Ms. McGrail’s practice focuses on serving financial services firms and public companies facing civil litigation and regulatory enforcement matters, as well as counseling clients on compliance with industry regulations. A significant portion of Ms. McGrail’s practice has been dedicated to counseling and defending broker-dealers and investment advisors.  She has experience in matters involving equity, fixed income, and derivative trading; broker/dealer and investment adviser compliance system design and review; fiduciary investment issues; regulatory registration issues; transactional disclosure issues; cybersecurity compliance; employing big data analytics, and litigation in federal and state courts, administrative proceedings, disciplinary hearings and arbitrations.  She handles all stages of complex commercial litigation, from pre-suit investigations and counseling to motions practice, discovery and trial.

Ms. McGrail has also defended mortgage originators and residential mortgage backed securities sponsors in litigation and government investigation spawned by the 2008 financial crisis.  She was a member of a team that had numerous big wins, including the dismissal of monoline bond insurer plaintiffs from a $1.8B lawsuit, favorable settlements, and protection of sensitive client information in discovery.

In addition, Ms. McGrail advises companies concerning compliance with the emergent regulatory structure surrounding cybersecurity, including as it relates to policies and procedures, vendor due diligence, information governance, and incident response.  She has experience advising broker-dealers and advisors on efficient ways to use big data analytics to avoid and respond to regulatory inquiries.  In January 2017, she spoke on a SIFMA Conference Panel entitled, “Responding to Regulatory Inquiries in the Big Data Age: Is Your Firm Ready?”

Ms. McGrail is the firm’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, where she is charged with attracting, retaining, and championing top-flight, diverse, legal talent.  She is also the founder of the firm’s Women’s Initiative and hosts, sponsors, and participates in several efforts that advance the development of women in law.

Practice Areas

• Cybersecurity, Cybercrime, & Incident Response
• FinTech & Blockchain
• Regulatory Enforcement Defense
• Securities Arbitration & ADR
• Securities & Complex Commercial Litigation

Awards and Recognition

• Lawyer of the Year and Nine Lawyers Recognized in Best Lawyers in America 2021
  (08/20/2020)
  

Publications

• SEC Offers Comprehensive Supervision and Compliance Guidance for Investment Advisers
  (11/16/2020)
  
• FINRA Seeks SEC Approval of Rules That Would Make It More Difficult to Obtain Expungements
  (10/07/2020)
  
• 10 Practical Steps to Protect Your Firm from Cyber Threats
  (02/05/2020)
  
• Will 2019 Be the Year of Blockbuster Cybersecurity Enforcement by the SEC?
  New York Law Journal | (02/26/2019)
  
• 10 Practical Steps to Protect Your Firm from Cyber Threats
  (06/06/2018)
  
• GDPR is Here – What if You Didn’t Prepare?
  Law 360 | (05/24/2018)
  
• New York Proposes Groundbreaking Cybersecurity Regulations for Financial Institutions and Insurers
  Bloomberg BNA | (12/05/2016)
  
• "Spoliation Allegations Spread into Arbitration", Best Law Firms 2017, 7th Edition
  Best Lawyers (Subscription Required) ,U.S. News & World Report | (10/30/2016)
  
• Feds' Cybersecurity Plan Gives Boards, Vendors Bigger Role
  Law 360 | (10/21/2016)
  

Seminars and Presentations

• “Cybersecurity & Data Privacy: Regulatory and Enforcement Update,” Lawline Webinar
  10/10/2019 | (10/10/2019)
  
• So You’ve Been Hacked: Practical Advice for Responding to Data Breaches, Murphy & McGonigle 2019 CLE Series
  09/19/2019 | (09/19/2019)
  
• “Unlawful Sexual Harassment” Training
  09/17/2019 | (09/17/2019)
  
• Essentials of Forms U4 and U5, Expungements, and Regulation Best Interest
  07/17/2019 | (07/18/2019)
  
• Practical Pointers for Creating a More Inclusive Culture
  04/17/2019 | (04/03/2019)
  
• “A Legal Perspective on Managing Insider Threat,” CyCon 2.0
  03/09/2019 | (03/09/2019)
  
• “Conducting Internal Investigations in the #MeToo Era,” NAWL CLE Webinar
  10/16/2018 | (10/16/2018)
  
• Cybersecurity and Data Protection for Compliance Professionals
  03/26/2018 | (03/26/2018)
  
• "Successfully Managing Regulatory Investigations and Enforcement Matters in the New Regulatory Landscape and Big Data Driven Age," Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
  01/26/2017 | (01/26/2017)
  
• SIFMA Conference Panel “Responding to Regulatory Inquiries in the Big Data Age: Is Your Firm Ready?”
  01/27/2017 | (12/22/2016)
  
• Introduction to FINRA Securities Arbitration
  02/05/2016 | (04/05/2016)
  

In the News

• Murphy & McGonigle Diverse Lawyers Participate in Annual MCCA Conference
  (10/21/2019)
  
• CCOs See Need for Guidance in Disclosure Expungement and Regulation Best Interest
  (07/22/2019)
  
• Murphy & McGonigle Announces Promotions
  (01/10/2019)
  
• Murphy & McGonigle: Ahead of the Curve
  Best Lawyers Business Edition | (April, 2017)
  
• Brokers riled by overlapping enforcement penalties from multiple regulators
  Investment News (Subscription Required) | (03/27/2017)
  
• Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Murphy and McGonigle
  New York Business Journal | (03/14/2017)
  
• Regulators use big data to turn up enforcement heat
  Investment News (Subscription Required) | (01/30/2017)
  
• Feds' Cybersecurity Plan Gives Boards, Vendors Bigger Role
  Law 360 | (10/21/2016)
  

Education

• J.D., Brooklyn Law School, 2005
• B.A., International Relations, Johns Hopkins University, 1999

Admissions

• Connecticut
• New York
• North Carolina
• Virginia