People

Andrea J. Robinson

Partner

Vice Chair, Securities Department

Robinson, Andrea J.

Andrea Robinson is a vice chair of the firm's Securities Department, a partner in the Litigation/Controversy Department, and a member of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice Group. She is also vice chair of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Working Group, a member of the firm's Management Committee and a member of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Working Group. She joined the firm in 1990. Ms. Robinson's practice focuses on securities, financial services and other commercial litigation, including SEC, FINRA and other regulatory enforcement matters.

Practice

Ms. Robinson has extensive experience defending individual, derivative and class actions, including numerous cases involving alleged misstatements, accounting improprieties, insider trading, market manipulation and sales practice misconduct. Her regulatory and enforcement practice has encompassed wide-ranging matters, including those relating to alleged insider trading, options backdating, accounting improprieties, revenue sharing, market timing, late trading, 12b-1 fees, failures to supervise, disclosure, sales practice and suitability issues. In addition, she has conducted internal investigations, counseled corporate clients regarding litigation avoidance strategies and compliance programs, and advised boards of directors regarding their fiduciary and other obligations.

In 1994, Ms. Robinson served as a special assistant district attorney for Middlesex County, prosecuting criminal cases for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  

Honors & Awards

  • Recognized as a leader in securities litigation in the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business
  • Named a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") in securities litigation in the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of Boston Magazine
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for her commercial litigation practice
  • Described in a 2012 Best Lawyers survey as “an incredibly astute and strategic litigator. But beyond that, she is a pleasure to work with—responsive and practical at every turn.”

Recent Highlights

  • The dismissal by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York of two separate securities class actions brought under the Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act alleging false or misleading statements in connection with structured asset holdings and valuations, capital adequacy, risk controls, and the acquisition and integration of a European bank by a large international banking and financial services company
  • The dismissal by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida of a complaint asserting common law violations including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, aiding and abetting fraud, and negligent misrepresentation by a custodian of accounts managed by third party investment manager
  • The dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act claims brought on behalf of a putative class against a provider of demand response solutions to grid operators and utilities
  • Rulings by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Supreme Court of the State of New York dismissing securities fraud cases filed by arbitrageurs against a company and certain of its officers in connection with statements allegedly made about an anticipated merger that was not ultimately consummated
  • The dismissal of a putative nationwide class action against a leading insurance carrier in a complex multi-district litigation which asserted, among others, RICO, ERISA, antitrust and common law claims relating to the payment of contingent commissions to insurance brokers
  • The dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of a class action complaint challenging, under RICO and the Massachusetts consumer protection statute, the nationwide sale of equity indexed annuities to seniors
  • The dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of a shareholder class action alleging securities fraud by a biotechnology company accused of issuing financial statements made misleading by channel stuffing
  • The dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of a shareholder class action alleging securities fraud by a software developer and certain of its inside and outside directors
  • A ruling by the Massachusetts Superior Court that the commonwealth's statutory business judgment standard, rather than Delaware's Unocal standard, governs the response of a Massachusetts company's board of directors to a perceived threat to the company's independence  
  • A ruling by a Florida state court denying plaintiff's motion to certify a class of policyholders alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment by a life insurance company
  • The dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey of a shareholder class action asserting insider trading claims against a mutual fund company alleged to have sold securities on the basis of material inside information received from an issuer
  • The dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of derivative claims asserting that allegedly excessive executive compensation was misrepresented in proxy statements and violated state law

Professional Activities

Ms. Robinson is a member of the American Bar Association, Boston Bar Association and the ALIC (Association of Life Insurance Counsel).

Practices

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Education

JD, University of Virginia School of Law, 1984, Virginia Law Review, Order of the Coif

AB, magna cum laude, Harvard University, 1981, Phi Beta Kappa

Bar Admissions

Massachusetts

District of Columbia

New York