Examples of Alan’s experience include:

• Successfully defending an investment adviser in an SEC administrative proceeding against fraud claims regarding alleged inadequacy of disclosures in Form ADV and other documents related to compensation and other alleged conflicts of interest.
• Defending clients in FINRA, SEC and state enforcement actions involving allegations of sales practice violations, including unsuitable recommendations, churning, misrepresentations, forgery and falsification of records, unauthorized trading, and supervision.
• Defending clients in FINRA, SEC and state enforcement actions involving anti-money laundering, registration issues, customer identification programs, the research analyst rule, net capital, and many other non-sales practice issues.
• Defending clients in customer arbitrations of all varieties, involving most conceivable theories of recovery, and in locations throughout the United States. Extremely successful track record in matters taken to hearing, including several matters resulting in the granting of a dispositive motion to dismiss.
• Assisting broker-dealers with structuring supervisory systems, drafting written supervisory procedures, filing membership applications, and creating general liaisons with securities regulators.
• Assisting clients in investigations by securities regulators by helping draft responses to requests for documents and information, by appearing at and defending hundreds of “on-the-record” interviews, and by drafting responses to Wells letters.
• Handling appeals of denials by FINRA of requests to change membership agreements.
• Handling MC-400 applications for broker-dealers with registered persons who have become statutorily disqualified.
• Serving as an expert witness on behalf of respondent firms in FINRA arbitrations and state regulatory matters involving both sales practice violations and other non-sales practice issues.