Michael E. Swartz is co-chair of Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Litigation Group, head of the shareholder activism litigation practice and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He focuses on complex commercial litigation, particularly as it relates to mergers and acquisitions. His litigation practice includes shareholder activist litigation, private investment fund disputes, M&A litigation, corporate control disputes and securities litigation, including class actions. Michael successfully represented Politan Capital Management in its dispute with Masimo Corporation, a groundbreaking corporate governance case, that began when Masimo’s Board adopted perhaps the most preclusive advance notice bylaws to date. As a leading trade publication stated, if Masimo prevailed, it would mean the “complete eradication of shareholder activism as we know it.” Gordon Haskett Research Advisors described Michael’s win in the case by saying, “…Politan has been dunking on [Masimo]…We’re talking full, one-handed, windmill dunks.” Michael also achieved significant wins representing Saba Capital Management in a suit brought by Templeton Global Income Fund seeking to overturn a shareholder election; four members of the Board of First Republic Bancorp in a reversal from the Third Circuit of a district court’s appointment of a receiver over the bank; and Pantera Capital, which established the first U.S. bitcoin fund, in a hotly contested arbitration win over Polychain Capital, on a corporate opportunity claim – Pantera estimates the award represents more than $2 billion in value.
Michael has been recognized by his peers and clients in Benchmark Litigation, Chambers USA and Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America for his work in securities litigation, The Legal 500 US for his work on M&A litigation, and New York Super Lawyers in the area of business litigation. His litigation victories have been featured in The Hedge Fund Journal, Hedge Fund Legal and Compliance Digest and, recently, the Litigation Group, co-chaired by Michael, won Law360’s “Asset Management Practice Group of the Year” for its representations of leading private investment funds. Clients have described Michael as “an extremely impressive, experienced litigator,” “creative and tenacious,” and “incredibly knowledgeable, client-focused and a subject matter expert in commercial litigation.” Michael is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. He is also a former law clerk to the Hon. Irving R. Kaufman, Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Michael received his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was editor of the Columbia Law Review, and received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Updated Sep 2023
