ABOUT
Stuart is an internationally-known financial services attorney with over 40 years of experience in the regulation of market participants. He began his career at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and worked on the regulation of self-regulatory organizations, including clearing agencies. He was branch chief of OTC regulation in what is now the Division Trading & Markets. After nearly seven years, he left the SEC and became Republican securities counsel for the Committee on Energy & Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives, which was the committee with securities jurisdiction at that time. He had key Republican staff responsivity for the bi-partisan Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act. Stuart left Capitol Hill and became a senior associate at Winthrop Stimson Putnam & Roberts. He represented a major UK client on proposed SEC Regulation S and represented a major financial institution that was the target of a high-profile congressional investigation. Stuart then became the general counsel of the Securities Industry Association (predecessor of SIFMA), the trade group for the brokerage and investment banking industries. At SIA, he worked on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, the National Securities Markets Improvements Act, and the decimalization of securities trading. After nearly ten years, he became a partner at Dechert LLP, representing broker-dealers, hedge funds, a clearing agency, a stock exchange, and mutual fund complexes. Stuart briefly was a partner at Bryan Cave. He then left private practice to become general counsel of the Managed Funds Association. In that role, he helped the hedge fund industry navigate the legislation that became the Dodd Frank Act and the SEC and CFTC’s implementing rules. Stuart also orchestrated Congress’s enactment of Title II of the JOBS Act, that became SEC Rule 506(c), which allows for general solicitation during Reg. D offerings. He also worked on EU regulation, such as the AIFMD. Stuart retired from MFA in August 2018 and now provides expert witness services and other consulting advice. Stuart is a prolific writer and is an adjunct professor at Fordham University Law School.