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Amanda J. Goldstein Associate

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New York T +1 212 548 2184 F fax +1 212 715 6285
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As a dual member of McGuireWoods’ nationally-recognized Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation department and the firm’s renowned Securities Enforcement & Regulatory Counseling practice group, Amanda’s practice centers on assisting financial services clients with complex securities matters. She has extensive experience conducting fast-paced, high-stakes internal investigations and regularly defends clients from and resolves regulatory enforcement proceedings brought by the SEC, FINRA, and other financial regulators.

Amanda’s keen ability to quickly learn her clients’ businesses and her robust understanding of industry rules and the markets allow her to efficiently counsel her clients, including with respect to responding to threatened litigation and detecting and addressing sales practice issues, employee misconduct (e.g., allegations of fraud, misappropriation, selling away, and unauthorized trading), potential supervisory liability, and issues surrounding regulatory reporting obligations.

Amanda is also dedicated to giving back to her community by maintaining an active pro bono practice and routinely volunteers her time to assist those in need, including refugees, domestic violence victims, and veterans.

While in law school, Amanda was an Alexander Fellow for the Honorable Vincent L. Briccetti, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and a judicial intern for the Honorable Margaret Cangilos-Ruiz, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York.

Experience

  • Successfully defended a financial services firm from a multi-year investigation by the SEC’s Division of Enforcement into the adequacy of the firm’s supervisory systems, principally with respect to the controls surrounding consolidated reporting.
  • Represented a financial services firm with respect to an internal investigation, parallel regulatory investigations by the SEC and FINRA, as well as resultant civil litigation, involving senior financial advisors accused of forgery, misappropriation, unauthorized trading, and bank fraud.
  • Served as lead counsel in connection with a FINRA investigation into the adequacy of a broker-dealer’s controls surrounding third party disbursements, resulting in a no action letter.
  • Conducted sensitive internal investigation on behalf of a financial institution into suspected market manipulation occurring across multiple customer accounts and advised on proactive self-disclosure of findings to regulatory agencies.
  • Represent a broker-dealer with respect to internal investigations and regulatory disclosure of errors in the firm’s securities trading reports, including with respect to FINRA’s Order Audit Trail System (OATS), the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), and the Large Options Position Report (LOPR).
  • Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a broker-dealer into suspected selling away by a senior financial advisor and defended the broker-dealer in the corollary FINRA Enforcement proceeding.
  • Represented a broker-dealer in defending against a customer complaint alleging misappropriation by a financial advisor, resulting in a favorable settlement.
  • Represented a financial services firm and an individual trader in connection with investigations conducted by the United States Department of Justice and the State of Oregon’s Office of the Attorney General concerning alleged bid-rigging.
  • Represented broker-dealer in parallel FINRA and state regulatory investigations into unauthorized trading and misrepresentations by a former financial advisor.
  • Defended a broker-dealer and individual firm employees from a FINRA Enforcement investigation into the supervision of options-related trading.
  • Represented an investment advisor in an SEC investigation involving conflicts of interest relating to selection of asset managers and the adequacy of the related disclosures.
  • Defended a broker-dealer in response to customer complaints dually filed with the SEC and FINRA raising allegations of embezzlement and failure to follow instructions.
  • Represented a broker-dealer in connection with an internal investigation and corollary regulatory investigations related to foreign currency exchange practices.
  • Represented individual bank employee in connection with a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation related to the bank’s international hiring practices.
  • Represented former investment bank executive in connection with an investigation into possible fraud by one of the bank’s international clients being conducted by the Belgian Federal Police in conjunction with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
  • Successfully sought enforcement of arbitration provision in breach of contract action filed in New York State Court.