Biography
Michael C. Farkas is a former New York City homicide prosecutor, former Wall Street in-house litigator, and retired U.S. Army Military Judge whose private practice concentrates in the areas of State and Federal criminal defense, securities regulatory enforcement proceedings, FINRA securities arbitration, and military law. He is a Trustee of the Brooklyn Bar Association and Chair of its Criminal Law Committee, Past President of the Kings Country Criminal Bar Association, a member of the Appellate Division, Second Department Attorney Grievance Committee, a certified FINRA Arbitrator, and he holds leadership and membership positions in various other civilian and military organizations.
Mr. Farkas began his career in 1994 as an Assistant District Attorney in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, one of the largest prosecutors' offices in the country. Mr. Farkas, who handled criminal matters at all stages from arrest through trial, was promoted to the position of Senior ADA and later assigned to the prestigious Homicide Bureau. In that role, his efforts focused exclusively on the successful prosecution of some of the most violent and high-profile murder cases in New York City.
In 2003 Mr. Farkas left the DA’s Office for Citigroup, then the world's largest financial services company. As Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Mr. Farkas represented Smith Barney, Citigroup's retail brokerage unit, in hundreds of arbitration claims filed by the firm's public customers across the country. These cases involved a wide variety of allegations including securities fraud, unsuitability, unauthorized trading, churning, failure to supervise and breach of fiduciary duty. Mr. Farkas regularly took these cases to trial, where he enjoyed an overwhelming success rate. He also successfully represented dozens of the firm's employees facing regulatory investigations.
A recently retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, Mr. Farkas served in every capacity relating to Military Justice over a long military career. He further concentrated in the Laws of International Armed Conflict and Rule of Law missions, ultimately earning a secondary operational specialty in the Military Police Corps. In 1996 Mr. Farkas deployed to Europe in support of America's peacekeeping mission in the Balkans, where he prosecuted general courts martial, trained local Military Police and Army CID personnel, and advised combat commanders and scores of individual soldiers and their family members. In early 2002 Mr. Farkas was deployed in the Army's first wave sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he served with distinction in dual roles as both a Military Police staff officer and one of the command group's principal advisors on international law and the Geneva Conventions. Rising through the ranks, he later became a Regional Defense Counsel and then Deputy Commander of an Army Reserve Trial Defense Services (TDS) unit. Beyond his military justice experience, Mr. Farkas handled scores of adverse administrative board and non-judicial punishment (“Article 15”) proceedings throughout his career as both a government and defense counsel, and served as legal advisor to the Army Reserve’s Military Intelligence Readiness Command. Mr. Farkas was appointed as a Military Judge in June of 2020 and presided over Courts Martial in the U.S. Army’s First Judicial Circuit until his retirement in 2023.
Since entering private practice Mr. Farkas has represented high profile criminal defense clients facing allegations ranging from homicide, white collar fraud, political corruption, and sexual misconduct to domestic violence, weapons possession, and vehicular crimes. He has also handled complex FINRA and SEC actions from their investigatory stages through formal disciplinary proceedings, as well as General Courts Martial and administrative matters involving military service members.
Mr. Farkas frequently contributes commentary for televised media programs and news publications, and he has published articles on the humanitarian detention and prosecution of terrorist combatants since 9/11. A graduate of Albany State University’s School of Criminal Justice and Brooklyn Law School, Mr. Farkas is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn.
Affiliations
Mr. Farkas is Of Counsel to Silverman Shin & Byrne PLLC, a full service New York City litigation law firm. The firm's areas of practice include corporate and securities law, commercial litigation, criminal trial defense, insurance defense litigation, real estate, and estate planning. With its diverse practice and experienced attorneys, the firm affords its clients the proficiency and resources needed to service a wide variety of complex legal matters.