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Investment Management

Practices

Broker-Dealers

Our Investment Management lawyers have partnered with our Business Litigation practice group to form an interdisciplinary team that advises broker-dealers on matters from formation through regulatory investigations, examinations and enforcement, offering new and existing firms a one-stop solution.

Our team includes lawyers with significant industry experience, including those who have held senior roles with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA); administrator roles with multiple state securities administrators, NYSE and CBOE regulators; and general counsel and chief compliance officer roles for registered broker-dealers. Our unique set of regulatory backgrounds and industry relationships enables us to deliver efficient and cost-effective services to address clients’ issues at any stage of formation or to represent them in any type of regulatory engagement or litigation they may face.

We offer comprehensive services for the formation, registration, management and day-to-day operation of successful broker-dealer firms; this is not an all-inclusive list.

Representative Experience

  • Preparing all formation and registration documents required by the SEC, FINRA and state regulators, including Forms BD, NMA, U4 and U5; Entitlement documents; Business Plans; Written Supervisory Procedures; Anti-Money Laundering Procedures; Business Continuity Plans, etc.
  • Assisting with start-up activities, such as acquiring the surety bonds required by many states’ securities laws
  • Serving as broker-dealers’ primary liaison with FINRA
  • Assisting with and attending broker-dealers’ pre-membership interviews
  • Advising broker-dealers in connection with Dodd-Frank and JOBS Act compliance, particularly in light of the relaxation of the prohibition on general solicitations under the JOBS Act
  • Preparing compliance policies and programs (e.g., Firm Element Continuing Education manuals, etc.) and conducting compliance reviews
  • Reviewing advertising and marketing material
  • Providing advice on SEC proceedings
  • Defending broker-dealers and/or their employees in SEC enforcement matters
  • Representing broker-dealers and/or their registered representatives in connection with FINRA audits, inquiries, on-the-record interviews and arbitrations
  • Defending broker-dealers and registered representatives (“associated persons”) before the FINRA
  • Assisting broker-dealers in transactional work, including mergers and acquisitions, private placements and public offerings

Leaders