Broker Dealer and Investment Advisor (RIA) Litigation/Consulting
Strength in numbers
FMG's Financial Services & Banking National Practice Section counsels and consults clients throughout the country across a wide range of broker-dealer, investment adviser and operational matters, and also represents clients in disputes before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and state regulators.
Our clients include banks; registered investment advisers; independent, regional and national broker-dealers; wirehouse, discount and full-service firms; registered representatives and other registered personnel.
From a litigation perspective, FMG often serves as national counsel for several of the nationa’s largest broker-dealers. We routinely defend FINRA members and their registered representatives in customer disputes, involving stocks, bonds, options and mutual funds, as well as auction rate securities and various alternative investments, including Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). As part of this representation, we frequently counsel senior executives of financial institutions. Our attorneys also handle expungement proceedings on behalf of registered representatives, initially in arbitration and then upon confirmation in state or federal court. FMG also represents FINRA members and registered representatives in intra-industry disputes, including disputes related to selling agreements, employment practices, promissory notes and trade secrets.
As part of our consulting practice, FMG helps financial institutions develop successful risk mitigation, compliance and supervisory programs, consistent with the institutions’ business strategies, to minimize compliance issues, customer disputes and regulatory inquiries, and to avoid enforcement actions. Among other things, our consulting services include drafting policies and procedures (including the content and implementation of supervisory and compliance manuals); developing robust testing, training, surveillance and branch review programs; conducting investigations; performing product due diligence; effectively adopting new regulations; and assisting clients with regulatory examinations.
Overall, FMG’s team has deep industry experience having led compliance, supervisory and risk mitigation programs at major financial institutions, working at securities regulators such as the SEC, and serving various corporations and law firms in senior legal roles. This experience and expertise has enabled our team to successfully develop effective programs, interact with regulators and assist firms to meet their business objectives while effectively mitigating risk.