Ross A. Albert
Partner

Phone: 404.504.7768
Fax: 404.365.9532
Email: ralbert@mmmlaw.com

Ross A. Albert is a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Commercial Litigation Practice. Mr. Albert represents parties involved in commercial litigation, corporate litigation, securities litigation, insurance and reinsurance litigation, class actions and other complex cases before state and federal courts, administrative agencies and arbitration panels. He also represents individuals and entities involved in investigative and regulatory inquiries conducted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Georgia Securities Commissioner, other federal and state law enforcement authorities, and self-regulatory organizations. He conducts internal investigations of alleged corporate and business misconduct.

Before joining MMM in 2001, Mr. Albert served for eight years in various positions with the SEC at its Washington, D.C. headquarters, including: Senior Special Counsel, Division of Enforcement; Legal Counsel to Commissioner Norman S. Johnson; and Special Counsel, Appellate Group, Office of the General Counsel; From 1994 to 1999, he concurrently served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. As Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, Mr. Albert assisted with trials and was lead appellate counsel for what was reportedly the largest securities fraud prosecution in the history of Georgia, one that resulted in the convictions of 12 defendants. Mr. Albert has argued before six U.S. Courts of Appeals (including the Eleventh Circuit), the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the Maryland Court of Appeals (the highest state court in Maryland). He has filed briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, nearly all federal appellate courts, many state appellate courts, and numerous state and federal trial courts. From 1988 to 1993, Mr. Albert was an associate in the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group at the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C. From 1986 to 1988, Mr. Albert served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Alexander Harvey, II, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Within the last few years, Mr. Albert has been asked to author chapters for books dealing with current securities law topics: “Defending SEC Investigations and Enforcement Actions,” Chapter 1 in The Practice of Corporate Law: Leading Lawyers on Best Practices for Representing Public and Private Companies (Aspatore Books 2006); and “The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Approach to Cross-Border Transactions” Chapter 4 in Common Issues in Securities Law: Leading Lawyers on Managing Client Expectations, Evaluating Securities Investigations, and Identifying Key Issues in U.S. Securities Law (Aspatore Books 2008) (co-authored with Heath D. Linsky, a corporate partner at MMM).

Mr. Albert frequently serves as a commentator concerning current SEC, securities, corporate governance and business/financial crime issues for local, national and international news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International, Canadian Press, CNN, CNNfn, CNBC, MSNBC, CTV (Canada’s largest private broadcast network), CBS MarketWatch, BBC News Radio, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WSB-TV - Channel 2 (Atlanta), WAGA-TV - FOX 5 (Atlanta), Georgia Public Television, International Herald Tribune, The Guardian (U.K.), The Globe and Mail (Toronto), The Financial Express (India), Irish Examiner, Business Times of Singapore, and RWE Australian Business News.

Recent Experience

Lead counsel representing oil and natural gas company, its officers and directors and affiliated entities in federal court cases pending in Georgia and Nebraska alleging claims for securities fraud and breaches of fiduciary duties.

Represented major investment bank in litigation brought by a bankruptcy trustee seeking over $30 million in damages for the bank’s purported breaches of fiduciary duties and complicity with former management in completing an acquisition that allegedly caused the debtor to file for bankruptcy. All claims against bank thrown out on a motion to dismiss without any discovery; case is still proceeding against other defendants.

Represented technology company in connection with claims asserted by founder and former Chief Executive Officer seeking to hold up sale of company; case resolved on terms satisfactory to client.

Represented public technology company and its officers and directors in case alleging securities fraud arising from purportedly backdated stock options. Summary judgment granted to all defendants on all counts and affirmed on appeal, Rosenberg v. Gould, Civil Action No. 1:06-CV-1894 (N.D. Ga. Mar. 31, 2008), aff’d, 554 F.3d 962 (11th Cir. 2009).

Represented large public company and related entities that was granted summary judgment on all claims arising from an alleged breach of a right of first refusal to purchase land. Decision was affirmed by Georgia Court of Appeals and Georgia Supreme Court. CS-Lakeview at Gwinnett, Inc. v. Simon Property Group, Inc., 283 Ga. 426, 659 S.E.2d 359 (2008), affirming 283 Ga. App. 686, 642 S.E.2d 393 (2007).

Represented large public company that won summary judgment in the Delaware Court of Chancery on a claim brought by the company’s former Chief Financial Officer who alleged that the company had wrongfully refused to permit him to exercise stock options then worth approximately $35 million. Knight v. Caremark RX, Inc., 2007 WL 143099 (Del. Ch. Jan. 12, 2007).

Drafted briefs for appeal involving question of whether novel financial instruments (fractional interests in viatical settlements) were “securities” or “investment contracts” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. SEC v. Life Partners, Inc., 87 F.3d 536 (D.C. Cir.), statement on denial of reh’g, 102 F.3d 587 (D.C. Cir. 1996).

Assisted with related complex telemarketing/penny stock fraud prosecutions involving 12 defendants, including four-week and six-day jury trials; lead counsel for appeals, including oral argument. United States v. Lincoln, 163 F.3d 1358 (11th Cir. 1998) (Table), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1058 (1999); United States v. Word, 129 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir. 1997); see also United States v. Strevel, 85 F.3d 501 (11th Cir. 1996) (appeal in related case).

Drafted successful brief for appeals of criminal convictions for securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy arising from a gold mining scheme. United States v. Brooks, 62 F.3d 1425, 1995 WL 451090 (9th Cir. 1995) (Table, Text in WESTLAW).

Drafted brief and successfully argued appeal involving challenge to the misappropriation theory of insider trading. SEC v. Grossman, 101 F.3d 109, 1996 WL 137630 (2d Cir. 1996) (Table, Text in WESTLAW).

Drafted brief and successfully argued case of first impression, a jurisdictional challenge to the SEC’s ability to regulate intrastate securities fraud. SEC v. Midwest Investments, Inc., 85 F.3d 630, 1996 WL 229783 (6th Cir.) (Table, Text in WESTLAW), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1165 (1997).

Over four-year period, assisted with defense of corporation and its officers and directors in securities fraud class action alleging damages exceeding $100 million. Cohen v. Apache Corp., 1993 WL 126560 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 21, 1993); Cohen v. Apache Corp., 1991 WL 1017 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 2, 1991).

As part of what was reportedly the largest civil case ever filed in North Carolina, assisted with representation of defendants (officers and directors of an insurance company) accused of securities fraud and RICO in connection with sale of $160 million of bonds. E.g., First Financial Sav. Bank, Inc. v. American Bankers Ins. Co. of Florida, Inc., 699 F.Supp. 1167 (E.D.N.C. 1988), aff’d sub nom., American Bankers Ins. Co. of Florida, Inc. v. First Union Nat. Bank of North Carolina, 900 F.2d 249 (4th Cir. 1990) (Table, Text in Westlaw).

Bar Admissions

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Courts of Appeals (D.C., 2d, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 11th Circuits)

U.S. District Courts (N.D. Ga. and D. Md.)

State Bar of Georgia, Admitted 2002

District of Columbia Bar, Admitted 1988

Massachusetts Bar, Admitted 1986 (inactive status)

Education

Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, 1986, J.D.

• Associate Editor and Member, California Law Review, 1984-86
• Selected for third-year exchange program, in residence at Harvard Law School, 1985-86

• Harvard College Scholar
• National Merit Scholar