Daniel V. McCaughey
Partner
Dan is co-chair of the firm’s commercial litigation practice. He focuses his practice on securities litigation and enforcement matters and other complex commercial disputes, including the representation of private equity firms and their portfolio companies, hedge fund advisors, public companies, and boards of directors. Prior to joining the firm, Dan worked as a law clerk to Honorable Boyce F. Martin, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as a litigation associate in the Boston office of another national law firm.
Experience
- Represented and advised multiple private equity advisors in SEC investigations and exams regarding fees, expenses, and potential conflicts of interest.
- Trial counsel for investment bank in a widely publicized five-week jury trial about the bank’s role as financial adviser in connection with a $600 million all-stock sale to a Belgian firm, prior to the revelations of that firm’s accounting fraud and its eventual bankruptcy. The trial culminated in a complete verdict for our client.
- Trial counsel for official committee of unsecured creditors in a bankruptcy court hearing regarding debtors’ proposed plan of reorganization.
- Successfully defeated a motion for a preliminary injunction on behalf of a real estate developer, in a dispute arising out of commercial tenant’s financing obligations.
- Represented institutional investment manager in SEC and state regulatory investigations, and in private investor claims, relating to investment losses arising from residential mortgage backed securities. Successfully represented company’s board of directors in obtaining motion to dismiss derivative claims arising from RMBS investment losses.
- Counsel for numerous private equity, hedge fund, venture capital, and public company clients in corporate governance and transactional disputes, including indemnity claims.
- Represented public companies, investment advisers, and investment banks in SEC and state regulatory investigations involving accounting practices, disclosures related to residential mortgage backed securities and auction rate securities, and securities trading practices.
- Represented asset manager in pursuit and settlement of claims related to non-delivery of exotic commodity contracts.
- Trial counsel for Massachusetts prisoner in civil rights case challenging adequacy of client’s medical care, resulting in a permanent injunction and invalidation of unconstitutional policies prohibiting certain medical treatments. Trial counsel to successful political asylee in immigration court.
Publications
- Quoted, “As SEC Focuses on SPACs, Conflicts Come to the Fore,” Private Equity Law Report (June 15, 2021)
- Quoted, “High court ruling on ‘ill-gotten gains’ may affect D&O premiums,” Business Insurance (November 12, 2019)
- Quoted, “Expected Supreme Court SEC ruling may help predict D&O losses,” Business Insurance (April 25, 2017)
- Co-author, “Justices Skeptical Of SEC Disgorgement Without Time Limits,” Law360 (April 20, 2017)
- Quoted, “SEC Disgorgement Could Face Tough Crowd At High Court,” Law360 (April 18, 2017)
- Co-author, “The Need For A Limitations Period On SEC Disgorgement Claims,” Law360 (January 20, 2017)
- Co-author, “Revisiting Corporate Scienter: In Search of a Middle Ground,” Bloomberg BNA “Securities Regulation & Law Report,” (April 2015)
- R. Daniel O’Connor, Steven Goldschmidt and Daniel McCaughey, “Admitting Guilt: the SEC’s New Settlement Policy,” Fund Director Intelligence (September 2013)
- R. Daniel O’Connor and Daniel V. McCaughey, "Standard Chartered and Anti-Money Laundering: Trends to Watch," BankDirector.com (November 2012)
- R. Daniel O’Connor, Richard Marshall, and Daniel McCaughey, “Khuzami on the ‘Epidemic of Perjury’,” Law360 (June 2011).
- Co-author, “Federal Court Decision Highlights Uncertainty over Mutual Fund Derivative Litigation Under Massachusetts Law,” The Journal Of Index Investing (Winter 2010).
- “Delaware Court Holds that Required Shareholder Vote Cannot Ratify a Challenged Board Decision; Officers Owe Same Fiduciary Duties as Directors,” Ropes & Gray LLP Alert, February 2009
- Note, The Death of Disparate Impact Under Title VI, 84 Boston University Law Review 247 (2004).
Education
- JD, magna cum laude, Boston University School of Law, 2004; Boston University Law Review , note development editor
- BA (American History), University of Pennsylvania, 1999
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- Massachusetts, 2004
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 2013
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2006
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2013
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, 2007
Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America (2021-2023)
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers – Rising Stars (2014)
