Practice Areas: Broker-Dealers & Investment Advisers Regulatory Compliance & Defense

McGuireWoods’ experienced Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers Regulatory Compliance and Defense Team guides clients through the complex and continually evolving issues confronting the securities industry. The team is composed of former government insiders and senior in-house counsel, as well as accomplished litigators who have achieved exceptional results for their clients.

Our attorneys stay apprised of proposed and newly adopted laws, rules and interpretations, to help ensure that our clients are in compliance with their regulatory obligations. We advise on a range of issues, including research, sales and trading practices, fiduciary duty, structured products, supervisory controls, registration, order and trade reporting, soft dollars, information barriers, conflicts of interest, and insider trading. We regularly conduct internal investigations and audits, advise clients on establishing and strengthening compliance and supervisory programs, and provide training to clients’ employees.

On the defense front, we represent clients involved in regulatory examinations and investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Congress, state attorneys general, and other federal and state civil and criminal regulators. Our national litigation team vigorously defends brokerage firms and their employees against claims relating to fraud, suitability, negligence, trading errors, selling away, breach of contract, trade secrets and corporate raiding.

In addition to subject matter experience, litigation and government investigations often require large-scale document collection and review. Discovery on these matters is handled efficiently and cost effectively through our Discovery Counsel Services (DCS) practice. Led by McGuireWoods attorneys, DCS includes stand-alone e-discovery facilities that can house up to 220 contract attorneys using state-of-the-art technology.

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