Peter Boutin

Keesal, Young & Logan

450 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 398-6000 (firm)
(415) 981-0136 (firm fax)
www.kyl.com
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Peter Boutin has been a lawyer with Keesal, Young & Logan since 1975, and has served as the Managing Partner of the firm’s San Francisco office since 1984. He focuses on securities litigation, employment litigation, commercial and professional malpractice litigation, regulatory, appellate, and mediation matters. During his 40 years of practice, he has tried and arbitrated approximately 200 matters, including jury and bench trials in state and federal courts and arbitrations in all major forums. Mr. Boutin has tried and arbitrated cases throughout the country, including cases in California, New York, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.

Securities Litigation

Mr. Boutin has handled well in excess of 1000 securities litigation matters involving claims for violation of federal and state securities laws, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, unauthorized trading, unsuitability, elder abuse and related claims. Mr. Boutin has served as a panelist and/or speaker on presentations on securities-related issues to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”), American Arbitration Association, New York Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers, Securities Industry Association, accounting and securities trade groups, law schools, and other organizations. He has been a speaker on multiple occasions at the annual SIFMA Compliance & Legal Conference, the preeminent annual conference dealing with broker-dealer, investment management and regulatory issues. He is listed in The Best Lawyers ® in America in the practice area of Securities/Capital Markets Law.

Employment Litigation

Mr. Boutin has tried and arbitrated numerous employment cases involving a wide variety of issues, including age discrimination, disability discrimination, racial discrimination, discrimination based on sex, sexual harassment, discrimination based on AIDS, wrongful termination, defamation, retaliation, wage and hour, unpaid bonuses, privacy, whistleblower and ERISA. He is listed in The Best Lawyers ® in America in the practice area of employment law.

Commercial and Professional Malpractice Litigation

Mr. Boutin has litigated hundreds of matters involving claims for breach of contract, trade secrets, unfair business practices, business torts, legal malpractice and malicious prosecution. He is listed in The Best Lawyers ® in America in the practice area of Commercial Litigation.

Securities Regulatory and Enforcement Matters

Mr. Boutin has handled numerous regulatory matters before the SEC, the NYSE, FINRA (formerly NASD), and state securities regulators. He has represented advisors, executives, lawyers and others in a wide variety of regulatory proceedings. He has obtained dismissals of disciplinary charges filed against executives (following hearings) on multiple occasions, including the recent dismissal of all charges against a Managing Director in April 2016. Mr. Boutin recently co-authored an article on the regulatory exposure of compliance officers entitled “Regulators Train Crosshairs on Compliance Professionals – Perception or Reality” published in February 2016 by the National Society of Compliance Professionals.

Appellate Matters

Mr. Boutin has argued many cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the California Court of Appeal. Following his most recent argument before the Court of Appeal, the Court affirmed Summary Judgment in favor of KYL’s client on a $1.32 billion claim. He has also authored the winning briefs in an important California Supreme Court case dealing with evidentiary issues.

Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

As a trained mediator, Mr. Boutin has successfully resolved numerous securities, employment, business, intellectual property, professional malpractice, and ADA cases. He is a member of the U.S. District Court’s Early Neutral Evaluation Panel (since 1993) and is a member of the U.S. District Court’s Mediation Panel. He has also served as a member of the San Francisco Superior Court Settlement Panel for over 20 years, and is a member of FINRA’s mediation panel. He served for many years as a FINRA (formerly NASD) arbitrator and as an arbitrator for the San Francisco Superior Court. Mr. Boutin has been a panelist on alternative dispute resolution at, among other forums, the American Bar Association Annual Meeting.

A long-time member of the Board of Editors of the Securities Arbitration Commentator (“SAC”), Mr. Boutin authored “Standards of Review Governing Arbitration Awards” which was published in SAC. He also co-authored American Arbitration Association training materials for securities arbitrators and recently co-authored “Arbitrator Awards are extended great deference … Usually” which was published in April 2016 in the Daily Journal

Professional and Community Involvement

Mr. Boutin is a long-time member of the Executive Committee and is currently President-Elect of the Federal Bar Association’s Northern District of California Chapter. He is also is a member of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Compliance & Legal Division.

Mr. Boutin is active in Stanford University alumni affairs. He recently concluded a term as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Stanford Associates, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of Stanford’s Buck/Cardinal Club. He also served on the committee overseeing the 100th anniversary of Santa Clara Law School.

Pursuant to an appointment by the Board of Governors of the California State Bar, Mr. Boutin served on the Board of Directors of the California Bar Foundation from 2008 through 2011. As the charitable arm of the State Bar, the California Bar Foundation’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for building a better justice system for all Californians.

Awards and Recognition

Mr. Boutin has been named a Northern California “Super Lawyer” every year from 2004 through 2016, is rated AV® Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, and is listed in The Best Lawyers ® in America in the practice areas of Commercial Litigation, Employment Law and Securities/Capital Markets Law.

Mr. Boutin was selected for the 2008 “BTI Client Service All-Star Team” for Law Firms, as determined by in-house counsel at Fortune 1000 firms. He was one of three lawyers in the United States selected by multiple Fortune 1000 companies for delivering superior client service. He was also selected for the 2009 “BTI Client Service All-Star Team.” In 2010, he was one of five lawyers in the country selected for the third year in a row by BTI for client service excellence.

Bar Admissions

Mr. Boutin is a member of the Bar of the State of California, all United States District Courts in California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In 1982, he was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

Education

Mr. Boutin graduated from Stanford University in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Thereafter, he attended Santa Clara University where he obtained a J.D. (magna cum laude) in 1975.