Laura S Pruitt

Laura Pruitt counsels broker-dealers, alternative trading systems, investment advisers, Fintech firms and other market participants on securities law and market regulation issues, with particular emphasis on broker-dealer status issues (including “finders” and referral arrangements), registration and compliance, trading rules and market structure issues, investment adviser and transfer agent regulation, and anti-money laundering compliance. Laura also advises Fintech clients on whether particular digital assets and related arrangements constitute securities and/or their activities require registration as a broker-dealer or other regulated entity. She additionally represents clients before the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA and other self-regulatory organizations in connection with regulatory exams, investigations and enforcement actions, and has conducted independent compliance reviews in connection with the settlement of several SEC enforcement actions. In addition to practicing as a litigator on securities class actions, hostile takeovers and other matters early in her career, Laura also spent nearly seven years at the SEC in both the General Counsel’s Office and the Division of Trading & Markets before returning to private practice. She is a member of Jones Day’s Financial Markets practice, resident in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.