Ben A. Indek is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice. Mr. Indek focuses his practice on representing broker-dealers and their employees in governmental, self-regulatory organization, and state securities commission investigations and disciplinary proceedings as well as conducting internal investigations for financial services firms. He also counsels broker-dealers on regulatory and compliance issues, including the development and implementation of written compliance and supervisory procedures and new rules and regulations.
Recent representations of broker-dealers and their employees in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) investigations include matters in the following areas:
Municipal bond disclosures to investors and underwriting expenses
Structured and complex products sold to retail clients, including sales practices and supervision relating to leveraged and inverse Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
Regulation SHO
Auction rate securities
Mutual fund and unit investment trusts suitability, supervision, pricing, and record keeping
Operational issues, including prospectus delivery, proxy voting, and electronic blue sheets
Research report disclosures
Registration and customer complaint reporting issues, including Form U4/U5 filings
Trade practices and reporting, including Market on Close and Limit on Close orders and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Rules 90, 92, and 132.30
Mr. Indek also has experience assisting firms in self-reporting matters under FINRA Rule 4530(b) and the prior NYSE rule, and he currently acts as counsel to a broker-dealer's self-reporting committee. He has also represented a number of compliance officers in SEC, FINRA, NYSE Regulation, and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) investigations; Mr. Indek was the co-author of an amicus brief filed on behalf of the National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP) with the SEC in connection with In re Theodore W. Urban. On several occasions, he has acted as independent consultant to firms in connection with regulatory settlements.
Mr. Indek previously served on FINRA's Independent Dealer/Insurance Affiliate Committee, the NYSE's Electronic Communications Task Force, the NASD's Market Regulation Committee, and on the Board of Directors of the NSCP.
Mr. Indek is the author of numerous articles concerning broker-dealer regulation and enforcement issues and frequently lectures on these topics. Since 2006, he has been the principal author of the firm's annual year-in-review publication "Select SEC and FINRA Broker-Dealer Cases and Developments," which describes the key developments in the enforcement programs of the SEC and FINRA, analyzes the metrics used to measure enforcement activity, and summarizes the important cases brought by regulators. Previously, he was a co-author of "Securities Litigation and Enforcement," a regular column appearing in the New York Law Journal.
Between 1984 and 1988, Mr. Indek was a compliance officer at E.F. Hutton & Co. In his last position at the company, he managed the Compliance Department's surveillance group. He joined Morgan Lewis in 1988 as a legal assistant specializing in the securities field. While a full-time legal assistant at the firm, Mr. Indek attended New York Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review and from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1992.
Mr. Indek is a member of the firm's Advisory Board, Finance Committee, and the New York office Management Committee.
Mr. Indek is admitted to practice in New York.
