Securities Trading & Options Expert Witness

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Mr. Pines is an expert in trading, options, and market microstructure who advises law firms and institutional investors on disputes and investigations involving equities, ETFs, options, commodities, and foreign exchange. His work focuses on how markets actually function in practice: order routing, execution quality, trading strategies, and risk management. In litigation and enforcement matters, Mr. Pines is frequently asked to evaluate trading patterns and order‑flow data in insider‑trading and market‑manipulation cases, assess the reasonableness of brokers’ and traders’ conduct, and analyze options and derivatives valuations and damages. Mr. Pines has 36 years of experience analyzing, trading, and consulting on financial markets. He has served as a member market maker on NYSE Arca, CBOE, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and the Pacific Exchange, and has traded futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and foreign‑exchange options as a professional trader for Chase Manhattan Bank and Bank of New York. He specializes in trading equities and options on hard‑to‑borrow stocks and on companies in special situations such as mergers and acquisitions, spinoffs, Dutch tender offers, and rights offerings. His experience includes advising clients on trading and hedging strategies, risk management, and the operation of equities, ETF, commodities, and foreign‑exchange derivatives portfolios. Mr. Pines’ expertise includes simulating trading strategies, designing and hedging multi‑leg options trades, and analyzing trading patterns in equities, commodities, and options. He is not a full‑time professional witness; approximately half of his time is devoted to active trading and advising clients on trading, derivatives, and market microstructure, which keeps his opinions grounded in current market practice. Mr. Pines has been retained as an expert by the Securities and Exchange Commission in three enforcement actions and by the Internal Revenue Service in a tax matter involving options. He has also served as an expert for several AmLaw 20 law firms in high‑profile matters, including five cases related to the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, an insider‑trading case, multiple margin‑dispute cases, and cases involving alleged market manipulation. His work has included expert reports, deposition testimony, and trial testimony.