Practice Areas

SECURITIES LITIGATION, SEC DEFENSE, and APPEALS

Mr. Sacher has almost 20 years of first-hand experience serving his clients. While some practitioners claim to practice in the area of Securities Litigation, few posses the breadth of Joseph Sacher’s actual, first-hand experiences and insights, particularly defending SEC investigations and full-blown SEC enforcement actions. 

Joseph Sacher learned about Securities Litigation at an early age from his father, famed securities litigator Barton ("Bart") Sacher (1948-2015), whom he practiced with from 1998 until 2015.  

From his first year of civil practice in 1998, through today, Joseph Sacher has represented countless individual and corporate clients in SEC investigations and full-blown SEC enforcement actions brought by SEC Regional Offices throughout the United States (Washington DC Home Office, Miami, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, etc.).  He regularly assists clients with internal investigations in anticipation of a formal investigation, subsequent subpoena compliance (during informal SEC investigations), the Wells Notice process just before an action is filed, and in administrative and Federal Court litigation, through trial and appeal.

Mr. Sacher's most publicized securities litigation matter involved the representation of an individual who was one of many co-defendants in a complex matter involving alleged Securities Fraud and related Federal Securities Law violations.  Following a two-week bench trial, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered judgment in favor of Mr. Sacher's client, Mr. Kramer, finding no violation of the broker-dealer registration requirement of Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  The SEC subsequently appealed the decision; however, it was eventually dismissed.  The SEC v. Kramer decision remains one of the leading precedents for Section 15(a) violations.

In another publicized matter, Mr. Sacher obtained a series of Federal Court Orders requiring the SEC to appear for deposition in an active enforcement action, despite the agency's consistent (and usually successful) approach to avoiding such attempts by defendants to depose the SEC in enforcement actions before U.S. District Courts.

Mr. Sacher’s Securities Litigation experience is not limited to SEC matters. His representation also includes FINRA investigations and arbitration, private litigation, accountant and accounting firm matters, broker-dealer matters, and whistleblowing matters.

Mr. Sacher routinely lectures and publishes in the area of Securities Laws.  He has been repeatedly selected by his peers for inclusion in Super Lawyers® and The Best Lawyers in America® in the category of Litigation – Securities.  Additionally, he was a finalist for the Dade County Bar Association's Legal Luminaries Award in the category of Securities. 

• SEC/FINRA Investigations
  • SEC Subpoena Compliance
    • SEC Document Production
    • SEC Investigative Testimony
  • Wells Notice
    • Settlement Negotiation
    • Wells Submissions
    • Wells Presentations

• SEC, FINRA, and State Enforcement Actions
  • SEC Federal Court Litigation
    • Discovery
    • Settlement
    • Bench Trials
    • Jury Trials
    • Appeals
  • SEC Administrative Actions
    • Settlement
    • Litigation and Appeals
  • FINRA Arbitration
  • State Securities Commissions
  • Florida Department of Financial Regulation

• SEC/FINRA Broker-Dealer Matters
  • Broker-Dealer Regulation
  • FINRA Arbitration
  • Broker-Dealer Employment Issues

• Private Securities Litigation in State and Federal Courts
  • Shareholder Actions
  • Accountant/Accounting Liability
  • Private Securities Litigation in U.S. Federal Court
  • Florida Securities and Investor Protection Act
  • Statutory Attorneys’ Fees Litigation

• Regulatory Compliance and Risk Avoidance

• SEC Whistleblower Assistance

Publications (Click Titles to Read Articles)

• "The Public Company Accounting Reform and Protection Act: The Changing Landscape of Public Corporations and the Accounting and Law Firms Who Provide Them Services," The Florida Bar News, Sept. 1, 2002
• "Don't Let It Tell You Otherwise: You Can Depose the SEC ... Sometimes (A Lesson for Private and Public Securities Litigators, as Well as the Judiciary)," The Federal Lawyer, December 2013 (Lead Feature)
• "The Value of a Truly Great Indemnity Agreement: When Things Go Bad, Having the Right Business Contract Can Win Your Case, and Reimburse Your Litigation Costs, Including Attorneys' Fees," The Florida Law Journal, March 2014 (Guest Column)

