Michael focuses his practice on representing banks, financial services, and other companies in litigation and government proceedings involving consumer protection and other laws. He also handles arbitrations and guides clients through government and internal investigations. He represents publicly traded companies in a variety of industries, including retail and manufacturing, as well as internet start-ups.
Michael’s extensive experience with consumer protection laws includes the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and Massachusetts’ consumer protection law, M.G.L. c. 93A. He represents and defends clients before federal and state agencies: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and the Massachusetts Securities Division.
Before joining Mintz, Michael was a senior associate in the Boston office of an international law firm, where he represented clients facing alleged violations of federal and state consumer protection laws and in a wide array of regulatory investigations. During a secondment from that firm, he spent three months as a senior counsel for a major bank and managed its portfolio consumer lending, automobile financing, commercial transactions, and securities fraud cases. He also actively participated in a pro bono program for victims of domestic violence.
Earlier, he served as a budget and policy analyst and a legislative aide for then Massachusetts State Representative (and current State Senator) Michael F. Rush.
Experience
- Successfully defended Citizens Bank against putative class allegations of aiding and abetting fraud and breach of fiduciary in connection with a $100 million Ponzi scheme. The Western District of NY dismissed the complaint, with prejudice. The dismissal was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
viewpoints
Court Puts COVID-19 Emergency Debt Collection Regulations on Ice
May 15, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels , Michael Pastore
Massachusetts Attorney General Issues Guidance Clarifying the COVID-19 Emergency Debt Collection Regulations
April 14, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels , Michael Pastore
Massachusetts Attorney General Sets Her Sights on Debt Collectors in the Wake of COVID-19
April 10, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels , Michael Pastore
State Securities Regulators Adapt in Response to COVID-19
April 3, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels , Michael Pastore
Material Non-Public Information in the Time of COVID-19: SEC Warning on Insider Trading
March 30, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels , Michael Pastore
Massachusetts Securities Division Rolls Out Final Version of Fiduciary Duty Rule
March 3, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels , Michael Pastore, Jason Burrell
The New York City Bar Association Goes to Bat for Compliance Officers
February 13, 2020 | Blog | By Michael Pastore, Jason Burrell
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Guidance Clarifying Abusiveness Standard
January 27, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels , Michael Pastore
2020 Exam Priorities of Financial Services Industry
January 22, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels , Michael Pastore
News & Press
Mass. Robinhood Ruling Will Affect Broker-Dealers Nationwide
September 20, 2023
Financial Services Co-chair Pete Michaels, Of Counsel Michael Pastore, and Associate Edmund Daley co-authored an article published in Law360 which focused on the widely anticipated Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision on the Massachusetts fiduciary duty rule, which imposes a fiduciary duty standard on Massachusetts broker-dealers.
Recognition & Awards
Named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars list (2017)
Boston Magazine Top Lawyers – Employment (2021)
Involvement
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Boston Bar Association
- Board of Directors, Medfield TV
- Chair, Warrant Committee, Town of Medfield, Massachusetts