Government Experience

  • Securities & Exchange Commission—Office of International Affairs, Director, 1989-1996; Division of Enforcement, Associate Director, 1981-1989

Education

  • Hampshire College, B.A. (1975)
  • Antioch School of Law, J.D. (1981)

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • New York

Michael D. Mann

Partner
mmann@crowell.com
+1.202.261.2990

Michael D. Mann combines more than 15 years of leading U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) international regulatory and enforcement strategy with more than 25 years of private practice experience in counseling public companies, financial firms, and individuals in navigating the myriad of regulatory, compliance, and enforcement challenges they confront around the world.

Michael is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Crowell & Moring and a member of the Corporate and White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement groups. His practice focuses on international securities regulation and enforcement and the cross-border conduct of business. Michael provides strategic advice and counseling to clients engaged in business subject to regulation in the United States and throughout the world. He regularly represents public companies and their audit committees, officers, and directors in connection with their compliance with U.S. regulatory requirements, including the Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, and Foreign Corrupt Practices acts, as well as U.S. economic sanctions.

The Legal 500 United States recommended Michael in the areas of Compliance and Securities Law, SEC Enforcement, and Corporate Investigations & White Collar Criminal Defense (2009–2013, 2015, 2017, 2019–2021), with clients noting that he is “widely recognized as the ‘go-to’ lawyer for clients in the international financial services sector” and praising him “for his unparalleled command of the global regulatory environment.” He has been nationally ranked as a “Leading Individual” in the area of Securities Regulation in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for 13 consecutive years (2009–2022). Chambers describes him as “impressively strong in matters related to Dodd-Frank, the FCPA, and sanctions violations.”

Prior to entering private practice, he served for seven years as the first director of the Office of International Affairs at the SEC. Michael established the key formal and informal relationships between the SEC and its foreign regulatory counterparts in the world’s most important developed and emerging markets. In particular, he negotiated formal understandings to facilitate cooperation on enforcement, regulation of cross-border trading activity, and the development of securities markets. These understandings continue to be the centerpiece of the SEC’s international enforcement efforts.

Michael also led the SEC’s development of new regulatory approaches to facilitate access to the U.S. securities markets through cross-border securities offerings. Moreover, he directed the SEC’s multilateral efforts to improve and harmonize regulation worldwide and to remove unnecessary barriers to trade.

Prior to becoming director of the Office of International Affairs, Michael served as associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. While in the Division of Enforcement, he carried out investigations and litigation, with a particular emphasis on international matters. He acted as counsel for the commission in SEC v. Levine, SEC v. Certain Unknown Purchasers (the “Santa Fe” case), and SEC v. Winans (the “Wall Street Journal” case), among others.

He was awarded the rank of distinguished executive in the Senior Executive Service by President Bill Clinton and was presented with the Chairman’s Award for Excellence. Michael received the Manuel  F. Cohen Outstanding SEC Younger Lawyer Award from the Federal Bar Association Securities Law Committee.

Michael is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the distinguished practitioners council and board of advisors to the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society, and the Editorial Board of Wall Street Lawyer: Securities in the Electronic Age. He previously served as a member of the Hampshire College board of trustees and the board of directors of the Federation of American Scientists. He also served as the chairman of the Securities Market Advisory Board of the Toronto International Leadership Centre for Financial Sector Supervision.

Prior to joining the firm, he was a founding partner of Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP.


Recognition

  • Chambers USA: Leading Individual, Nationwide Securities Regulation: Enforcement, 2009-2022 
  • Best Lawyers in America: Corporate Compliance Law, Securities Litigation, and Securities Regulation, 2011-2021
  • The National Law Journal: Litigation Trailblazer, 2017
  • The Legal 500 United States: Compliance and Securities Law, SEC Enforcement and Corporate Investigations & White Collar Criminal Defense, 2009-2013, 2015, 2017, 2019-2021 
  • Super Lawyer Magazine: Securities Litigation, International Law and Business/Corporate Law, 2006-2021
  • Distinguished Executive in the Senior Executive Service, awarded by President Clinton 
  • Chairman’s Award for Excellence 
  • The Federal Bar Association, Securities Law Committee: Manual F. Cohen Outstanding SEC Younger Lawyer Award 

Affiliations

Professional Activities and Memberships

  • Member, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Member, Federal Bar Association, Securities Law Committee Executive Council
  • Member, Board of Advisors to the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society
  • Member, Wall Street Lawyer Editorial Board

Representative Matters

  • Representation of U.S. and foreign private issuers, boards of directors, and their audit and governance committees in connection with investigations involving allegations of violations of the U.S. securities laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
  • Representation of senior officers of U.S. and foreign issuers and hedge funds in connection with SEC investigations and regulatory inquiries in matters involving securities trading, accounting, and disclosure; the operation and establishment of internal controls under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and the application of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
  • Ongoing advice to hedge funds and financial institutions in connection with the development of comprehensive compliance programs to address regulatory obligations imposed by U.S. and foreign securities laws and regulations.
  • Ongoing advice to various multilateral development banks in relation to interaction with U.S. enforcement authorities, governance issues, and the development of compliance procedures to address a variety of risks facing international organizations.

Speeches & Presentations


Publications


Client Alerts & Newsletters


Press Coverage


Firm News & Announcements

August 18, 2022 The Best Lawyers in America 2023 Recognizes 54 Crowell & Moring Attorneys, Three Selected as Lawyer of the Year
June 1, 2022 Chambers USA 2022 Ranks 70 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 37 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
November 11, 2021 Crowell & Moring Named to "GIR 100" for Seventh Consecutive Year
August 19, 2021 The Best Lawyers in America 2022 Recognizes 53 Crowell & Moring Attorneys, One Selected as Lawyer of the Year
May 20, 2021 Chambers USA 2021 Ranks 63 Crowell & Moring Lawyers and 30 Practice Areas Among Best in U.S.
April 1, 2021 Crowell & Moring and Kibbe & Orbe Join Forces