Mark M. Attar

Mark, a former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission for 12 years, has extensive experience counseling domestic and international participants in the financial markets, with a particular focus on federal securities laws and market regulation issues. He has advised a wide range of market participants, including broker-dealers, investment advisers, digital asset firms, trading platforms, institutional investors, clearing organizations, and credit-rating agencies. His practice includes the representation of clients in examinations and enforcement proceedings, with a particular focus on SEC and FINRA financial and operational rules, including rules relating to net capital, custody, margin, books and records, reporting, and risk assessment. He assists clients with broker-dealer formation, SEC registration, and FINRA membership and helps firms satisfy their independent consultant undertakings with regulators.

During his tenure at the SEC, Mark served as branch chief and senior special counsel in the Division of Trading and Markets. In those roles, he managed attorneys responsible for numerous rulemaking initiatives, including mandated rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act relating to security-based swap dealer capital, margin, and segregation, statutory and regulatory credit rating reference removal, and broker-dealer reporting, audit, and notification requirements. He handled numerous interpretive issues and provided formal guidance in the form of no-action and interpretive letters. He acted as a primary liaison on enforcement and examination matters involving broker-dealer financial responsibility rules, and represented the SEC on several international initiatives, including as a member of Joint Forum and IOSCO working groups.

Mark was a shareholder at McGonigle, P.C., before the firm combined with Davis Wright Tremaine.