Fraser L. Hunter Jr. has extensive experience in securities enforcement, white collar crime and complex commercial litigation. He focuses on the counseling and representation of individuals, broker-dealers, hedge funds, investment banks and other financial market participants in internal investigations, regulatory enforcement and compliance matters, class actions and other complex litigation matters.

Professional Activities

Mr. Hunter is a member of several bar associations including the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Council and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where he has served on the Committee on International Human Rights, the Committee on Securities Regulation and the Securities Litigation Committee.

Experience

  • Recent Enforcement Highlights

    • Represented Bear Stearns in connections with regulatory and litigation matters arising out of the collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds relating to the sub-prime mortgage crisis
    • Representation of an Audit Committee in connection with parallel investigations by the Department of Justice and the SEC regarding certain trade routing and compensation practices of a broker-dealer
    • Representation of a broker-dealer in connection with parallel SEC, FINRA and civil litigation and customer arbitration matters arising out of the collapse of the Puerto Rico bond market
    • Representation of a broker-dealer in SEC investigations of structured products offered to wealth management clients
    • Representation of senior executive in SEC investigation of the pricing and sale of closed end mutual fund shares to retail investors
    • Representation of hedge fund complex in connection with an SEC inquiry regarding certain related party transactions
    • Representation of a publicly-traded energy company in connection with an SEC inquiry regarding certain accounting matters
    • Representation of various individuals in SEC investigations involving, among other things, closed end funds, CDOs, municipal bond offerings, accounting matters and insider trading
    • Regularly advises broker-dealer, investment adviser and investment banking clients on regulatory, compliance and enforcement-related matters
  • Recent Litigation Highlights

    • Represents Royal Bank of Scotland in connection with all state and federal litigation arising out of the LIBOR investigations
    • Represented two defendant prime brokers in industry-wide litigation filed in state and federal court over various short sale practices
    • Represented two defendant underwriters in connection with 55 industry-wide cases alleging violations of Section 16(b) short swing profit regulations in connection with certain initial public offerings
    • Represented several underwriter defendants in IPO-related antitrust and securities class action litigation (e.g., In re Initial Public Offering Securities LitigationIn re Initial Public Offering Antitrust Litigation; In re Public Offering Fee Antitrust Litigation; and Friedman v. Salomon Smith Barney Inc. et al.)
    • Representation of an accounting firm in connection with litigation arising out of the Madoff ponzi scheme
    • Representation of accounting firms in connection with litigation arising out of the Satyam Computer Services scandal

Recognition

  • Selected by Benchmark Litigation in its 20212024 edition as a "Litigation Star." 
  • Recognized as a New York leader in Litigation: Securities in the 2007–2023 editions of Chambers USA Guide.
  • Selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2015–2024 editions of the Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation.
  • Recommended by The Legal 500 United States in 2016–2018 for financial services and securities litigation.
  • Named a "New York Super Lawyer" in Securities Litigation in 2008–2012 and 2014–2023.

Insights & News

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, Columbia Law School, 1992

    • BA, Brown University, 1988

  • Admissions

    • New York

  • Clerkships

    • The Hon. Martin L.C. Feldman, US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, 1992 - 1993

Credentials

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