Hugh Makens has been involved in the securities industry for over 35 years as an attorney, regulator and adviser. He was a Director at the Michigan Corporation & Securities Bureau for the Michigan Department of Commerce (1972-1978) and was a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (1966-1972). For over 25 years he has represented broker-dealers, investment advisers, issuers, regulatory authorities and industry professionals in conjunction with compliance with securities regulatory requirements, investigations and regulatory proceedings. He is the former chair of the Firm's Broker-Dealer/Investment Advisers Practice Group.

Honors and Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law and Securities Regulation, 1983-2012
  • Named the Best Lawyers' 2012 Securities/Capital Markets Lawyer of the Year
  • Named the Best Lawyers' 2011 Grand Rapids Corporate Lawyer of the Year
  • Named to Michigan Super Lawyers 2006-2011
  • Rated a leader in the fields of corporate law and mergers and acquisitions in Michigan by Chambers USA 2009
  • 2006 Recipient of the State Bar of Michigan's Stephen H. Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award  
  • Marquis’ Who’s Who in Government; Who’s Who in the Midwest; Who’s Who in American Law
  • Recipient of State of Michigan Governor’s Award for Distin­guished Public Employee (1976)

Bar Associations

  • American Bar Association
    • Section of Business Law
      • Council Member (2003-07)
    • Institutes and Seminars Committee
      • Present Member
      • Chair (1999-2003)
    • Meeting Committee
      • Present Member
      • Chair (1995-98)
    • eSource Newsletter
      • Editorial Board
    • Law Practice Management Section
    • Special Committee to Study Market Structure, Listings Standards and Corporate Governance, proposing governance best practices and disclosure policies for the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq
      • Member (2000-02)
    • State Regulation of Securities Committee
      • Chairman (1983-86)
      • Subcommittee on Liaison with Securities Administrators and NASD
      • Subcommittee on Merit Regulation
      • Subcommittee on Private Offering Exemption and Simplification of Capital Formation
    • Federal Regulation of Securities Committee
      • Subcommittee on Market Regulation
      • Subcommittee on Small Business
      • Subcommittee on Securities of Insurance Companies
  • Federal Bar Association
    • Detroit Chapter
      • Past Treasurer
      • Past Secretary
      • Past Vice President
    • Grand Rapids Chapter
      • Member presently
  • State Bar of Michigan
    • Business Law Section
      • Chairman (1984-85)
      • Ex-Officio Member of the Council
    • Uniform Securities Act of 2002 Subcommittee
      • Co-chair
    • Administrative Law Section
    • International Law Section
  • Grand Rapids Bar Association
  • State Bar of Illinois

Teaching and Lecturing

  • University of Michigan Law School-State and Federal Securities Laws
  • Wayne State University Law School-State and Federal Securities Laws
  • Michigan Technological University
  • Michigan Institute for Continuing Legal Education-Various programs on Corporation, Securities, Real Estate and Franchise Laws
  • Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education-Franchise Law
  • National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
  • North American Securities Administrators Association
  • National Society of Compliance Professionals
  • International Association for Financial Planning
  • Securities Industry Association
  • American Bar Association-Business Law Section
  • Practising Law Institute-Blue Sky Law and Regulation D Programs
  • American Law Institute-American Bar Association-Regulation D Offerings
  • Private Placements and Other Exempt Offerings; Broker-Dealer Regulation
  • Frequent guest lecturer at service clubs on business and securities topics

