The new hires include Mirella deRose, Russell Johnston, Richard Margolies and Michael Watling, all of whom were senior counsel within the enforcement department at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s nonprofit self-regulator. Johnston, Margolies and Watling joined King & Spalding directly from FINRA, while deRose joined from Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss, where she was counsel.
King & Spalding’s group hiring comes at a time when several data points point to an overall decrease in enforcement activity lately. FINRA fines dove to $64.9 million in 2017 from $173.8 million the prior year, according to FINRA statistics. Looking at prosecution levels, one analysis in May from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse showed white-collar prosecutions were the lowest in 20 years.
via King & Spalding Bets on FINRA Vets Despite Some Enforcement Declines.
