Mark Astarita

Mark Astarita

Administrative & Regulatory, Business / Contracts, Securities (Litigation)

Verona, New Jersey

Personal Introduction

After graduating from law school, Mr. Astarita joined a boutique securities litigation firm on Wall Street, representing national and regional brokerage firms, as well as publicly traded companies and individuals, in a variety of matters, including SEC, FINRA, stock exchange, and state regulatory investigations, federal and state lawsuits, administrative actions, and arbitrations. In 2000 he formed a new firm with a white-collar criminal attorney, and in 2013 he joined Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC. He has successfully handled matters in state and federal courts, arbitrations, and regulatory enforcement proceedings in 23 states, including over 600 arbitrations, during his career. During his career, Mr. Astarita has represented over 60 brokerage firms and hundreds of financial professionals in their regulatory, litigation and employment issues. Mr. Astarita’s experience and knowledge of this highly specialized area of employment law enables him to provide guidance and assistance, to firms as well as professionals, in the negotiation of compensation packages and upfront loans, as well as severance agreements, promissory note settlements and restructuring, and non-compete waivers. Mr. Astarita has negotiated broker compensation agreements for individuals with every major Wall Street firm. Mr. Astarita’s reputation as a securities lawyer is recognized among his peers and the media. He has been an AV-rated attorney every year for the last 25 years. Various media sources have relied upon Mr. Astarita for commentary on issues relating to securities laws and online legal issues, and he has been quoted in a number of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune Magazine, Forbes Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Law Journal, Ticker Magazine, Research Magazine, Registered Representative, On Wall Street, InvestmentNews.com, The Recorder, Legal Times, the New Jersey Star-Ledger, the Internet Compliance Reporter, Investment Dealers’ Digest, Compliance Reporter, Financial NetNews, Securities Industry Daily, the Bergen Record and the New York Post. Mr. Astarita is often an invited speaker at industry functions, was a regular guest on CNBC’s Power Lunch, was a member of the faculty for the Practicing Law Institute’s Securities Arbitration Seminar, has been a guest lecturer at Pace University’s Securities Arbitration Clinic

Practice Composition

Litigation

Education

New York Law School
New York Law School Doctor of Jurisprudence/Juris Doctor (J.D.) (1981)
City University of New York-Queens College
City University of New York-Queens College Bachelors Degree, Psychology (1978)

Practice Summary

Mr. Astarita is an AV Preeminent® rated attorney who concentrates on securities and commodity futures regulation and enforcement, broker-dealer compliance and defense, receivership litigation, whistleblower claims, securities arbitration, and business formation, shareholder agreements and related litigation. He has represented over 60 brokerage firm, RIAs and clearing firms, as well as countless registered representatives. In addition, Mr. Astarita has extensive experience in the representation of Internet-based businesses, including content providers, online trading platforms and podcast promoters and sponsors.

Response Time

1 day

Awards

Martindale-Hubbell- AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated

Martindale-Hubbell- AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated

What is Overture?

Overture is an attorney-to-attorney referral network. Vetted attorneys refer matters they can’t take on to trusted colleagues and earn fee splits when they do, expanding what every attorney can offer their clients.

Client Reviews

5.00/5.0 Aggregate Score (2 reviews)

Peer Recommendations 1

John Lawlor, Esq.
John Lawlor, Esq.
I've known Mark for over 30 years. We met as adversaries and he's a super-talented lawyer.

Bar Admissions

New Jersey, New York