SIFMA’s Compliance & Legal Society is the leading forum for compliance and legal professionals working in the financial services industry. With a rich 50-year history, it provides a unique opportunity for industry leaders and regulators to come together to share information and collaborate with the goal of ensuring our capital markets are the most fair, transparent and ethical in the world.

The 2022 C&L Society Annual Seminar is less than 30 days away! We just added SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and Loop Capital Chairman and CEO Jim Reynolds to the program and are counting down until we gather in Orlando this March. Recently, we sat down with Cynthia Adams, Managing Director & General Counsel for Regulatory, Litigation & Employment at Jefferies. Cynthia serves on the C&L Society Executive Committee and its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Subcommittee, and is co-chair of this year’s Seminar Planning Committee. Read on to find out why she is a champion for fostering diversity of thought, experience and representation and what she’s looking forward to most at this year’s Seminar.

You’ve seen this industry from a number of vantage points. Can you tell us about the path of your career and how you first got involved with the C&L Society?

I have been so fortunate to view our industry over the past two plus decades from the vantage point of outside counsel at two amazing firms, enforcement counsel at an SRO, and in-house counsel at major global financial institutions. Prior to joining Jefferies in 2012 to lead our Litigation, Regulatory and Employment Legal team, I held senior in-house legal roles at Citi and later Morgan Stanley. I began my career as a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell following a federal clerkship with the Hon. Emmet G. Sullivan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. I later gained great perspective and experience as an enforcement attorney in the New York office of FINRA (then NASD Regulation). Following that experience early in my career, I joined the New York office of WilmerHale and worked with an amazing group of colleagues there. An incredible opportunity to move in-house to work with the then General Counsel of Citi Global Wealth Management presented itself, and I made the leap in-house in 2005, where I’ve been since. As it turns out, at Jefferies, I am working with the same General Counsel who first recruited me to work with him at Citi, so I’ve come full circle a bit in my in-house experience! I am also a proud graduate of Howard University School of Law and the College of William & Mary.

I first became involved with the C&L Society as in-house counsel several years ago, encouraged by my former Citi colleague Elaine Mandelbaum, who is now General Counsel at Interactive Brokers and who is a long-time active SIFMA supporter, including serving as our immediate past President of the C&L Society. In addition to benefiting from the exceptional array of SIFMA programming, I’ve participated as a panelist or moderator on multiple SIFMA programs over the years. In 2018, I was invited to become a member of the C&L Society Executive Committee, which is a terrific opportunity to serve alongside an amazing group of industry leaders. In addition to currently serving as a Co-Chair of the 2022 Seminar Planning Committee, I also serve on the Nominating Committee and on the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. It’s tremendously rewarding work with a broad view across our industry.

This year’s Seminar comes at a critical time. “Critical” is a term that may be used often but is not an overstatement. Can you put this in perspective?

We have faced an exhausting convergence of critical issues and crises of epic proportions over the past two years, from the pandemic and all of its associated dire consequences to heightened urgency regarding equity and social justice issues to the Great Resignation and a multitude of other challenges. How we choose to emerge beyond this current inflection point will likely define our industry for years to come. This year’s Seminar proves that, in the face of relentless unchartered territory, we are choosing to emerge as legal and compliance professionals as resilient as ever, and we are continuing to find tremendous value in the community and collective perspective of our industry peers.

How can our organizations support our employees through this transformational time?

Organizations can support employees throughout this transformational time by being laser-focused on the humanity of their workforce at all levels and cultivating an inclusive culture rooted in mutual compassion, integrity, and respect. The not-so-secret sauce for organizational success is cultivating environments that allow employees to thrive and succeed as the best versions of their whole selves and setting that tone from the top as a defining corporate strategy. Employees who feel valued, trusted, and inspired to contribute to their organization bring highly competitive human capital to the table. Our people are our greatest assets. Full stop.

Cynics might say that all this talk of compassion and emotional intelligence has no place on profit-driven Wall Street. I beg to differ! Having conducted investigations in our industry for over two decades, I can attest that morale and workplace culture—both during and outside of a crisis such as the one we’ve endured since 2020—are actually compelling risk indicators with the potential to exacerbate, mitigate or avoid a host of problems and behaviors that breed litigation, regulatory and employment risks.

As an industry, we must have courageous conversations about difficult issues and follow through with intention and accountability. At a personal level, we have to ensure that our own spheres of influence are diverse and inclusive and that we are open to the experiences of others. This is so important because our industry includes some of the largest employers in the world. Our organizations are collectively responsible for the professional lives of hundreds of thousands of employees globally, all while also securing the financial soundness of the individuals, businesses, and institutions who are our clients. We have an awesome, essential responsibility internally to our colleagues and externally to the markets and the global economy.

