Emily P. Gordy

Former FINRA and SEC regulator Emily Gordy represents broker-dealers, investment advisers, fintech companies and other financial institutions in government and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions involving complex regulatory issues. Clients benefit from Emily’s profound knowledge of securities laws and deep ties with the regulatory community to bring their matters to a successful resolution. She is ranked nationally by Chambers USA for Financial Services Regulation: Broker Dealer (Enforcement) and has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for Securities Regulation.

Emily’s practice covers the full suite of securities enforcement and compliance issues impacting the financial services industry. She advises on matters involving anti-money laundering (“AML”), Regulation Best Interest, supervision, conflicts of interest, disclosures, books and records, and registration and licensing issues, including statutory disqualifications. Emily fiercely advocates on behalf of clients before government agencies and self-regulatory organizations, where her goal is always to avoid enforcement action while protecting her clients’ business interests. She also partners with clients to identify and address gaps in their global compliance systems to prevent future regulatory scrutiny.

During her twenty-seven years as a regulator, Emily held several senior enforcement positions including serving as the Deputy Chief Counsel of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement and later as the Senior Vice President/Deputy Head of Enforcement at FINRA. She also held senior policy positions and was a key leader in the development of FINRA's multi-pronged AML program. She also served as FINRA’s liaison to the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Committee (“BSAAG”), a key Treasury, financial regulator, and industry AML advisory group. She provided guidance on a broad range of regulatory issues, including privacy obligations and enforcement cases involving data breaches. While serving in-house as Deputy General Counsel at the largest independent broker-dealer/investment adviser firm, Emily oversaw enforcement, examinations, and regulatory counseling and provided counsel to the firm’s AML program and on data privacy and security efforts.

Before joining King & Spalding, Emily was a partner at an international law firm where she represented clients in securities enforcement and compliance matters while helping them to navigate the complexities of the ever-evolving securities-regulatory environment.