Christopher J Kelly

Practice Areas

Christopher J. Kelly joins CSG Law after most recently serving as the Deputy Head of Enforcement and a Senior Vice President of FINRA, where he led a department comprised of more than 350 attorneys, investigators, and support staff. FINRA, also known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator of the brokerage industry in the United States. As a former FINRA leader, Chris has deep insights into FINRA’s priorities and practices, as well as those of other self-regulatory organizations (SROs), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and state securities regulators and attorneys general.

Chris joined FINRA in 2014 as a Chief Counsel in the Department of Enforcement, and he was later elevated to the role of Senior Vice President and Deputy Head of Enforcement. Chris also served as the Acting Head of Enforcement prior to his departure from the organization. At FINRA, Chris supervised thousands of enforcement investigations and litigations, including those involving Regulation Best Interest, best execution, short-selling, market access, cybersecurity, anti-money laundering violations, systemic supervisory failures, and the supervision of online funding portals and fintech broker-dealers. Cases overseen by Chris have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Forbes, and CNN, among many others.

Chris also has deep insight into the priorities, processes, and inner workings of the other regulatory bodies that govern the financial services industry, including the SEC and state securities regulators. As Deputy Head and Acting Head of Enforcement, Chris oversaw FINRA Enforcement’s investigations and disciplinary actions conducted on behalf of options and stock exchanges across the United States, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe).

Before FINRA, Chris served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for eight years, including as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division and Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit. In these roles, Chris oversaw a broad range of complex criminal investigations and prosecutions, including those involving securities fraud, bank fraud, corporate fraud, tax crimes and cybercrimes. Chris also successfully litigated many of the office’s most significant and high-profile white-collar and securities fraud cases.

Chris worked as an associate at a Philadelphia-based law firm prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He also clerked for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, U.S.D.J. for the District of New Jersey.

Chris earned his J.D. from Harvard University and his B.A. from Duke University.

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