For financial services firms, industry-specific rules and regulations can complicate the legal issues involved in employment, independent contractor, or consulting relationships. Lawrence Kamin offers a deep familiarity with the financial service industry and specific experience in legal issues relating to the relationship between financial firms and individuals who affiliate with them.
Our attorneys regularly advise both firms and individuals on structuring employment agreements, independent adviser or registered representative agreements, confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements, garden leave provisions, bonus contracts, revenue sharing and team affiliations, revenue overrides, expense agreements, forgivable loans, retirement and buyout agreements, severance agreements, employment policies, contracts between proprietary traders or between them and their trading firms, strategic partner affiliations, referral arrangements, and other similar contractual documentation. We have assisted firms with unemployment and statutory wage claims. We have guided securities and futures firms in registration and disclosure requirements with federal, state, and self-regulatory agencies and have advised firms on the various industry specific rules and practices applicable to employment and other relationships, including FINRA Rule 2040 (Payments to Unregistered Persons), FINRA Rule 2273 (Educational Communication Related to Recruitment Practices and Account Transfers), NFA Bylaw 1101 (Doing Business with Non-Members), Certified Financial Planning Board Code of Ethics, U-4 and U-5 filings, and the application and limitations of the Protocol for Broker Recruiting.
With Lawrence Kamin’s assistance, financial firms can improve the likelihood of enforceability of their agreements while not running afoul of state, federal, or regulatory limitations. Because regulators scrutinize firms’ compensation structures as possible conflicts of interest, our attorneys advise clients with an eye towards minimizing such conflicts and ensuring the firm’s compliance program and disclosures are updated in conjunction with compensation changes.
Financial industry clients who become aware of our firm’s strength and reputation in this arena often seek out Lawrence Kamin to counsel the firm, team, or individual advisers on how to avoid litigation during transition. In well over five-hundred engagements, financial firms and advisers have retained Lawrence Kamin to provide consultations relating to the hiring and transition of an individual or team of employees from a bank, investment adviser, broker-dealer, or trading firm.
When disputes arise over current or former employment relationships, our litigation team has the experience and skill to fiercely prosecute or defend our clients. Lawrence Kamin attorneys have amassed an impressive record of wins in court and arbitration on behalf of banks and securities firms, new employers, and loan officers, registered representatives and investment adviser representatives. We have successfully pursued and defended emergency actions seeking injunctive relief to enforce non-solicitation and non-competition agreements, and represented firms and individuals in industry arbitrations concerning employment disputes, including “raiding” cases.
