Investigations & enforcement
Representing corporations and individuals facing inquiries from securities regulators — the SEC, state securities regulators and FINRA. Including the stage everyone underestimates: the one before anybody has decided anything.
The shape of these things.
Regulatory matters have a rhythm. Knowing which phase you are in changes what the right move is, and the wrong move is usually made in the first week by someone trying to be helpful.
Phase one
The request
A letter, an 8210 request, an exam finding, or a phone call. It has a deadline and no explanation. The task is to understand the scope and preserve everything relevant.
Phase two
The record
Documents are gathered, reviewed and produced. What your own files say usually matters more than what anyone remembers saying.
Phase three
The testimony
On-the-record interviews or testimony. Preparation is the entire game. Nobody has ever improved their position by improvising here.
Phase four
The decision
Closure, a Wells-type process, settlement discussions, or a proceeding. Each has its own timeline and its own consequences for registration.
Things not to do in the first week
Do not delete, tidy, reorganize or “clean up” anything. Preservation obligations attach earlier than people assume.
Do not call the staff to explain informally that this is all a misunderstanding.
Do not have the involved employees compare recollections with each other before counsel is involved.
Do not miss the deadline while deciding whether to hire a lawyer. Extensions are sometimes available; ignoring the request never helps.
Services
- SEC investigations and enforcement matters.
- FINRA investigations, enforcement and Rule 8210 inspection requests.
- State securities investigations and enforcement.
- Administrative and regulatory enforcement proceedings.
- Internal investigations and risk assessments before a regulator is involved.
- SEC whistleblower program matters.
Related practice areas
Under a deadline?
Say so in the first line. Do not attach the request or describe the facts in detail until a conflicts check is complete and an engagement is confirmed in writing.
Start the conversationFootnotes
- General information only. Regulatory procedure varies by agency, forum and facts; this page simplifies heavily and deliberately.
- Nothing here suggests any ability to influence the SEC, FINRA, a state regulator or any court. No such influence exists, and any lawyer claiming otherwise should be avoided.