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 handling derivative actions and class actions, including numerous cases involving alleged accounting improprieties, insider trading, market manipulation and sales practice misconduct. Her regulatory 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.
Recent Highlights
- 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
- The dismissal by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts of a class action complaint challenging the nationwide sale of 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
- 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
- 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).
Honors and Awards
- Recognized as a leader in securities litigation in the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 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 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of Boston Magazine
Recent Speaking Engagements
- Boston Bar Association, Dodd Frank Financial Reform: What Practitioners Must Know, "Whistleblower Provisions of the Dodd Frank Act" - Boston, MA - April 2011
- ALIC 2010 Annual Meeting, Litigation Program: "Recent Developments in Annuities Litigation" – Braselton, Georgia – May 2010
- Defense Research Institute – "Annuity Class Action Litigation: Trends and Effective Defense Strategies" – New York, NY – April 2009
