Justin Chretien

Justin Chretien is a litigator with decades of experience handling high-stakes regulatory investigations, formal
disciplinary proceedings, and litigation on behalf of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities
and Exchange Commission. He was most recently a FINRA enforcement senior director who oversaw hundreds
of cases against broker-dealers and associated persons involving all manner of violations of federal securities
laws and the rules of FINRA and U.S. stock exchanges. His broad experience includes addressing violations
related to firm supervisory systems and procedures, market access and risk management controls, market
manipulation, best execution, short sales, intermarket sweep orders, trade reporting, trading ahead, anticipatory
hedging, due diligence, excessive markups (in equities, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and treasuries),
suitability, money laundering, as well as payment for order flow and gamification issues.
Prior to his eight-year tenure as a FINRA senior director, Justin was senior litigation counsel, spearheading
litigation in some of FINRA’s most complex and intractable cases. Before that, Justin was assistant chief litigation
counsel for the SEC, leading teams of attorneys, accountants, and experts in complex international securities and
fraud cases as a first-chair litigator. Justin also served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice for
more than a decade, defending the United States in complex civil litigation in federal district and circuit courts.
Justin combines extensive regulatory compliance knowledge with a track record of building airtight cases as a
litigator. He is a recipient of both FINRA’s Premier Achievement Award and the SEC Enforcement Division
Director’s Award for litigation excellence.
Earlier in his career, Justin founded and directed a pro bono program called “The Law and You,” leading 30
attorneys providing instruction to high schools in constitutional, civil, and criminal law and the consequences of
crime. Prior to law school, Justin, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, served as a U.S. Air Force fighter
pilot.
Justin is co-chair of the firm’s Securities & Investment Companies Industry Group.