Barbara Stettner

Partner

Barbara Stettner is a partner in O’Melveny’s Washington, DC office and a member of the Financial Services Practice.
Before entering private practice, she worked at the SEC’s Division of Market Regulation (now Trading and Markets), where she served as Special Counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel and as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Risk Management and Control. She also served as Senior Counsel in the Commission’s Office of International Affairs. Prior to joining the Firm, Barbara practiced at prominent law firms in Washington, DC and London. As part of the Financial Services Volunteer Corp, she regularly provides pro bono technical assistance to emerging markets on the regulatory and supervisory systems of markets and market intermediaries, including most recently Jordan, the UAE, Russia and Romania.

Barbara’s practice focuses on advising U.S. and foreign financial institutions on their regulatory and compliance obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Bank Secrecy Act and federal and state pay-to-play, ethics and lobbying regulations.

Illustrative Professional Experience

• Counsel public issuers, broker-dealers, private funds, and other financial institutions on federal (MSRB Rule G-37) and state pay-to-play, gifts and entertainment, and lobbying regulations
• Advise foreign exchanges, foreign banks and U.S. broker-dealers on foreign market access issues and the application of rule 15a-6
• Counsel a variety of issuers and industry participants on broker-dealer and investment adviser status questions, particularly in the area of “finders” and placement agents
• Counsel foreign and domestic broker-dealers, banks, securities exchanges, electronic communications networks, third-party research providers, and investment advisers on various aspects of securities regulations
• Counsel multi-national banks and their broker-dealer affiliates on the push-out provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, including related product distribution, cross-marketing, and sales practice issues
• Counsel broker-dealers, private equity funds, and investment advisers on their respective obligations under the PATRIOT Act
• Prepare written supervisory procedures for broker-dealers, with recent emphasis on pay-to-play, gifts and entertainment, AML and lobbying
• Advise broker-dealers on issues involving the sponsorship, distribution, marketing, and sales of mutual funds and other investment companies and § 529 College Savings Plans
• Evaluate Internet-based companies for broker-dealer or investment adviser status under the Exchange Act and Investment Advisers Act
  

Professional Activities

Member, American Bar Association
Author, “California Regulates Use of Placement Agents” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (October 2009); SEC Will Extend Pay-to-Play Regulation to Investment Advisers” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (July 2009); “Investment Advisers to Private Funds Subject to Registration with the SEC Under the Obama Administration's Plan for Financial Regulatory Reform” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (June 2009) “Recent SEC Regulatory Changes: Content of Forms U4 and U5” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (June 2009); “The Obama Administration's Plan for Financial Regulatory Reform to Require All Investment Advisers to Register with the SEC,” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (June 2009); “New Federal and State Pay-to-Play Developments,” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (May 2009); “Overview: Secretary Geithner Outlines Framework for Systemic Risk Regulation; Potential Impact on Private Investment Funds,” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (March 2009); “Senate Bill Proposes Registration, Public Disclosure and Additional Compliance Obligations for Most Private Investment Funds,” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (February 2009); “Recent Forfeiture Action Underscores The Convergence of Anti-Bribery and Anti-Money Laundering Provisions,” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (January 2009); “Campaign Contributions: Benevolent Civic Participation or Danger Zone for Investment Advisers to Private Funds?,” The Investment Lawyer (February 2007), with Bill Satchell, Adam Hellman, and Astri Kimball; “The Distribution of Private Fund Securities: Regulatory Considerations and Potential Liabilities When Using Unlicensed Finders,” The Investment Lawyer (September 2005), with Darren Vieira; “Proposed Anti-Money Laundering Program Requirements for Unregistered Investment Companies and Unregistered Investment Advisers,” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (September 2003); “New Customer Identification Requirements for Broker-Dealers,” O’Melveny & Myers Client Alert (May 2003); “The New Anti-Money Laundering Responsibilities of Broker-Dealers,” Insights, The Corporate & Securities Law Advisor (July 2002)