Founded by Former SEC Attorneys

Attorneys

Robert G. Heim  |   Margaret E. Peper  |   Judith A. Meyers

Robert G. Heim
Attorney at Law
Email: RHeim@meyersandheim.com

      Robert G. Heim was formerly an Assistant Regional Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in New York City. Mr. Heim specializes in corporate and securities law, including corporate formation and capital raising, securities regulatory work, securities litigation, white collar criminal defense and FINRA arbitrations. Mr. Heim is frequently asked to speak on subjects relating to business and securities law and he has lectured at Yale University, the Wharton School of Business and New York University's Stern School of Business. Mr. Heim has also written for the New York Law Journal.

      Mr. Heim received his B.A. degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from Fordham College in 1990. In 1993, Mr. Heim graduated cum laude, from Fordham Law School in New York, New York. After law school, Mr. Heim was employed in the Northeast Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement. During his tenure with the SEC, Mr. Heim was responsible for prosecuting several high profile cases, including the SEC's case against eight New York Stock Exchange floor brokers and the SEC's case against Orlando Joseph Jett. Mr. Heim was also responsible for cases involving accounting fraud, fraudulent sales practices, insider trading and market manipulation. Mr. Heim was awarded the SEC's prestigious Capital Markets Award in 1999. Mr. Heim has also made numerous guest appearances on At Large with Geraldo Rivera, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, CBS News, MSNBC and the BBC and is frequently quoted by the New York Times, New York Newsday, New York Post, Bloomberg, and Reuters.

      Mr. Heim is also the author of the book Going Public in Good Times and Bad, A Legal and Business Guide, American Lawyer Media, Inc., February 1, 2002. This comprehensive book provides an insightful and well-structured roadmap for any firm considering moving towards private or public equity funding. In addition, given the spate of recent news stories concerning insider trading, Mr. Heim wrote an article "How to Win an Insider Trading Case."

       Mr. Heim is admitted to practice law in the U.S. Supreme Court and in the State and Federal Courts of New York and is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Mr. Heim is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution in New York City.

Margaret E. Peper
Attorney at Law
Email: MPeper@meyersandheim.com

      Margaret E. Peper began working with Meyers & Heim, LLP in 2003 and is currently Of Counsel to the firm. Prior to relocating to New York in 2003, Ms. Peper was a Partner and Director of Davis & Ceriani, P.C., in Denver, Colorado. Ms. Peper represents customers, broker-dealers and associated persons in all areas of securities fraud matters. She represents financial industry professionals, broker-dealers and publicly- and privately-held companies in state regulatory, SEC and FINRA investigations. Ms. Peper's employment practice includes representation of employees and employers in all areas of employment litigation and contract negotiations both within and outside of the financial services industry, including on behalf of foreign nationals holding H-1B, O-1 and other visas. Ms. Peper has tried dozens of arbitrations and litigated claims of breach of contract, wrongful termination, discrimination, defamation, breach of fiduciary duty and tortious interference. Besides having appeared regularly before the SEC, FINRA (f/n/a "NASD"), NYSE, U.S. Labor Department and the American Arbitration Association in arbitrations, administrative and enforcement proceedings, Ms. Peper has represented clients in both state and federal court.

      Most recently, in August 2012, Ms. Peper obtained SEC Decline to Prosecute letters on behalf of her clients, an executive and three separate entities, following the SEC Denver Regional Office's 14-month investigation. See SEC letters under "Recent Successes" on the home page of this website. In June 2012, Ms. Peper successfully negotiated a dismissal of all claims asserted against her client by the Colorado Division of Securities in an action pending for 13-months before the Colorado Office of Administrative Courts. Ms. Peper successfully represented several privately-held companies and individual executive officers in separate matters involving actions initiated by the SEC, FINRA and 11 different state securities regulators. Recent representative matters also include:

• Obtained a $500,000 settlement on behalf of NYSE floor traders arising from a breach of contract claim.
• Obtained six-figure severance package on behalf of employee of leading global financial services firm.
• Negotiated a six-figure severance package on behalf of an international brokerage services firm executive.
• Negotiated reinstatement of employment and back-pay on behalf of employee of one of New York's (and the nation's) premier centers in health care, biomedical research and medical education.
• Negotiated the settlement of gender and national origin discrimination claims filed against a Federal agency employer.
• Obtained a $525,000 settlement on behalf of an institutional broker wrongfully terminated from his LSE-listed investment bank.
• Despite threatened FINRA enforcement action, obtained a (FINRA non-reportable) Letter of Caution following her Pre- Wells Notice "Offer of Compelling Evidence" on behalf of a financial industry executive.
• Successfully prosecuted counterclaims for fraudulent inducement, misrepresentation and ERISA violations on behalf of financial executive resulting in a significant reduction in the amount owed under Employee Forgivable Loans ("EFLs").
• Obtained a $575,000 settlement on behalf of an investment banker in a wrongful termination action against the corporate banking arm of an NYSE-listed company.
• Tried and won a FINRA arbitration award of over $624,000.00 in compensatory damages and interest in addition to $20,000 in forum and filing fees for a retail broker on claims of wrongful termination, tortious interference, and defamation. In this latter case, Ms. Peper successfully invoked the developing legal doctrine stating that licensed securities industry executives are subject to termination for "just cause" only, despite employment on an "at-will" basis.
• Along with co-counsel, Ms. Peper tried and won an $8,000,000 arbitration award, including over $450,000 in attorneys' fees and $34,000 in forum fees, in a breach of fiduciary duty and civil conspiracy action brought on behalf of executive securities industry employees and shareholders against executive officers of a prominent regional broker-dealer.
• Obtained $950,000 settlement on behalf of a single public customer in an action alleging churning of an options trading account.
• Successfully argued an appeal (on the briefs) before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in upholding a dismissal of all claims against corporate and individual securities industry clients involving allegations of fraud and suitability. Jacks v. Schneider Securities, Inc. 217 F.3d 525 (7th Cir. 2000).

      Ms. Peper received her J.D. from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law where she was research assistant to Professor Edward A. Dauer, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law. Along with Professor Dauer, Ms. Peper co-authored "Manual of Dispute Resolution: ADR Law and Practice," Chapter 17, (Two Volumes, Shepard's / McGraw-Hill 1994; Annual Supplements 1995 and 1996) - Winner of the 1994 CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution Book Prize. Paperback edition published as "A Student's Guide to ADR Law and Practice." Revised Edition published as "ADR Law and Practice" (Juris Publishing 2000).

Bar Admissions and Memberships
Admissions: 1994, Colorado Supreme Court; 1996, U.S. District Court, District of Colorado; 1996, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit; 1999, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; 2003, New York and U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York; 2008, U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Memberships: Ms. Peper is a member of the Colorado Bar Association and the New York City Bar.

Judith A. Meyers
Attorney at Law

       Judith A. Meyers received her B.A. degree, with academic honors, from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1990. In 1993, Ms. Meyers graduated from Fordham Law School in New York, New York. After law school, Ms. Meyers spent the next four years as a litigation associate at a prominent entertainment law firm in New York City. Her practice there included litigation of intellectual property and commercial matters before the state and federal courts of New York, including the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as copyright and trademark licensing. In 1998 Ms. Meyers became in-house counsel for Halston, a leading design house, in New York City, where she was solely responsible for all legal aspects of the licensing program, as well as matters involving FTC compliance and the company's intellectual property.

       Ms. Meyers is admitted to practice law in the State and Federal Courts of New York and is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.