General Counsel

CastleOak Securities, L.P. (“CastleOak”) is a premier boutique investment bank focused on providing capital markets services to a broad array of corporate, governmental and institutional clients. CastleOak is 100% employee-owned and a leading Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE), certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council. Headquartered in New York City, the firm specializes in primary and secondary sales and trading of fixed income, equity, and money market securities, as well as financial advisory (including M&A and private placements). Since its founding in 2006, CastleOak has grown to approximately 50 professionals and has assisted its clients on public offerings totaling over $3.4 trillion. CastleOak's professionals average 20 years of successful Wall Street experience and ongoing working relationships with some of the largest global corporations.

The Senior Compliance Officer/Senior Counsel will be a member of a team that has overall responsibility for the firms’ compliance programs including developing policies and procedures, communicating all regulatory changes, and training, testing and assessments. The selected candidate will assist with risk management, and provide advice on and oversight of CastleOak’s compliance with US securities laws and regulations. Must possess an in-depth understanding of MSRB, FINRA and SEC rules, including investment advisors under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and similar state statutes. Lastly, the selected candidate will handle a variety of general corporate legal matters, and will be responsible for reviewing vendor contracts, employment agreements, and coordinating regulatory responses.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Maintain in-depth knowledge of the business and its activities in order to ensure adequate legal and compliance oversight and resources as the business needs evolve over time; advise the business on emerging legal and compliance issues.

Work with senior management, registered representatives, and other key constituencies to train, promote and enhance a culture that encourages ethical conduct and a commitment to compliance with applicable laws and regulations

Help lead efforts related to supervisory oversight, training, e-mail surveillance, branch office exams, FINRA licensing and registrations, anti-money laundering supervision, and advertising

Undertake a review/audit of current practice and identify areas for improvement

Monitor the effectiveness of established compliance processes and controls across all business lines and recommend and implement enhancements; work in conjunction with department managers to update the Firm’s Written Supervisory Procedures (WSPs) based on new rules and regulations and/or process enhancements and communicate such changes simply and efficiently to affected business units in order to minimize bureaucracy and process burden

Provide advice on MSRB, FINRA, and SEC rules, regulations and interpretive guidance, as well as applicable internal policies and procedures

Assist with managing regulatory exams, investigations and inquiries conducted by FINRA, SEC and state regulators coordinating with regulators, auditors, compliance personnel and each business unit management

Demonstrate ability to effectively review and analyze complex situations and apply judgment to resolve issues in a timely manner with minimal supervision

Provide advice on compliance and legal implications of the firm’s entry to new markets, products and development of new strategies

Draft, review and advise on commercial contracts including NDAs, vendor contracts and consulting agreements

Review existing agreements and advise on potential risks and suggest strategies to mitigate risks

Effectively and efficiently manage relationships with outside counsel including IP, employment, tax, immigration

Continually assess the inherent risk of business units as well as the effectiveness of mitigating controls to minimize the residual risk of reputational damage, regulatory consequences and other operational risk

Integrate industry benchmarking and best practices through ongoing research, education, and industry affiliations

Assist with the supervision of sales related activities such as filings, RFPs, and certifications or email surveillance

Review and approve political contribution requests, outside business activities, annual compliance certifications, personal trading, and quarterly MSRB G-37 filing

Review marketing and advertising for compliance with FINRA rules

Conduct compliance training, ensuring courses are compatible with regulations

Required Qualifications:

A minimum of 7 years of relevant experience with demonstrated compliance, supervision and legal experience with a broker-dealer required

JD Degree from an accredited law school and top academic credentials

Series 7, 63, 9/10, 24 required; other regulatory licenses desired

Robust knowledge of and experience of FINRA, SEC, MSRB, state securities and firm-specific rules and regulations relating to broker-dealers and investment advisors.

Experience coordinating broker-dealer regulatory exams and responses

Thinks critically and strategically through business issues while being able to perform tactical tasks including conducting risks assessments testing of broker-dealer compliance programs

Strong communication skills and presence with the ability to speak with impact, influence outcomes; simplify complex topics into actionable recommendations for decision-making.

Self-starter with the ability to meet or exceed deadlines, prioritize, multi-task, and maintain flexibility in fast-paced, changing environment.

Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to manage conflict and difficult issues in a professional, assertive and proactive manner

Ability to mentor and manage other compliance/legal staff

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, medical condition (including pregnancy and related conditions), physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, and/or any other characteristic protected by law.