You’ve been a proponent of the Society’s commitment to DE&I. How is that materializing at this year’s Seminar?

My support of the Society’s commitment to DE&I is an extension of my own experience as an African-American female, a working mom, an HBCU grad (go Howard!) and a cancer survivor who knows firsthand how challenges beyond the office impact our professional lives. I completely understand Otherness, and I bring all of that perspective to my professional life, including to my efforts for SIFMA. This year’s Seminar includes multiple great offerings elevating diverse perspectives and celebrating the diversity of our members. Our fantastic DE&I committee, led by Mara Galeano of UBS, has done a terrific job designing impactful programming that reflects the Society’s commitment to DE&I.

Our Seminar DE&I programming begins on Monday morning with an excellent breakout session, “Ethical Considerations and Current Developments in Diversity & Inclusion,” moderated by returning SIFMA speaker Tonia Bottoms, Managing Director and Senior Managing Counsel, Pershing LLC. This panel discussion promises to provide timely thought leadership and practical guidance from an exceptional group of speakers who each bring a wealth of experience and perspective to the table.

Monday afternoon, we will host our extremely popular Women’s Leadership Luncheon, which has become a great annual highlight of the Seminar. This year, our featured speaker is Anne Robinson, Managing Director, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Vanguard, who will share her insights on leadership and success across her incredible career. I have known Anne for years, and her career path is phenomenal. Our discussion with Anne will be moderated by our SIFMA C&L Society President, Michelle Oroschakoff, who is Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer, LPL Financial LLC. Many will recall when Michelle was the featured luncheon speaker herself a few years ago—what a great event! And speaking of great events, as my SIFMA colleague Dave Sparks previewed in last month’s newsletter, we are thrilled to host our inaugural LGBTQ+ Reception, sponsored by Allen & Overy, on Monday evening.

We’ll begin Tuesday’s programming with our widely attended annual Diversity Breakfast featuring an engaging conversation with Audria Pendergrass Lee, FINRA’s Chief Diversity Officer. The conversation will be moderated by Christopher Williams of Fidelity, who is also a member of the SIFMA C&L Future Leaders Council. WilmerHale, a founding sponsor of the breakfast, will once again sponsor the event this year.

In another important first this year, we are excited to present our first DEI Advocate Award during our main stage session Tuesday morning. Stay tuned for more on this next month from our 2022 Seminar Chair, Karen O’Toole.

We’re so excited to be back in person! What else are you looking forward to?

Our tagline this year says it all: Reconnect, Engage and Inspire.

In-person means meaningful networking opportunities. Our Lunch & Learn sessions will present a great opportunity for small group interaction. Attendees will be able to take ideas and perspectives shared in mainstage and breakout sessions and engage in deeper-dive discussions in an informal setting. The Lunch & Learn sessions will offer great focused networking.
Hot off the press, I’m thrilled that we announced SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and Loop Capital Chairman and CEO Jim Reynolds have joined this year’s program. They’ve each had such successful careers and will share a wealth of fresh perspectives, experience and insights.

Circling back to the concept of diversity, one of the most valuable aspects of this Seminar is who attends. Can you tell us a bit about the more than 1,200 people who are registered to join us?

Diversity is valuable in all respects, including diversity of thought and professional experience. The C&L Seminar always draws a professionally and geographically diverse universe of attendees. Regulators, outside counsel, CCOs, GCs, and a wide array of other legal and compliance professionals will lend their expertise and perspective to over 50 CLE panels addressing the complex issues facing our industry today. Whether you practice at a global firm or a regional broker dealer, we have relevant, topical content for you. We’ve worked really hard over the past several months to ensure that, over the course of the three-day Seminar, our attendees will have the best-in-class, engaging experience they have come to expect from SIFMA.
It is a pleasure and honor to serve alongside this universe of SIFMA colleagues. I am truly looking forward to reconnecting and engaging with industry colleagues next month in Orlando – I hope to see you there.

Cynthia Adams is Managing Director and General Counsel for Litigation, Regulatory and Employment Legal at Jefferies LLC, a global investment banking firm. She leads the team responsible for a wide array of litigation, enforcement, and investigation matters.

To receive our monthly C&L Society Update and more, please create or manage your profile at my.sifma.org. To reconnect, engage and inspire at the 2022 SIFMA C&L Annual Seminar, register today to join us from March 20-23 in Orlando.

 

.