Chelsea Smith Press Associate

Chelsea advises broker-dealers, investment advisors, banks, and proprietary trading firms on securities regulatory, compliance, and enforcement matters. Her practice spans regulatory reporting, best execution, anti-money laundering, core compliance, and market access rules across financial markets and the fin-tech space.

Chelsea also counsels broker-dealers and other financial services firms on the regulatory implications of adopting artificial intelligence tools, including compliance with FINRA and SEC expectations around AI governance, supervision, and disclosure as regulators increasingly focus on the use of AI in trading, customer communications, and back-office functions.

Before joining McGuireWoods, Chelsea held various legal and compliance roles in the securities industry, focusing on advisory compliance and regulatory engagement at the world’s largest market-making firms. Her responsibilities included providing guidance for client-facing businesses — NMS and OTC equities, options, and cryptocurrency — as well as supervision, anti-money laundering, core compliance, and regulatory reporting programs. She has held an AI advisory role and assisted a large financial institution with its adoption of AI. She has also worked in the regulatory engagement department of a global investment bank.

Drawing on this in-house experience, Chelsea brings a practical, business-oriented perspective to her advocacy, helping clients navigate examinations and inquiries from FINRA, the SEC, and other regulators while managing the operational realities of running a compliance program.