I have a call back with a securities litigation boutique next week. I think I am interested in this field and believe my financial services background make this a good fit on paper but I’ve heard mixed things about this area of practice. Some people think its horrible and other love it. Just wondering if anyone had any first hand experience and information they could share.
They do lot of defense work representing broker dealers and financial services firms (Merrill lynch, boa, citi, etc) and their employees. They also seem to do a lot of arbitration. Claims range from allegations such as misrepresentation, fraud, unsuitability, and churning in the purchase and sale of securities; conflicts of interest. In addition to that they represent firms in proceedings before the SEC and FIRNA.
They also assist in the formation and registration of broker-dealers, the transfer and ownership of existing firms, and firm and individual licensing with state regulatory agencies and FINRA.
The paper aspect to it can be what gets people down about this area of law. Lots of reading and vetting of working papers etc.
I think if you liked what you did before in financial services, you will at least have a leg up in understanding some of the arcane terms (eg. gearing, ROCE, acid test, etc.) and some of the due diligence you have to do as a young associate won’t be as tedious.
If they do any derivative stuff, esp. in Delaware Chancery court, then I think you’ll have some very interesting stuff to chew on. I’ve found that area of law to be the most dynamic.
Thanks for the info.
Yeah that’s what I’ve heard. Some people find the paper aspect of the job monotonous. To be honest that doesn’t bother me. The idea of developing a niche and becoming really competent in an area of law is exciting actually. Also as far as billables go, the attorneys in this practice area seem to have a ton of work. What I am concerned about is exit options. I assume you could maybe go work for the SEC or FINRA, or maybe in house at a broker dealer, but what other options exisit?
You could probably go in-house at any number of companies, not just on the sell side. You could always turn around and do plaintiff’s side securities work. DOJ isn’t out of the question, in addition to SEC. State regulatory agencies are another option, e.g. Dept. of Corps, AGs, etc.