Broker-Dealers
The experienced lawyers in our broker-dealer group are seasoned veterans of the financial services industry and include former staff members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and practitioners from well-known financial services firms.
By drawing on the practice’s cross-disciplinary experience and leveraging the firm’s global platform, they are able to deliver seamless service and practical insights to a broad range of broker-dealers, including global, national, and regional firms; retail and institutional brokers; placement agents and fund distributors; clearing, executing, and prime brokers; dual registered broker-dealer/investment advisers; mergers and acquisitions advisory firms; proprietary and high frequency trading firms; and alternative trading systems, exchanges, and market makers. Our lawyers also advise broker-dealer affiliates of banks, private investment funds, registered investment companies, insurance companies, and investment advisers.
Collectively, our lawyers have appeared before every state securities commission in the United States, as well as before the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and other self-regulatory organizations. We are uniquely positioned to assist broker-dealers with a multitude of issues, including:
- Regulatory and compliance
- Broker-dealer status issues
- Offshore capabilities
- Formation, registration, and continuing membership
- Acquisition and due diligence
- Regulatory inquiries and investigations
- Internal audits and supervisory reviews
- Information barriers
- Alternative trading systems and direct market access
- Clearing and prime brokerage
- Capital markets transactional and investment banking
- Bank/broker-dealer activities (United States)
- Fund distribution and structuring
- Advertising and marketing compliance
- Dual employee arrangements
- Anti-money laundering
- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
- Policy issues
In addition to advising traditional firms, our lawyers advise emerging and established companies on the development, regulation, and operation of funding portals, capital raising and trading platforms, including in connection with angel investing and crowdfunding in the private and public securities markets. Moreover, we advise clients with respect to digital securities and assets, cryptocurrencies, and initial coin offerings.
