Significant Matters

• 20 years representing brokers and brokerage houses in churning, unauthorized transactions and unsuitability claims, including claims for punitive damages.
• Represented brokers, attorneys, investors and board members in insider trading investigations and SEC enforcement actions.
• Enforced employment contracts and non-compete clauses on behalf of brokerage houses.
• Successfully challenged SEC damage claims for disgorgement, which led to congressional amendment of securities laws.
• Successfully defended a large investment company’s inside directors in 40 act-claims.
• Successfully tried a shareholder class-action securities-fraud claim, resulting in one of the National Law Journal’s Top Ten Defense Verdicts of 1991, a $56 million case.
• Represented brokers and brokerage houses in connection with a money-laundering investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office, resulting in settlement without crime penalty.
• Obtained complete indemnification for a Fortune 500 client in connection with a multi-million dollar stolen corporate-bond claim in federal court for the southern district of New York.
• Served as local counsel for Hasbro, Inc. in the resolution of a shareholder derivative suit brought as a result of the failed Mattel takeover.
• Successfully defended Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc. through a jury trial in the Federal Court to Appeals in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Reduced exposure of a brokerage house in a churning claim by $120,000 and resolved a customer complaint for under $5,000 in attorney’s fees.  The brokerage house showed a $270,000 loss, and the claim settled within two months of filing for $150,000.

Significant Reported Cases

First Circuit Court of Appeals

1. Havlik v. Johnson & Wales  Univ., 509 F. 3d 25 (1^st Cir. 2007)

2. Lalonde v. Textron, Inc., 369 F.3d 1 (1^st Cir. 2004)

3. Bates ex rel. Murphy v. Shearson Lehman Bros., 42 F.3d 79 (1^st Cir. 1994)

4. Lessler v. Little, 857 F .2d 866 (1^st Cir. 1988)

5. Carillo v. Brown, 807 F.2d 1094 (1^st Cir. 1986)

6. Ouimette v. E.F. Hutton & Co., 740 F.2d 72 (1^st Cir. 1984)

7. SEC v. MacDonald, 699 F.2d 47 (1^st Cir. 1983)

Rhode Island Federal District Court 

1. DeAndrade v. Trans Union, LLC, 2005 WL 3367048 (D.R.I. July 19, 2005);   DeAndrade v. Trans Union, LLC, 2006 WL 5671233 (D.R.I. November 29, 2006)

2. Lawton v. Nyman, 357 F. Supp. 2d 428 (D.R.I. 2005)

3. Toledo v. Van Waters & Rogers, Inc., 92 F. Supp. 2d 44 (D.R.I. 2000)

4. Glaude by Stephenson v. Royal Indem. Co., 949 F. Supp. 72 (D.R.I. 1996)

5. Vincent R. Iacono, M.D., Inc. v. Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc., 715 F. Supp. 18 (D.R.I. 1989)

6. McInnis v. Harley-Davidson Motor Co., 625 F. Supp. 943 (D.R.I. 1986)

7. La Plante v. Southworth, 484 F. Supp. 115 (D.R.I. 1980)

Rhode Island Supreme Court

1. Martin v. Howard, 784 A.2d 291 (R.I. 2001)

2. Pacheco v. Massachusetts Casualty Ins. Co. 610 A.2d 111 (R.I. 1992)

3. In re Advisory Opinion to Governor, 593 A.2d 943 (R.I. 1991)

4. Rumford Property & Liab. Ins. Co. v. Carbone, 590 A.2d 398 (R.I. 1991)

5. Blais v. Aetna Casualty & Sur. Co,. 526 A.2d 854 (R.I. 1991)

6. D’Arezzo v. Bowden, 512 A.2d 843 (R.I. 1986)

7. Muldowney v. Weatherking Prods. 509 A.2d 441 (R.I. 1986)

8. Bartlett v. Danti, 503 A.2d 515 (R.I. 1986)

9. Providence v. O’Neill, 445 A.2d 290 (R.I. 1982)

10. International Packaging Corp. v. NRG Coal Corp. 442 A.2d 435 (R.I. 1982)

11. Randall v. Katz, 441 A.2d 836 (R.I. 1981)

12. Benoit v. R.I. Catholic Orphan Asylum,  433 A.2d 680 (R.I. 1981)

Connecticut Federal District Court 

1. Claps v. Moliterno Stone Sales, Inc.,  819 F. Supp. 141 (D. Conn. 1993)

Massachusetts Federal District Court 

1. Falmouth Nat’l Bank v. Equifax Services, Inc., 812 F. Supp. 275 (D.Mass. 1993)

Honors & Distinctions

• AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, highest rating given to attorneys.
• Selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2007-2010 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation.
• Selected as a Rhode Island Super Lawyer, 2008 and 2009, an honor that recognizes him as a leader in the legal community.

Professional Affiliations

• Associate member, National Association of College and University Attorneys.

Community & Civic Activity

• Board and executive committee member of the Veterans Memorial Auditorium Arts & Culture Center.

News

• 17 AP&S Attorneys Selected for 2010 Edition of Best Lawyers®
• 30 AP&S Attorneys Named to New England Super Lawyers 2009
• Top Honors for Super Lawyers "Superstars" at AP&S
• AP&S Ranked #1 in Rhode Island in Commercial Litigation by Best Lawyers In America 2008
• Federal Court Rules for University in Issuing Crime Alerts

Publications & Seminars

• Authored numerous articles on damages in securities.
• Organized NASD co-sponsored seminars on the new Rhode Island Securities Act.
• Former editor-in-chief, Vanderbilt University International Law Review.