Daniel Michael

Mr. Michael’s representations have included, among others:

• hedge funds, fund managers and other investment advisers in SEC investigations and examinations focusing on valuation, allocations, trading practices, cybersecurity controls and disclosures
• an investment adviser in the SEC off-channel texting sweep that was not charged by the SEC
• a large financial institution in an SEC investigation of possible undisclosed conflicts of interests stemming from its incentive compensation structure, which the SEC closed after extensive engagement
• Pfizer in a dispute with the SEC over undistributed funds in which the company collected $29 million
• Crypto.com in an SEC investigation — the only major crypto platform not sued by the SEC
• internal investigations involving a corporation’s accounting and related disclosures

Prior to joining Skadden, Mr. Michael served as the chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Complex Financial Instruments Unit (CFI), where he oversaw a nationwide team of attorneys and market specialists in investigations and enforcement actions involving complex financial products and market practices.

Through his roles at the SEC, Mr. Michael developed an extensive understanding of issues involving complex financial instruments. In particular, he handled and supervised numerous matters concerning valuation, volatility, digital assets, Regulation Best Interest and sales practices, security-based swaps, ESG disclosures and the SEC financial responsibility rules.

Mr. Michael has spoken and written extensively on SEC enforcement and white collar criminal matters and is the author of a quarterly column published by Reuters that focuses on regulatory issues relating to digital assets and blockchain technology.

In recognition of his practice, Mr. Michael has been named one of Securities Docket’s Enforcement Elite as one of “the best securities enforcement defense counsel in the industry,” one of Thomson Reuters’ Stand-out Lawyers in 2026 and one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America.