BOB BUHLMAN is a partner in Sidley’s Securities Enforcement and Regulatory practice, which was named the “Law Firm of the Year” for Securities Regulation in 2020 and 2017 by U.S. News – Best Lawyers and was the recipient of the 2019 Chambers USA Award for “Financial Services Regulation.” Bob conducts a comprehensive securities and regulatory practice in which he represents broker-dealers, banks, investment advisers, issuers and their employees before FINRA, the SEC, state securities regulators and others. Bob also regularly counsels the industry on a variety of regulatory reporting and collateral consequences issues.
Bob is a leading adviser to the industry on employment and licensing issues facing broker-dealers, banks and investment advisers. For more than 25 years, he has regularly advised firms on their obligations with respect to registering and de-registering their investment professionals. This has included a leading role in a range of cases that have set the standards for how firms comply with their regulatory reporting and other obligations regarding their employees. Bob also routinely defends firms in disputes with their employees over compensation, disclosures and other issues.
Bob is also an adjunct professor at Suffolk Law School instructing in Securities Regulation. He is a valued adviser to the securities’ industry’s Association of Registration Management, Inc., an industry group devoted to registration professionals. He appears regularly on panels and conducts training sessions for the industry. He was the first partner to join Sidley’s Boston office when it opened in April 2013 and previously served as the office managing partner until April 2019.
Representative recent matters have included:
- Regular counseling of major firms throughout the industry regarding regulatory reporting
- Successfully defending a firm in a FINRA enforcement action alleging a violation of Regulation S-P
- Several FINRA investigations relating to firms’ regulatory filing requirements
- Successfully defending a firm in FINRA employment arbitrations regarding complex compensation calculations
- Both litigation and arbitration defense involving firms’ retail business conduct