DALLAS — On March 15, Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today continued the national expansion of the Fraud and Recovery Practice Group with the addition of Dallas partners Eduardo “Eddy” Espinosa and Michael Napoli from Dykema.
Their arrival grows Akerman’s headcount in Texas to nearly 60 litigation and transactional lawyers in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, and builds upon the firm’s leading capabilities in investor recovery, a press release states.
“The expansion of our fraud and recovery team in Texas is a continuation of our commitment to the eradication of fraud against corporate and investor victims nationwide,” said Sandra Heller, chair of Akerman’s Fraud and Recovery Practice Group. “Eddy and Michael are exceptional lawyers and highly regarded by the receivership community. They bring important experience in securities litigation and enforcement, and they are responsible for leading many notable recoveries.”
Espinosa is an experienced court-appointed fiduciary frequently recommended by regulators to serve in proceedings where there is concern that alleged fraudsters will dissipate the remaining assets, the press release states.
A former enforcement lawyer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he has served as either the receiver, receiver’s counsel or trustee in various federal and state proceedings in the life settlement sector, fraudulent securities offerings, EB-5 offerings and general commercial litigation.
Napoli serves as a court-appointed receiver and counsel to receivers and trustees. He works to maximize the value of insolvent entities to make a fair and equitable distribution to creditors, the press release states.
His experience covers a variety of sectors with an emphasis on life settlements. Outside the insolvency arena, Napoli protects individuals and companies facing lawsuits. He works closely with clients to resolve litigation through creative and practical solutions. Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, Napoli works on a wide variety of cases, including securities, commercial and products liability matters.
Espinosa and Napoli follow a wave of laterals joining the Akerman’s Dallas office, which has grown to nearly 30 litigators and transactional lawyers serving clients in the financial services, energy, oil and gas and other dynamic sectors.
Recent additions include a team of five international trade lawyers and business professionals, led by partners Michelle Schulz and Elsa Manzanares from Gardere.