Andrew Melnick is a highly experienced securities litigator, regulatory attorney and compliance advisor to a wide array of financial services firms.  He regularly represents and advises broker-dealers, investment advisors, investment banks and asset managers and their executive management, boards and employees in complex litigations and arbitrations, internal investigations, regulatory inquiries, employment matters, and compliance reviews.

Most recently, Mr. Melnick served as Chief Litigation Counsel at RCS Capital Corporation (now Aretec Group, Inc.), where he oversaw all litigations, investigations, and regulatory inquiries and related activities at RCS Capital Corporation, a NYSE-listed firm, and its affiliates, which had interests in sponsors and managers of alternative investments, wholesale brokerage distribution, investment banking, transfer agent operations, and the Cetera Financial Group independent broker-dealer network of over 9100 registered representatives.      

Mr. Melnick also served as Deputy General Counsel, Head of Retail Litigation at UBS Financial Services, where he had management responsibility for all litigations and arbitrations arising from the business activities of the U.S. broker-dealer/wealth management arm of UBS AG.  He also served as Senior Counsel on a Zurich-based UBS team, reporting directly to the Global General Counsel, with responsibility for assessing the impact of emerging and immediate regulatory, legal and ethical risks of strategic relevance to UBS’ businesses worldwide.

Mr. Melnick began his career in the Litigation Department of Kaye Scholer LLP.

Practice Areas

• FinTech & Blockchain
• Investment Advisory
• Private Funds Advisory & Enforcement Defense
• Regulatory Enforcement Defense
• Securities Arbitration & ADR
• Securities & Complex Commercial Litigation
• White Collar Defense, Investigations & Compliance Counseling

Professional Affiliations

• Association of the Bar of the City of New York

Publications

• SEC Offers Comprehensive Supervision and Compliance Guidance for Investment Advisers
  (11/16/2020)
  
• Schwab Compliance Review | Personal Trading
  Charles Schwab | (2017)
  
• What's in a Name: The Battle over a Uniform Fiduciary Standard for Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers
  St. John's Law Review | (April, 2013)
  

Seminars and Presentations

• 2013 Federal Court Practice Seminar, New York City Bar Association
  09/01/2016 (04:10 PM - 02:10 PM) | (09/01/2016)
  
• “Securities Arbitration Program,” Practicing Law Institute
  09/01/2016 (03:51 PM - 03:51 PM) | (09/01/2016)
  
• “Securities Arbitration and Mediation Hot Topics 2016”, New York City Bar Association
  05/12/2016 | (05/12/2016)
  
• What Hath It Wrought: Did the Financial Crisis Alter the Litigation & Enforcement Landscape
  10/28/2014 | (10/28/2014)
  
• “Revolution in the Regulation of Financial Advice: The U.S., the U.K and Australia”
  (2012)
  
• Securities Arbitration Seminars, NY & NJ State Bar Associations
  (01/01/2010)
  

Education

• J.D. (cum laude), Boston University School of Law, 1989; Articles Editor, Boston University Law Review
• B.A., History, Hamilton College, 1985

Admissions

• New York