Securities

The Business Transactions Group provides securities law expertise to both publicly traded and privately held business clients. The practice covers broad areas of federal and state securities laws, including exempt offerings, state qualified offerings and public registered offerings, as well as areas of regulatory compliance, including periodic reporting and public disclosure, proxy solicitations and insider trading prohibitions and filing requirements.

The firm counsels both issuers and investors in connection with exempt private placements of securities for start-up ventures as well as for seasoned companies looking to the private debt and equity markets for assistance with growth or restructuring initiatives. When these privately held companies are ready, the Business Transactions Group has attorneys with experience necessary to help them access the public markets with primary and secondary public stock offerings.

The firm's securities attorneys possess significant experience litigating multi-million broker/dealer and customer disputes under the National Association of Securities Dealers' ("NASD") unique arbitration process. The firm has also defended against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (an enforcement arm of the Securities Exchange Commission) in improper commodities activities charges. The work of this practice group encompasses defense of the broad area of errors and omissions for securities and insurance brokers involved in the sale of securities or securities related products.

Publicly traded companies rely on the firm for assistance with secondary or exchange offerings arising out of Mergers & Acquisitions, offerings in connection with stock option or other employee benefit plans, and other registration requirements such as for dividend reinvestment and direct stock purchase plans. We also provide counsel with respect to the preparation and filing of proxy statements and annual and quarterly reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, as well as assistance with other public disclosure requirements on Form 8-K and in compliance with Regulation FD. Companies and executive officers require our expertise with insider trading compliance requirements under Section 16 and with regard to sales of restricted securities under Rule 144.

The Business Transactions attorneys with securities expertise also provide important support to the Business Litigation trial attorneys engaged in securities related litigation.

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