Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Capital Markets Policy

The Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Capital Markets directs, manages, and supervises a team of attorneys that develops and implements capital markets policy initiatives, and counsels the Department of Market Regulation and Transparency Services. The incumbent provides expert knowledge to the Board of Governors and senior management, advising them on high-impact, legally and politically complex and sensitive regulatory initiatives and rule changes. The incumbent reports to the SVP, Capital Markets Policy, and manages preparation of board and committee materials, regulatory notices, rule filings, participation in multiple NMS Plans, SEC outreach, and economic impact assessments of rulemakings. The incumbent is responsible for managing the consistency and integrity of FINRA’s legal policy positions across the organization in complex regulatory areas that are central to FINRA’s mission and that arise regularly in FINRA’s relationships with a wide range of external stakeholders, including member firms, federal policymakers, investor advocates, and the press. This position is recognized by FINRA and the industry as a leading expert in particularly complex and unique subject matter areas pertaining to regulatory policy, rendering expert advice in these areas and managing the challenging operational, legal, reputational, and other risks that can arise in these areas for FINRA and its member firms. Such areas may include the CAT Plan, SIP Plans, Regulation NMS requirements, FINRA trade reporting rules for listed equities, market volatility initiatives, best execution and customer order protection, and options regulation, fixed-income regulation (TRACE, mark-up policy, confirmation disclosure, among others), over-the-counter equity trade reporting, SEC Rule 15c2-11, short sale regulation, and FINRA trading-related fees, among other areas.

Essential Job Functions:

• Directly supervise, train and mentor Capital Markets Policy attorneys.
• Supervise or assist in supervising and directing regulatory analysts, paralegals and administrative staff in OGC.  Lead and coordinate the efforts of other OGC legal staff in the completion of work projects.
• Manage a team that serves as the key source of legal expertise within FINRA in designated subject areas and provide independent expert advice on questions and issues as they arise.  These areas relate to trading practices, market integrity and market structure, including best execution and order handling requirements; options and listed equities, including audit trail and transparency initiatives; SEC mandates including Regulation NMS, Consolidated Audit Trail, Market Data Infrastructure, and SEC Rule 15c3- 5; SEC Rule 17d-2 and RSAs; the Alternative Display Facility and Trade Reporting Facilities; OTC quoting and trade reporting (including digital assets); corporate actions and operations issues; fees, including TAF and Section 31/Section 3; TRACE reporting and other fixed income audit trail and transparency initiatives (including Treasury securities); Regulation SHO and short interest; and other subject areas and special projects as assigned.
• Advise the Board of Governors and FINRA advisory committees with respect to high-impact, legally and politically complex and sensitive regulatory initiatives and rule changes under consideration by the Board.
• Draft, manage, and review the drafting of legal policy statements and new rule proposals; gather and incorporate views of industry participants, other regulators, and senior staff; prepare rule filings to the SEC; and liaise with SEC staff to obtain approvals.  Oversee the team’s relationship with the Regulatory Economics and Market Analysis office to develop economic impact assessments of rulemakings and conduct the retrospective review of rules on behalf of OGC as assigned.
• Prepare and oversee the preparation of Regulatory Notices, rule guidance, and correspondence with member firms and their outside counsel.
• Conduct and supervise legal analysis and necessary research to (1) develop legal policy statements and rule proposals and to respond to internal and external comments, and (2) respond to interpretive and exemptive requests.
• Brief and communicate complex and sensitive regulatory initiatives to the SVP, Capital Markets Policy and other senior executives of FINRA.  Must be able to provide such analysis under urgent deadlines.
• Prepare and oversee the preparation of legal policy statements and Board materials that contain sophisticated analyses and discussions of competing policy or political considerations necessary for the informed judgment of the issues by senior management and the Board as appropriate.
• Take a leadership role in identifying and presenting original, creative, innovative, and sophisticated solutions and proposals for changes to existing rules, including ru