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Robert S. Frenchman
Partner
Robert S. Frenchman aggressively defends financial services clients in investigations and at trial, facing off against government prosecutors, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and other securities and commodities regulators. These representations have involved, in recent years, insider trading, securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud, spoofing, cryptocurrencies, specialist trading, market making, FCPA, mortgage-backed securities, order routing, short selling, benchmark rates, securities lending, margin, and research. Mr. Frenchman is also called upon to conduct internal investigations, and to advise on a wide range of securities and commodities law issues.
Mr. Frenchman has played a prominent role in the successful defense of major white collar defendants in groundbreaking cases. This has included the full acquittal of a UBS trader, Andre Flotron, charged by federal prosecutors with “spoofing” in the precious metals markets. This has also included the trial of Michael Gramins, a mortgage-backed securities trader, which resulted in six counts of acquittal. In addition to his work on the Gramins and Flotron trials, Mr. Frenchman represented the star witness and source of the material non-public information in United States v. Martoma, who received a non-prosecution agreement from federal prosecutors.
Prior to joining Dynamis LLP, Mr. Frenchman was a co-founder of Mukasey Frenchman LLP, a boutique law firm specializing in white collar criminal defense. Before Mukasey Frenchman LLP, Mr. Frenchman was a partner in two major international law firms.
Mr. Frenchman began his legal career by serving as a law clerk for the Honorable Nauman S. Scott, a senior United States District Court Judge.
Education
Tulane University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, member of Tulane Law Review.
Bowdoin College, B.A., History and Government.
In the news
Mr. Frenchman was featured on Bloomberg Markets: The Close on Bloomberg TV (November 3, 2023) to discuss his views on the Sam Bankman-Fried jury verdict.
Mr. Frenchman was featured on Cavuto: Coast to Coast on Fox Business (February 1, 2021), and Greg Kelly Reports on Newsmax (February 4, 2021), to discuss securities law issues relating to trading in GameStop.
Mr. Frenchman is frequently quoted in the press on securities law and other topics impacting the financial services industry. This has included, among other publications, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, CNBC, CoinGeek, Compliance Intelligence, Compliance Reporter, Corporate Secretary, Dow Jones Factiva, Financial Advisor Magazine, Financial IT, Financial Times, FTF News, Guardian, Global Custodian, Global Investor ISF Magazine, IA Watch, Inner City Press, Institutional Asset Manager, Law 360, Markets Media, New York Post, Reuters, SFO Magazine, Tabb Forum, US News & World Report, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Letter, and Yahoo News.
Publications
The Government's New Tool Against Insider Trading, New York Law Journal, January 25, 2019.
Corporate Actions: The Case of the Missing Billions (co-authored with Emre Carr), November 13, 2018, available at https://www.gtlaw.com/-/media/files/insights/published-articles/2018/11/corporate-actions-the-case-of-the-missing-billions.pdf.
Robo-Advisers: Mass. Offers IA CCOs a Roadmap, Compliance Reporter, August 8, 2016 (guest columnist).
FINRA Liquidity Risk Guidance: What CCOs Can Learn, Compliance Reporter, November 16, 2015 (guest columnist).
Preparing for New TRACE Rules on ABS, Compliance Reporter, May 4, 2015 (guest columnist).
Self-Trading: Preparing for New FINRA Obligations, Compliance Reporter, June 2014 (guest columnist).
Ask an Attorney, Compliance Reporter, August 27, 2012 (guest columnist).
Ask an Attorney, Compliance Reporter, August 29, 2011 (guest columnist).
New York Court of Appeals Roundup, New York Law Journal, December 8, 1994 (assisting Sidney H. Stein).
The Recent Revisions to Federal Proxy Regulations: Lifting the Ban on Shareholder Communications, 68 Tul. L. Rev. 161 (1993).
United States v. Rideau: A License to Frisk in Bad Parts of Town, 67 Tul. L. Rev. 1715 (1993).
Speaking engagements
Pushing the Envelope, Conference on Futures and Derivatives, Chicago, Illinois, October 17, 2019 (speaker).
BD-How to Facilitate Communications with the Public, 2015 NSCP Regional Conference, Chicago, Illinois, May 7, 2015 (panel member).
FINRA Exam Priorities 2015: What CCOs Need to Know, Compliance Reporter Breakfast Briefing, March 2015 (panel member).
Meet the SEC-Without an Examination, 100 Women in Hedge Funds, November 2013 (panel member).
BD-Intro to Compliance, NSCP 2013 National Meeting, October 2013 (panel member).
Broker Dealer-Suitability and Know Your Customer-One Year Later, 2013 NSCP East Coast Regional Meeting + Labs, June 2013 (panel member).
Other honors & experience
Mr. Frenchman was selected by Legal 500 for Financial Services: Regulatory (2012-2015).
Mr. Frenchman served on the Board of Directors of Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, a nonprofit food rescue organization, from 2015 to 2022. Mr. Frenchman was Co-Chair between 2015 and 2020.
Mr. Frenchman served on the Board of Directors of West 73rd Tenants Corporation as Corporate Secretary (1999-2000), and the Board of Directors of 20 West 90th Street Corporation as President (2013-2020).
Admissions
New York
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. District Court: District of Connecticut
U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court: Southern District of New York