Introducing Cotter Legal and Michael Cotter
Cotter.Legal
Cotter.legal is the online home of Michael Cotter, consultant financial services lawyer and legal trainer.
Cotter Legal’s London office is situated in London’s iconic Shard, near the heart of the City of London’s financial district.
A trusted voice in the industry Michael has over 10 years’ experience leading complicated actions against negligent and fraudulent financial services.
Through his tenacious approach he has built a reputation as an authority in regulated industries, trusted by colleagues, clients and the media to offer no-nonsense, actionable advice.
In a highly complex regulatory landscape, Michael offers compassion and clarity to a range of clients.
Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.
Michael Cotter
- Consultant financial services lawyer
- Legal Trainer
- Expert Litigator
- Solicitor Advocate, Civil
What is a consultant solicitor?
A consultant solicitor is one who provides services on a self-employed basis or as a contractor through their own personal service company. The benefit of this for clients is that you know exactly who is working on your case. You benefit from high-quality service knowing that any action is led directly by a senior, experienced expert.
NOTABLE CASES
Contracts for Differences – The FCA in their paper of December 2018 banned the sale of Contract for Difference products to retail investors, Michael and his team have recovered to date £5.5million for investors who otherwise would have been without crucial funds during the covid19 pandemic.
Arck LLP
- Uncovered fraud affecting over 250 clients
- Recovery of over £35m for victims
- Successful prosecution of Arck LLP directors
- As reported by The Financial Times
In action against Arck LLP Michael recovered over £25m for investors as the lead lawyer. Having uncovered the fraud that affected over 250 clients, as lead lawyer he took action to successfully assist with the return of millions from a major UK Bank. This case led to the prosecution of the directors of Arck LLP following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
Michael’s career
Michael has enjoyed a varied career, culminating in his current position as a leading authority in financial services and regulatory law.
Michael graduated from the University of Southampton with a degree in Philosophy & Politics. For a short time Michael pursued a path in sports journalism, picking up on his passion for boxing to report on matches across the world.
No doubt, parallels can be drawn between his love of sparring in the ring and his unwavering approach to litigation.
Michael attended the University of Law in Birmingham, training as a Barrister. On graduation he joined Regulatory Legal (now known as FS Legal Solicitors) as a Solicitor. Michael quickly specialised in financial regulatory law, building class actions relating to financial disputes.
Showing his aptitude for complex regulatory action, Michael quickly rose to Partner at FS Legal, gaining Higher Rights of Audience, allowing him to litigate on behalf of clients in the higher civil courts.
As Partner, Michael ran the London office of FS Legal, receiving instructions on high value claims from private and corporate clients interacting with the regulated financial services sector.
Now, as a consultant solicitor Michael provides a range of services to clients that include victims of financial fraud, regulated professionals and financial service providers.
His most notable cases have included multi-million-pound actions concerning, among others, Arck LLP (spearheading an action against a major lending institution), Arch Cru, Keydata, Stirling Mortimer, EEA, Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes (‘UCIS’), Equities and Commercial off-shore and on-shore property syndicates.
As a regular media commentator Michael provides insight and commentary for titles such as The Times, The Financial Times, Money Mail, Professional Adviser and Citywire.
Personal
Michael lives with his wife, a barrister specialising in family law just outside of London. In his downtime he will be found following sports, being an avid fan of Manchester United and the Dallas Cowboys, flying over to Texas to watch the team in action.