Classes, Lecturers, and Seminars

• Featured Panelist, American Inns of Court 2019 Bench & Bar Conference on topic of “Preparing the Key Witness for Trial,” the largest local bar meeting in the nation, attended by more than 4,000 judges and attorneys, March 2019
• Instructor for The National Judicial Judicial College's class action interactive video webcast entitled, “To Certify or Not: That is the Question." The program primarily provided education on: pre-certification discovery, best practices when handling the class certification hearing, selection of class representatives and class counsel, and preparing certification orders that withstand appeal. Mr. Sacher provided insight and guidance based on his class action experiences, from the perspective of plaintiff and defense counsel, as well as appellate counsel. The nationwide audience included sitting trial judges from around the country, April 2018
• Featured Panelist at 6th Annual Florida’s Grand Bench & Bar Conference on topic of “Managing & Handling Government Investigations,” the largest conference of its kind in the nation, attended by as many as 1,300 judges and attorneys
• Moderator, The Florida Bar’s Practicing with Professionalism Judicial Panel, August 2016
• Featured panelist at “The Ninth Annual Ethics Seminar: Moral Courage in action” in Boca Raton, on the subject of Whistleblowing Laws, with the Regional Director of the Miami Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Inspector General for Broward County, Florida, November 2015
• Organized meeting between FIBA Broker-Dealers, Securities Industry Professionals, and SEC Commissioner Kara M. Stein, hosted at the SEC's Miami Regional Office, January 2015
• Moderator, Broker-Dealer Roundtable, hosted by Florida International Bankers Association ("FIBA"), August of 2013, with guest speaker, Sarah D. Green, Senior Director of Enforcement for FINRA
• Co-Moderator, Broker-Dealer Roundtable, hosted by Florida International Bankers Association ("FIBA"), February of 2013
• Co-Moderator, Broker-Dealer Roundtable, hosted by Florida International Bankers Association ("FIBA"), November of 2012
• Co-Moderator, Broker-Dealer Roundtable, hosted by Florida International Bankers Association ("FIBA") and KPMG, June of 2012
• Lecturer on Changes in the Securities Industry in the Current Economic Environment, as Well as Evolving Trends, FIBA Young Professionals Committee Educational Series, 2010
• Lecturer on Accountants' Liability before various CPAs and Attorneys, 2004 - Present
• Lecturer on Securities Litigation, Barry University Business School, International Finance, 2001

Representative Cases

• SEC v. McKelvey (S.D. Fla. 2018), Defeated SEC’s request for permanent lifetime officer and director bar against defendant who was convicted in earlier resolved criminal action involving “blank check company” fraud scheme.
• In the Matter of Ireeco, LLC and Ireeco Limited, SEC Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-16647 (2015).  Negotiated settlement of very first SEC non-fraud action in EB-5 industry, as to liability, and litigation of monetary relief requested by Division of Enforcement.
• In the Matter of Global Fixed Income LLC, et al., SEC Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-16460 (2014).  Wells presentations to Los Angeles Regional Office and also to Home Office, including Chief of Enforcement Ceresney, involving investigation and settlement of alleged violations involving billion dollar corporate bond offerings.  
• SEC v. Merkin, 283 F.R.D. 699 (S.D. Fla. 2012).  Overruling SEC's Objections to Magistrate Judge's Order Permitting a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of the SEC; and denying SEC's motion to stay the deposition.
• SEC v. Merkin, 283 F.R.D. 689 (S.D. Fla. 2012).  Order directing SEC to submit to Rule 30(b)(6) deposition.
• SEC v. Kramer, - (Click here to read the opinion). 778 F. Supp. 2d 1320 (M.D. Fla. 2011).  Successful defense of SEC suit, alleging unregistered broker-dealer activity, through two week Federal Court bench trial (and subsequent dismissal of appeal U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit).
• Kast v. Tube Media, et al., (Broward County, Florida Circuit Court Complex Litigation Division, 2011).  Successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of claims for negligence, Florida securities fraud, aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty, common law fraud and conspiracy against international accounting firm, and obtained order of entitlement of attorneys’ fees for accounting firm as prevailing party under Chapter 517, Florida statutes.
• uBuy Holdings, Inc. v. Gladstone, 340 F.Supp.2d 1343 (S.D. Fla. 2004). Successful defense of large national accounting firm and small regional New York-based accounting firm in securities fraud class action, resulting in a dismissal with prejudice in favor of each firm, and an award of attorneys' fees and costs in favor of each firm under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”).
• Compania de Elaborados de Café v. Cardinal Capital Mgmt., Inc., 401 F.Supp.2d 1270 (S.D. Fla. 2003).  Successful defense of broker-dealer against suit by non-customer for alleged conversion and fraud. The decision is a leading authority, routinely cited in Florida fraud actions. 
• Additional representative cases available upon request.