, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC's "Power Lunch" to discuss Bank of America. On October 14, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on Bloomberg Television to discuss Hedge Fund transparency. On October 15, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on Bloomberg Television to discuss UBS. On December 15, 2009, Mr. Singer appeared on CNBC's "The Call" to discuss Goldman Sachs 2009 Bonuses. Click here to view these appearances.

In connection with his nationwide employment law practice, Mr. Singer represents high-level individuals affiliated primarily with the Securities and Commodities industries, such as Wall Street traders, brokers, investment bankers, financial planners, wholesalers, compliance personnel, operations personnel, hedge fund executives, private equity fund executives, hedge fund marketers, and research analysts. Mr. Singer represents these individuals in both arbitrations and litigations against their former employers and in investigations or enforcement proceedings conducted by the Securities and Commodities regulators.

With respect to Mr. Singer’s nationwide representation of Securities and Commodities professionals against their former employers, the claims typically involve bonus disputes, wrongful terminations, U-5 defamation, failures to pay compensation (oftentimes involving stock options), whistle-blowing, gender discrimination, race discrimination, age discrimination, disability discrimination, harassment, and slander. These actions are typically arbitrated at FINRA (formerly the NYSE or NASD); they are sometimes litigated in Court (Title VII actions and actions involving the Human Rights Laws) and are sometimes arbitrated and/or mediated at the AAA and JAMS as well. Mr. Singer’s clients range in title from Associate to Senior Managing Director. Mr. Singer also represents FINRA member firms against other member firms in disputes emanating from unlawful solicitations, tortious interferences with business relations, and trading errors.

With respect to Mr. Singer’s nationwide representation of Securities and Commodities professionals who are under investigation by the Securities and Commodities regulators, the issues range from market-timing, late-day trading, front-running and unauthorized, outside business activities to sales-practices issues (unsuitability and churning), forgery, and insider trading.

Mr. Singer negotiates multi-million dollar (and other) employment agreements and separation/severance agreements for his clients. Mr. Singer also represents high-profile individuals in the entertainment industry including, but not limited to, senior record label executives, music managers, models, actresses, television personalities, and world renowned authors, as well as high-profile individuals in other industries, in connection with employment disputes with their former employers, contract negotiations, and commercial litigation disputes.

In connection with his nationwide representation of individual investors, Mr. Singer handles diverse, complex matters against investment banks, brokerage firms, hedge funds, financial planners, and investment advisors emanating from investment-related losses. These matters typically involve unsuitable investing, breaches of fiduciary duties, negligence, churning, material misrepresentations, unauthorized trading, material omissions, failures to supervise, blue-sky violations, and fraud. Mr. Singer represents these individual investors nationwide in FINRA, NFA, AAA, and JAMS Arbitrations.

Prior to his formation of Singer Deutsch LLP, Mr. Singer – during his 10 year tenure in New York and Los Angeles at Proskauer Rose and Rosenman & Colin (now Katten Muchin Rosenman) – was invariably on the defense side, wherein he garnered extensive experience representing brokerage industry clients in Securities, Commodities, and Employment litigations, arbitrations, and mediations at FINRA, the NFA, AAA, and CFTC, as well as in various State and Federal Courts. Mr. Singer also garnered considerable experience representing brokerage industry clients in enforcement and regulatory
proceedings undertaken by the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, NFA, and various State Securities Commissions. Mr. Singer also represented brokerage industry
clients (and others) in criminal proceedings and insider trading investigations involving various United States Attorneys’ Offices, the Manhattan DA’s Office, and the SEC.

At Proskauer Rose and Rosenman & Colin (now, Katten Muchin Rosenman), Mr. Singer represented a broad range of clients, including institutional and retail equity salesmen, investment bankers, research analysts, floor brokers, investment advisors, equity traders, market makers, broker dealers, short sellers, mutual funds, hedge funds and underwriters.

Mr. Singer is a FINRA arbitrator, and a mediator for the New York Supreme Court, Commercial Division. Mr. Singer previously served as a mediator for the Los Angeles Superior Court. He is a Member of the Legal and Compliance Division of the Securities Industry Association, and he has written extensively on securities subjects for Registered Representative Magazine – a publication in which he has also been quoted. Mr. Singer is a Member of the New York and California Bars, along with various federal courts.

On March 29, 2005, Mr. Singer served as a Panel Member on the National Association of Independent Broker Dealers Forum for Arbitration & Mediation.

In January 2006, Mr. Singer joined the Advisory Board of Team Continuum, Inc., an organization comprised of individuals who run marathons to raise money for cancer patients. Mr. Singer ran the ING New York City Marathon in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 with Team Continuum.

Mr. Singer received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University, magna cum laude, in 1989, and his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1992.

Areas of Practice:
Securities and Commodities Arbitration
Securities and Commodities Litigation
Securities and Commodities Mediation
Securities and Commodities Regulation
Securities Class Actions
Enforcement Proceedings
NYSE Member Disputes
Employment Disputes
Certification/Specialties:
Arbitrator, FINRA
Mediator, New York Supreme Court, Commercial Division

Bar Admissions:
New York, 1993
California, 2002
U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1994
U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1994
Education:
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, District of Columbia
1992
J.D.

Law Review: Law and Policy in International Business
Associate Editor
1991 - 1992

Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, 1989
B.A.
Honors:  Magna Cum Laude
Major:  International Relations

London School of Economics Institute of Political and Economic Studies, 1988
Honors:  Highest Honors


Published Works:
"A Self-Protection Program for Brokers", Registered Representative Magazine, May, 1999

"Securities Lawyering: The Next Growth Industry", Registered Representative Magazine, July, 2002

Professional Associations and Memberships:
"New York Super Lawyer" 2009

online at
Super Lawyers


Securities Industry Association
Member, Legal and Compliance Division

Past Employment Positions:
Proskauer Rose LLP, New York Office, November 1996-December 2000, September 2002-December 2002

Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles Office, January 2001-August 2002

Rosenman & Colin (Now Katten Muchin Rosenman), New York Office, September 1992-November 1996

Los Angeles Superior Court, Mediator

Languages:
Spanish

PRACTICE AREAS

Singer Deutsch LLP


New York Office
555 Fifth Avenue
17th Floor
New York, NY 10017-5102

Phone:       212-682-3939
                 212-682-4224
Fax:           212-682-2006

Los Angeles Office
1901 Avenue of the Stars
2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Phone:       310-461-1390
Fax:           310-461-1304

San Francisco Office
Bank of America Center
555 California Street
Suite # 300
San Francisco, CA 94104

Phone:       415-568-2222
Fax:           415-568-2104

Email:        Contact Us

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