Career
Ellen M. Wheeler represents broker-dealers, introducing brokers, commodity trading advisors, investment advisors, commercial end users, proprietary trading firms, and their employees and officers in both litigation and enforcement matters. She has defended clients in large securities class actions, in arbitrations brought by customers and employees, at administrative hearings against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, and in connection with other enforcement investigations and proceedings by the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, NFA, CME Group, and other regulatory organizations. Ellen is a partner in the firm’s Securities Enforcement & Litigation as well as Securities, Commodities & Exchange Regulation Practices.
Additionally, Ellen provides regulatory counseling to clients, including assisting broker-dealers, introducing brokers, and other clients with regulatory exams, internal investigations, and compliance with new rules and regulations.
Experience
Representative Experience
Enforcement
-Counsel to commodity trading advisor alleged by CME Group to have engaged in manipulative trading; investigation closed with no action.
-Counsel to trader and firm in FINRA investigation of frontrunning; investigation closed with no action.
-Counsel to entity alleged by CFTC to be acting as unregistered commodity trading advisor; investigation closed with no action.
-Counsel to broker dealers and investment advisor firms in multiple regulatory investigations arising from sales of alternative investment products; investigations closed or favorably settled.
-Counsel to municipal underwriter in SEC investigation of alleged “flipping” of municipal bonds; investigation closed with no action.
-Counsel to trader and firm accused of “spoofing” by multiple CME Group exchanges; secured favorable settlement on behalf of trader, no action against firm.
-Counsel to multiple firms in position limits investigations by CFTC; all matters closed with no action.
-Counsel to multiple firms in CBOE proceedings involving alleged violations of priority rules; all matters closed with no action or with favorable settlement.
-Counsel to Investment Advisor in SEC investigation of cross-trading; investigation closed with no action.
-Counsel to commercial entity in CFTC investigation regarding EFRPs; investigation closed with no action.
-Counsel to trader in ICE investigation regarding alleged wash sales; investigation closed with no action.
-Counsel to former employee of mutual fund management company in an enforcement proceeding brought by the SEC concerning allegations of market timing; following approximately three-week hearing, client was exonerated of all charges.
-Counsel to former chief financial officer of public company in an enforcement proceeding brought by the SEC charging CFO with fraud in connection with public disclosures; two–week hearing resulted in favorable opinion with no sanctions levied against client.
Litigation
-Counsel to grain company in class action alleging manipulation of the wheat futures market in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Commodity Exchange Act.
-Counsel to multiple options market makers in several actions alleging spoofing and market manipulation in violation of the Securities Exchange Act and Commodity Exchange Act.
-Counsel to multiple options specialist firms in action brought by professional traders involving allegations of order mishandling, resulting in dismissal of claims against some defendants and summary judgment in favor of remaining defendants.
-Counsel to investment bank in connection with multiple lawsuits arising out of collapse of auction rate securities market, resulting in dismissal of all claims.
-Counsel to broker dealers and investment advisors in numerous FINRA arbitrations arising from claims brought by customers who invested in private placements.
-Counsel to individual defendant in class action and multiple individual actions alleging fraud and violations of Sherman Antitrust Act and the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with trading in the dairy markets.
-Counsel to individual defendant in class action involving allegations of stock options back dating.
-Counsel to clearing firm in CBOE arbitration, resulting in dismissal of all claims with prejudice.
-Counsel to broker-dealer in FINRA arbitration brought by former customer; week-long arbitration resulting in award entirely in favor of defendant.
-Counsel to investment bank in major class action involving allegations of manipulation and misconduct in connection with initial public offerings.
