James C. Yong

Overview

Jim Yong counsels self-regulatory organizations, broker-dealers, investment advisors, hedge funds, futures commission merchants and others in the financial services industry in regulatory matters before the SEC, CFTC, State Blue Sky Commissioners, self-regulatory organizations and other regulators. He also litigates securities matters before industry arbitrators and the federal court.

Jim brings a variety of experiences to the law firm, having worked as outside counsel, in-house counsel and for a government agency. His investigative experience is also enhanced by his work as an internal auditor for the then seventh largest bank in the United States and as an enforcement attorney with the SEC. He has been serving the financial sector for more than 30 years, having worked in the banking and the securities industries, including options, futures, security futures and equity markets. While in private practice, he helped a client become the second market to be approved by the CFTC as a designated contract market for security futures and another to become one of the ten entities recognized as an Electronic Communications Network ("ECN") by the SEC. He has also helped other clients develop hedging programs. As part of a pro bono representation, he obtained 501(c)3 status for one of his clients.

In the corporate world, Jim has been appointed as the General Counsel, first with The Options Clearing Corporation and then with the National Stock Exchange, Inc. He was also the National Stock Exchange's first Chief Regulatory Officer and its affiliated broker-dealer's first Chief Compliance Officer. While representing these self-regulatory organizations, he has been his corporation's representative on a number of regulatory and industry committees, including acting as the Executive Representative to FINRA, the Intermarket Surveillance Group (including chairing some of its subcommittees), the Securities Industry Committee on Arbitrations, the International Organization of Securities Commissioners ("IOSCO") and the North American Securities Administrators Association ("NASAA"). Jim has experience in matters involving the development of new products (and their disclosures) with securities and options exchanges; creating rule filings and policy issues with the SEC; commodity futures matters involving the CFTC; margin questions involving the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the SEC and the CFTC; liquidation matters involving SIPC; blue sky matters involving state securities commissioners; international matters relating to market linkages, licensing agreements and advising foreign markets; banking matters involving lines of credit, settlement procedures, and letters of credit; litigation matters prosecuting disciplinary matters, defending class actions, arbitration proceedings and administrative proceedings; and general corporate matters.

Jim also helped OCC obtain its AAA rating from Standard & Poor's credit reporting agency. Finally, he was one of the principal authors and editor of the options disclosure document entitled Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options, which is required to be distributed to all traders of standardized options traded in the United States.

Jim's government experience includes work as an enforcement attorney for the SEC and externships with the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a United States Magistrate for the Northern District of Illinois.

He is an alumnus of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, having completed the Stanford Executive Program in 2012. Jim had obtained the General Securities Representative (Series 7), General Securities Principal (Series 24), Uniform Securities Agent State Law (Series 63) and Operations Professional (Series 99) certifications.

News

Professional

• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Illinois State Bar Association