Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

The Corporate CounselorLJN NewslettersNewsSections

Expanded Supervisory Liability for In-House Lawyers

By James Q. Walker, Daniel C. Zinman and Grant Mogan

In-house lawyers, beware ' your exposure to potential supervisory liability may extend far beyond the confines of the legal department. In In the Matter of Theodore W. Urban, 2010 WL 3500928 (SEC Release No. 3-13655, Sept. 8, 2010), an SEC Administrative Law Judge held that an in-house lawyer at a broker-dealer with no direct supervisory authority over a retail financial adviser was, nonetheless, that financial adviser's “supervisor” under the federal securities laws.

Although the ALJ ultimately found that the in-house lawyer's supervision was “reasonable,” the fact that the ALJ concluded that the lawyer was a financial adviser's supervisor is a disquieting development for all in-house lawyers at broker-dealers. Moreover, because failure to supervise liability can be asserted against investment advisers under Sections 203(e)(6) and 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, in-house lawyers at registered and unregistered investment funds could also be subject to this expansion of supervisory liability under the Urban holding.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs Image

A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.

Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.

Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits Image

In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.