Michael Pierson

Co-Chairman | Corporate

About

Michael Pierson is Co-Chairman of Pierson Ferdinand, a full-service law firm with 190+ partners in 80+ practice areas serving global clients from 20+ markets. Focusing on a diverse partnership, technology-focused infrastructure, and a client-centric model, the firm is redefining the notion of a modern, elite law firm. The primary focus of his practice is acquisition, regulatory, and securities law matters for U.S. and non-U.S. banks, financial institutions, private funds, and corporate clients.

  • Over the course of his career, he has advised private investment funds, broker-dealers and investment management clients, from some of the largest and most prominent market participants to firms engaged in specialized aspects of the securities businesses, including emerging FinTech companies. Michael began his career as an attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Division of Market Regulation (now Trading and Markets), was a member of the Investment Management Practice at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, and was assistant general counsel of Goldman Sachs where he advised both the firm’s internal private equity groups and its securities division. He also served as counsel to Silver Lake and to Barclays. Prior to Pierson Ferdinand, he was Managing Partner at FisherBroyles, LLP. Prior to that, he served as co-founder and general counsel to a technology company, which partnered with one of the world’s largest media, advertising, and communications groups.

Practices

  • Banking and Financial Services

  • FinTech and Blockchain

  • Government and Government Affairs

  • International Trade

  • Private Equity and Venture Capital

  • Private Investment Funds

  • Securities

  • Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)

Admissions

  • New York

  • England & Wales, Registered Foreign Lawyer

Education

  • Syracuse University, J.D., 2003

  • Maxwell School, M.P.A., 2003

  • University of Illinois, B.S., Architecture, 2000

  • École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Versailles, 1998-1999

  • Harvard University, Philosophy, 1996

Awards and Recognitions

  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2023, FinTech Practice

Law Firm Experience

  • FisherBroyles, LLP

  • Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Corporate Experience

  • Goldman, Sachs & Co., Assistant General Counsel

  • Silver Lake, Counsel

  • Barclays, Counsel

  • Vaultsy, Co-Founder

Government Experience

  • US Securities and Exchange Commission

Representative Transactions

Silver Lake

  • Silver Lake Partners re fund formation, fund documentation, and investor communications for Silver Lake Partners III, L.P., its third fund with $9.6 billion of committed capital

  • Silver Lake Partners in an attempted leveraged buy-out of Huawei Technologies’ mobile division for $4 billion

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

  • Goldman, Sachs & Co. and its sales and trading and principal investments businesses, including the Securities Division, Equities and Derivatives Sales and Trading, Goldman Sachs Principal Strategies, and Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investments, collectively generating revenues of $25.56 billion in 2006, $31.23 billion in 2007, and $9.06 billion in 2008

  • Goldman, Sachs & Co. in its minority investments in: Investars; Asset4; Medley Global Advisors; TrimTabs Investment Research, Inc.; Connotate; Epocrates, Inc.; Lusight; iSupply; Quantitative Services Group, LLC; JL McGregor & Company; and Wall Street on Demand

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

  • E*TRADE Financial Corporation in its acquisition of Harris Direct LLC for $700 million

  • Legg Mason, Inc. and Citigroup, Inc. in a $437 billion asset swap with a transaction value of $3.7 billion

  • E*TRADE Financial Corporation in an acquisition of BrownCo, an online brokerage service of JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.6 billion

  • AmeriTrade Holding Corporation in its acquisition of, and subsequent merger with, TD Waterhouse Group, Inc. for $2.9 billion

  • Wachovia Corporation in its acquisition of Golden West Financial Corporation for $24.2 billion

    The Bank of New York Company, Inc. in its $16 billion merger with Mellon Financial Corporation

US Securities and Exchange Commission

  • Proposed rulemaking related to the fair administration and governance of, and increased transparency for, SRO corporate structures and reporting requirements

  • Governance and management structure review of the New York Stock Exchange related to the compensation package of the NYSE’s chief executive

  • Approved the formation, trading, and listing requirements for broad and narrow-based indexes and funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and hybrid products

  • Granted certain regulatory approvals related to of the purchase of an electronic communications network (ECN), Brut LLC, by The Nasdaq Stock Market for $190 million

In the News

  • Michael Pierson and Joel Ferdinand join Chris Batz on Episode 34 of The Future Is Bright Podcast YouTube | Apple Podcasts, March 13, 2024

  • Quoted, Bloomberg Law, Coinbase Suit Looks Poised to Send Crypto Debate to High Court (June 9, 2023)

  • Quoted, Reuters, Quotes: Fed plans broad revamp of bank oversight in wake of SVB collapse. (April 28, 2023) featured on Yahoo, Financial Post, Street Insider, Investing.com, U.S. News, Market Screener, and One America Now.

