Dr. Michael Fischer is an experienced financial services lawyer supporting clients' contentious and noncontentious regulatory needs. Skilled in financial regulation, compliance, and internal investigations, Michael's practice covers complex regulatory issues, including M&A transactions involving financial services companies and financial products and in the areas of anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), corporate governance, and manager liability. He is actively involved in Jones Day's global, cross-disciplinary Fintech team, advising on legal and regulatory issues arising from both, the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in financial transactions and products, and the forthcoming market transition to alternative reference rates.
Michael has been practicing in the financial services industry for more than 20 years and draws on his extensive in-house banking and investment funds experience. He served as the general counsel for the German operations of an international Swiss bank for seven years, where he was also responsible for the EMEA region within the wealth management division of the global banking group, advising on strategic regulation initiatives.
Michael also served as head of strategy and policy for the Financial Market Stabilization Agency/SoFFin, the manager of the German government's rescue fund for the financial sector. Earlier in his career, Michael was general counsel and chief compliance officer for two alternative asset management firms in New York City. He started his career as an M&A lawyer in the Cologne and New York offices of international UK and U.S. law firms.
Michael is a board member of the German-American Lawyers Association (DAJV) and co-head of the association's M&A practice group.
Expérience
- October 18, 2019
Vorhang auf für €STR und andere Referenzzinssätze, Presentation - September 23, 2019
Supervisory Convergence, Panel Discussion - September 20, 2019
Legal Committee of German Association of private banks (Bundesverband deutscher Banken) DLT – Blockchain use cases in the securities and payments sectors, Presentation - September 10, 2019
AML and DLT / Blockchain technology, Presentation - August 18, 2019
Frankfurt School of Management and Finance Banking Supervisory Laws, Lectures - June 13, 2019
JONES DAY German Client Conference IBOR Transition - Panel discussion - May 9, 2019
A new paradigm – Financial Services Regulation Foreign Banking Association, Workshop - April 5, 2019
German American Lawyers Association – M&A Committee The MAC is back – Panel discussion on FMC vs Akorn - February 8, 2019
ICO's and Compliance, Securities law aspects of ICO's - January 16, 2019
Blockchain: A U.S. Perspective and Implications for the Banking Business
- University of Hamburg (Dr. iur. 1998); Second State Examination (Higher Regional Court Cologne, 1996); Pennsylvania State University (LL.M. 1994); Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University of Bonn (First State Examination, 1993)
- Federal Republic of Germany and New York
Handelsblatt (2022): listed among the best in banking and finance law in Germany
- Native German speaker and fluent in English