Practice Areas

General Legal Counsel

Whether you need guidance on a discreet legal issue, you need legal advice on an ongoing project, or just need someone at the ready for whatever pops up, I am in your corner! I have experience handing a broad spectrum of legal matters inherent in running a financial services business, including:

  • Contract and agreement drafting and review;

  • Customer complaints;

  • Customer account handling issues;

  • Licensing and registration; and

  • Disclosure and reporting (Forms ADV, BD, U4, U5, etc.).

I provide general legal counsel services at a competitive hourly rate, and also offer packages that can be tailored to fit your particular needs.

Regulatory Defense

I have spent more than 20 years developing a niche for helping registered investment advisers and broker-dealers achieve harmony with an extensive, complex, and often murky regulatory framework. I understand that regulatory matters are often involved and time-consuming and can have a significant impact on your business and your reputation. I take the time to understand your unique circumstances and rely on a strategic, proactive, and coordinated approach to protecting your interests and working toward the best possible outcome for your business.

My regulatory defense experience includes representing clients (both financial services firms and individuals) in various regulatory matters initiated by the SEC, FINRA, and state regulators, including:

  • Document requests and subpoenas;

  • On-the-record testimony;

  • Preliminary and other informal inquiries;

  • Routine and targeted examinations, including responding to deficiency letters;

  • Enforcement investigations, including responding to “Wells” notices and advocating for clients through the Wells process; and

  • Enforcement actions, including negotiating settlements and defending clients in administrative proceedings and civil actions.

Arbitration & Mediation

I have extensive experience representing broker-dealers, investment advisers, and individuals in dozens of matters involving various alternative dispute resolution methods, including FINRA and AAA arbitration; private and FINRA mediation; and other forms of lawyer-negotiated and neutral-assisted settlements. I prefer an up-front and direct approach that focuses on how the relevant facts and applicable law fit into the bigger picture. This approach reduces the “noise,” so that I can help my clients take the best path forward for their particular situation. My experience includes:

  • Customer disputes involving alleged sales practice violations, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, negligence and other violations;

  • Industry disputes involving breach of contract, compensation, defamation, and other employment-related issues;

Compliance Advice

I learned early on that, though necessarily separate functions, a financial services firm’s legal and compliance needs go hand-in-hand. Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work closely with my clients’ compliance departments, in-house counsel, and senior management on many common (and not-so-common!) compliance and supervisory issues, including:

  • Policy and Procedures drafting, review, and implementation;

  • Conducting mock audits and annual risk assessments, including preparing reports noting potential deficiencies and recommending remedial action;

  • Drafting customer agreements, statements, and other documentation, including particular focus on required disclosures;

  • Various licensing and registration requirements;

  • Regulatory disclosure items (both individual- and firm-level); and

  • Annual and other-than-annual amendments.