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Michael E. Pastore

Special Counsel

[email protected]

+1.617.239.8427

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Michael focuses his practice on representing banks, financial services, and other companies in litigation and government proceedings involving consumer protection and other laws. He also handles arbitrations and guides clients through government and internal investigations. He represents publicly traded companies in a variety of industries, including retail and manufacturing, as well as internet start-ups.

Michael’s extensive experience with consumer protection laws includes the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and Massachusetts’ consumer protection law, M.G.L. c. 93A. He represents and defends clients before federal and state agencies: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and the Massachusetts Securities Division.

Before joining Mintz, Michael was a senior associate in the Boston office of an international law firm, where he represented clients facing alleged violations of federal and state consumer protection laws and in a wide array of regulatory investigations. During a secondment from that firm, he spent three months as a senior counsel for a major bank and managed its portfolio consumer lending, automobile financing, commercial transactions, and securities fraud cases. He also actively participated in a pro bono program for victims of domestic violence.

Earlier, he served as a budget and policy analyst and a legislative aide for then Massachusetts State Representative (and current State Senator) Michael F. Rush.

Experience

  • Successfully defended Citizens Bank against putative class allegations of aiding and abetting fraud and breach of fiduciary in connection with a $100 million Ponzi scheme. The Western District of NY dismissed the complaint, with prejudice.  The dismissal was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
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viewpoints

Court Puts COVID-19 Emergency Debt Collection Regulations on Ice

May 15, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels, Michael Pastore

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On the heels of codifying 940 CMR 35.00, the “Unfair and Deceptive Debt Collection Practices During the State of Emergency Caused by COVID-19” (the “Emergency Regulations”), Attorney General Maura Healey issued guidance on April 3, 2020 “to provide clarity with regard to frequently asked questions concerning the Emergency Regulations[.]”
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On March 27, 2020, the Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healy, filed an emergency regulation, aimed at what the office described as “prevent[ing] debt collectors and creditors from harassing our residents.”
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State Securities Regulators Adapt in Response to COVID-19

April 3, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels, Michael Pastore

As financial professionals struggle to adapt during these trying times, securities regulators are also revising their processes and procedures to address the current realities of investor protection in the time of COVID-19 while being fair to the regulated entities.
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On March 23, 2020 the SEC issued a statement warning about the risks of insider trading posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Massachusetts Securities Division Rolls Out Final Version of Fiduciary Duty Rule

March 3, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels, Michael Pastore, Jason Burrell

The Massachusetts Securities Division (the “Division”) has announced that they will begin to apply a fiduciary conduct standard to broker-dealers and agents when dealing with their customers.
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The New York City Bar Association Goes to Bat for Compliance Officers

February 13, 2020 | Blog | By Michael Pastore, Jason Burrell

The New York City Bar Association Compliance Committee (“Committee”) recently issued a report encouraging financial regulators to provide a clear framework for when compliance officers may be held personally liable for the misconduct of their employing institutions.
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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Guidance Clarifying Abusiveness Standard

January 27, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels, Michael Pastore

During the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) symposium series in June 2019, the featured panel discussed whether it was necessary for the Bureau to further define “abusive acts or practices” under the Dodd-Frank Act.
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2020 Exam Priorities of Financial Services Industry

January 22, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels, Michael Pastore

As they do at this time each year, the SEC Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (“SEC”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) recently announced their examination priorities for 2020.
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News & Press

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Financial Services Co-chair Pete Michaels, Of Counsel Michael Pastore, and Associate Edmund Daley co-authored an article published in Law360 which focused on the widely anticipated Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision on the Massachusetts fiduciary duty rule, which imposes a fiduciary duty standard on Massachusetts broker-dealers.
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Recognition & Awards

  • Named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars list (2017)

  • Boston Magazine Top Lawyers – Employment (2021)

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Involvement

  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, Boston Bar Association
  • Board of Directors, Medfield TV
  • Chair, Warrant Committee, Town of Medfield, Massachusetts
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