Benjamin P. Edwards
Adjunct Professor of Law and Director of the Investor Advocacy Clinic
119 Clinic
610 Abbot Rd.
East Lansing, MI 48823
517-913-9675
ben.edwards@law.msu.edu
Degrees
J.D. 2007, Kent Scholar, Columbia University School of Law; B.A. 2004, magna cum laude, University of South Carolina
Bar Admissions
New York; Michigan (pending)
Biography
Professor Benjamin Edwards earned his law degree from Columbia University in 2007. At Columbia, he served as the business editor for the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and as an articles editor for the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law. After receiving his law degree, he clerked for the Honorable Samuel H. Mays Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Edwards joined the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as an associate in 2008. He practiced in the firm’s securities litigation group and litigated cases arising out of the Bernard Madoff scandal. This included actions in federal trial and appellate courts in New York and state court actions in New York, California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, and Washington. In addition to extensive Madoff-related securities litigation, Edwards served on a team representing financial institutions in matters related to subprime loans and the credit crisis, as well as in matters involving mortgage-backed securities and securities class and derivative actions. Unrelated to the financial crisis, he helped defend a syndicate of investment and commercial banks against Securities Act claims arising out of an initial public offering and spearheaded investigations into suspicious trading activity.
Edwards also appeared on a pro bono basis in multiple transgender civil rights cases and in immigration matters on behalf of domestic violence survivors. In 2012, Sanctuary for Families recognized Edwards’ persistent work on behalf of an asylum client with the organization’s Pro Bono Excellence Award for outstanding pro bono representation and advocacy.
Professor Edwards joined MSU College of Law in 2012 as a teaching fellow with the Immigration Law Clinic. He was named the founding director of the Investor Advocacy Clinic in 2013.
Professor Edwards researches and writes in the areas of federal civil procedure, immigration, securities regulation, securities litigation, and arbitration. He is a member of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association.