Publications

  • "Pitfalls of Involvement in Securities Sales to or for Clients," The Michigan CPA, May-June 1978, Volume XXIX, No. 6
  • "A State Regulatory Perspective of the Report of the Advisory Committee on Corporate Disclosure to the SEC," UCLA Law Review, October 1978, Volume 26, No. 1
  • Book Review of Michigan Business Corporations, by Siegel, Schulman & Moscow, Wayne Law Review, March 1980, Volume 26, No. 3
  • "An American State-Federal Perspective on the Proposals for a Securities Market Law for Canada," Osgoode Hall Law Journal, September 1981, Volume 19, No. 3 
  • "Rule 504: A Complete Federal De Minimus Exemption," Private and Small Business Offerings, Practising Law Institute, May 1982
  • "State Regulation of Public Offerings," Private and Small Business Offerings, Practising Law Institute, May 1982
  • "Defending an Administrative Proceeding," Regulation of Capital Formation and Securities Transactions, Practising Law Institute, 1983
  • "Finders," State Regulation of Capital Formation and Securities Transactions, Practising Law Institute, 1983 
  • "State Blue Sky Exemptions Before ULOE," Blue Sky Laws: State Regulation of Securities, Practising Law Institute, February 1984 
  • "Securities of Nonprofit Organizations," Blue Sky Laws: State Regulation of Securities, Practising Law Institute, February 1984
  • "Who Speaks for the Investor? An Evaluation of the Assault on Merit Regulation," University of Baltimore Law Review, Spring 1984, Volume 13, No. 3
  • "Edgar," Blue Sky Laws: State Regulation of Securities 1985, Practising Law Institute, February-March 1985 
  • "State Enforcement Developments," Blue Sky Laws: State Regulation of Securities 1985, Practising Law Institute, February-March 1985 
  • Fein, Ronald L., Makens, Hugh H. & Cahalan, Richard D., "ULOE: Comprehending the Confusion," The Business Lawyer, February 1988, Vol. 43, No. 2
  • "Dealing with Violations of State Blue Sky Laws," Practising Law Institute, Blue Sky Laws 1989, July 1989, No. 654, Pg. 47 
  • Sargent, Mark A. & Makens, Hugh H., "ULOE: New Hope, New Challenge," The Business Lawyer, May 1990, Vol. 45, No. 3, Pg. 1319 
  • Harris, Jean E. & Makens, Hugh H., "Uniform Form for Small Offerings," Sec. & Com. Reg., Dec. 5, 1990, Vol. 23, Pg. 219
  • "Supervision, Internal Investigations and Settlement Procedure," ALI-ABA Course of Study, Broker-Dealer Regulation, January 10, 1991, Vol. C-578, Pg. 83 
  • Makens & Wright, "Brokerage Firms: Supervision, Internal Investigations, and Settlement Procedures (Part 1)," 16 ALI-ABA Course Materials Journal 19 (August 1991) 
  • Makens & Wright, "Brokerage Firms: Supervision, Internal Investigations, and Settlement Procedures (Part 2)," 16 ALI-ABA Course Materials Journal 97 (October 1991)
  • Makens & Kugele, "Forms U-4/U-5 Disclosures: Compliance and Related Problems," Parts I and II, NSCP Currents, July-August and September-October, 1992 
  • "Small Business Regulatory Initiatives: Progress or Puffery," The Michigan Business Law Journal, Volume XVII Issue Number 2 (1994) 
  • Moscow & Makens, Michigan Securities Regulation, Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2nd Ed. 1994 
  • "Blue Sky Developments," ALI-ABA Course of Study, Regulation D Offerings and Private Placements, March 1998
  • Sommer, Securities Law Techniques, "Blue Sky Litigation," Administrative Enforcement Proceedings Under the Uniform Securities Act; Government Civil and Criminal Litigation; and Private Civil Litigation and Arbitration, Matthew Bender publication 1998, author: Chapter 93, Vol. 7 
  • "Private Placements" Practicing Law Institute, Private Placements 1995, Chapter 12, Page 595, April 1995 
  • State Regulation of Securities Committee, "Review of Developments in State Securities Regulation,"–Makens, Hugh H. & Klein, R. Wayne, "The Prudential Solution and National Securities Regulatory Settlements," The Business Lawyer, November 1995, Vol. 51, No. 1, Pp. 256-282
  • "Blue Sky Practice," ALI-ABA Course of Study, Regulation D Offerings and Private Placements, SB65, March 1997
  • Makens, Hugh H. & Young, Bruce C., "War and Pieces: The Impact of Deadlock in the Michigan Closely Held Corporation," The Wayne Law Review, Summer 1996, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 1983-1895
  • Makens, Hugh H., "A Look Into the Future of Investment Adviser Regulation," NSCP Currents, November/December 1996, Page 1
  • Makens, Hugh H. & Horner, Timothy L., "Securities Regulation of Fundraising Activities of Religious and Other Non-profit Organizations," Stetson Law Review, Fall 1997, Vol. XXVII, No. 2 
  • Makens, Hugh H. & Chovanec, Robert J., "Sixth Circuit Provides Protection For U-5 Disclosures," NSCP Currents, November/December 1998, Page 3 
  • Makens, Hugh H., "Variable Product Stumpers," NSCP Currents, January/February 2000, Page 1 
  • Makens, Hugh H., "Finders in No-Man's Land," The Blue Sky Bugle, Vol. 2002, No. 1, March 2002
  • Makens, Hugh H., and Larson, James L., "Fair Value Pricing," NSCP Currents, May/June 2003

Professional Affiliations

  • Division of Securities
    Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services; Office of Financial and Insurance Services
  • National Endowment for Financial Education
    Board of Trustees (2007-2010)
  • North American Securities Administrators Association
    Past President; Uniform Requirements Committee, Past Chairman; ALI-ABA Proposal Federal Code Committee, Past Vice Chairman; Real Estate Limited Partnership Committee; Oil & Gas Committee; CGTC Liaison Committee; Ombudsman Industry Attorney Advisor
  • Michigan Corporation & Securities Bureau
    Advisory Committee
  • Midwest Association of Securities Administrators
    Franchise Law Committee, Past Chairman; Real Estate Limited Partnership Committee, Past Vice President
  • U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
    Report Coordinating Group
  • The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.
    Market Operations Review Committee (1996-2006)
  • Lexis Nexis
    Securities Board of Editors (2006-Present)
  • Michigan Technological University
    Member, Academy of Business; Member, Applied Management Program Advisory Board for the School of Business and Economics

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