Helen focuses her practice on securities regulatory, compliance and enforcement matters affecting broker-dealers (BDs) and investment advisers (IAs). She has counseled BDs and IAs with respect to SEC and SRO Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) and Electronic Bluesheets (EBS) rules and rules governing supervision, best execution, Large Trader ID (LTID) reporting and books & records requirements, as well as with respect to SRO Large Option Position Reporting (LOPR) and OTC trade reporting rules.
Helen has had extensive experience as a regulator in conducting examinations, investigations and enforcement actions, and conversely, she also has significant experience in responding to inspection and examination requests of regulators including the SEC, FINRA and state securities regulators.
Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Helen served as Vice President/Compliance Manager at the largest U.S. multinational financial institution, where she supported the retail broker-dealer and investment advisory business as a member of the compliance practices team. She served in a variety of senior management positions within FINRA, including serving as Vice President and Counsel for the Office of Oversight Liaison and Counsel. Additionally, Helen served as a Supervisor in FINRA’s TFCE Examinations department, as Branch Chief and Attorney-Adviser in the SEC’s Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), and as Staff Attorney and Branch Chief in the SEC’s Enforcement Division.
While at the SEC’s OCIE office, Helen supervised inspections that included all national and regional stock and option exchanges in the U.S., encompassing the exchanges’ enforcement and surveillance programs, including their order routing and execution systems. Also at the SEC’s Enforcement Division she conducted civil injunctive actions and administrative proceedings involving violations of the federal securities laws.
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Golden Gate University School of LawJD
Member, Golden Gate University Law Review
1990 - University of Louisville College of BusinessMBA1988
- Connecticut CollegeBAEconomics1981
- Speaker, "What to Expect in the Governance of Markets Post-CAT Implementation," Mid-2020, What to Expect… A Look Toward the Future, July 22, 2020
- New York
- California
- Author, FINRA Enforcement Previews Initial CAT Enforcement Philosophy, Subject to Inquiry, May 19, 2023
- Author, FINRA Continues to Prioritize Compliance with CAT Reporting, Subject to Inquiry, May 19, 2023
- Author, Update on FINRA’s Use of CAT Data – They Are “Just Scratching the Surface”, Subject to Inquiry, May 19, 2023
- Author, SEC Issues Risk Alert on Reg BI Deficiencies Identified During Exams, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 2, 2023
- Author, Patterson v. McLean Credit Union: Racial Discrimination by Private Actors and Racial Harassment Under Section 1981, 20 Golden Gate University Law Review 617, 1990