  • Quoted, Bloomberg Law, Loan Market Faces More Regulation as Overlooked Lawsuit Heats Up (April 6, 2023)

  • Quoted, Law 360, SEC, CFTC Peel Back FTX Layers In Ex-Execs’ Fraud Cases (December 22, 2022)

  • Quoted, Yahoo!Finance, May Inflation Reaches Highest Level Since 1981, Touches Every Sector of the Economy (June 10, 2022)

  • Quoted, Asian Legal Business, Virtual Firms, Real Ambitions (May 4, 2022)

  • Quoted, Reuters, Bitcoin surges after Biden signs executive order on digital assets (March 9, 2022)

  • Quoted, The American Lawyer, Spread of Partner Pay Widens in Parts of Big Law (July 15, 2021)

  • Quoted, The American Lawyer, FisherBroyles’ New Am Law 200 Status Smooths Way for Hires From Big Law (June 4, 2021)

  • Quoted, Bloomberg Law, Big Law Has Never Looked More Like This Fully Remote Firm (May 20, 2021)

  • Quoted, Law360 Pulse, Virtual Law Firms Grow Amid BigLaw Hiring Slump (March 4, 2021)

  • Quoted, The American Lawyer, FisherBroyles Says 2020 Revenue Hit $113M (January 12, 2021)

Publications

  • Client Alert – Recent Securities and Exchange Commission Proposals Would Subject Unregulated Traders and Systems to Broker-Dealer Registration April 4, 2022

  • Client Alert – Sec Proposes New Mandatory Disclosures Relating To Climate Change, March 23, 2022

  • Client Alert – Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, March 11, 2022

  • Client Alert – Sec Issues Sample Letter To Companies Regarding Climate Change Disclosures, October 8, 2021

  • Beyond Disclosure – The Emergence of ESG as a C-Suite Risk Factor Part III, May 26, 2021

  • Beyond Disclosure – The Emergence of ESG as a C-Suite Risk Factor Part II, April 26, 2021

  • Beyond Disclosure – The Emergence of ESG as a C-Suite Risk Factor, March 31, 2021

  • FINRA and NFA Issue Compliance Guidance, February 19, 2021

  • SEC Issues No Enforcement Statement and Requests for Comment Regarding the Custody of Digital Asset Securities by Special Purpose Broker-Dealers, January 7, 2021

  • SEC Expands Private Offering Investor Pool, August 28, 2020

  • CFTC Issues Final Interpretive Guidance regarding the “Actual Delivery” Exception to Retail Commodity Transactions Involving Virtual Currency, July 6, 2020

  • SEC Provides COVID-19 Relief to Small Businesses for Crowdfunding Offerings, May 20, 2020

  • Force Majeure Provisions In A Coronavirus Age, March 20, 2020

  • The Broad Reach of the Federal Securities Laws, May 7, 2019

  • SEC Releases Statement on “Framework for ‘Investment Contract’ Analysis of Digital Assets” and Grants First No-Action Letter on Digital Assets, April 5, 2019

Speaking Engagements

  • Guest Lecturer, Columbia University, 2019-present; Securities Regulation, “Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies and Analytics”

  • Speaker, Cboe Global Markets, Global Risk Management Conference 2022, Reykjavik, Iceland (October 20, 2022)

  • Speaker/Panelist, The Rise of the Digital Law Firm, (April 21,2021)

  • Featured, The Changing Normal, Paperless Law Firms: Part III, Litera, (August 7, 2020)

  • Co-Host, Blockchain: Regulation and the Law 2019, (February 5, 2019)

  • Speaker, Blockchain in Insurance: Opportunity or Threat – How New Technologies are Changing Business Risks, (May 17,2018)

  • Key Speaker, International Perspectives on Blockchain Technology & Cryptocurrencies, London, (April 19, 2018)