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Securities Attorney Research Shortlist

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. This document is research preparation only. It does not constitute a recommendation to retain any attorney, nor an endorsement of any firm's legal capabilities. Verify all contact information directly before outreach — phone numbers and email addresses sourced from public directories may be outdated. Last updated: 2026-05-13 UTC. Sources as of that date.

TL;DR

The strongest candidates for Raxx's specific need — Investment Advisers Act §202(a)(11) analysis, RIA carve-out positioning for a fintech platform, and pre-launch opinion work — fall into two profiles: (1) boutique IA/RIA-specialty firms with public written output on the statutory definition, and (2) regional full-service firms with dedicated investment management practices and documented fintech or startup experience. Big-firm partners are excluded per scope. Compliance consultancies (InnReg et al.) are noted but excluded from the shortlist — they are not law firms and cannot issue legal opinions.

Hard Filters Applied

The following categories are excluded:

Candidate Table

# Firm Attorney Specialty Fit Seed-Stage Scale? Geography Est. Cost Contact Notes
1 Stark & Stark PC Joseph C. Antonakakis IA Act, RIA formation, outsourced compliance, SEC exams Yes — serves small advisers and pre-registration analysis Hamilton, NJ (near Philadelphia PA) $300–500/hr est. (unverified; confirm at intake) jantonakakis@stark-stark.com / 609.945.7681 Rising Stars 2024-2025; hosts compliance podcast; co-authored SEC Marketing Rule analysis; explicitly works on initial IA registration and "no registration needed" analysis. Strong fit for seed-stage.
2 Stark & Stark PC Stephen A. Galletto IA/BD regulation, compliance, liability Yes Hamilton, NJ + Philadelphia PA area $400–600/hr est. (unverified) Via stark-stark.com intake Shareholder in Investment Management & Securities Group; 30+ years IA/BD representation; same firm as #1 — use Antonakakis as primary contact, Galletto as backup or escalation.
3 Parker MacIntyre J. Steven Parker IA Act formation, registration, exemptions Yes — firm built around start-up and small IA phase Atlanta, GA (remote-friendly) $300–500/hr est. (unverified); fixed-fee initial engagement possible per firm site jsparker@parkmac.com / (404) 490-4060 Entire practice is IA/BD formation and compliance; published extensively on registration requirements; blog at riacomplianceblog.com covers exemptions and regulatory developments. Red flag: recent blog skews toward compliance-after-registration vs. pre-registration analysis — confirm they handle "should we register at all" engagements.
4 Lex Nova Law E. Richard Dressel or Markley S. Roderick IA Act, fintech, capital markets, startup Yes — explicit startup and emerging growth practice Philadelphia, PA (operator-local) $350–550/hr est. (unverified) Via lexnovalaw.com contact form; office at 1845 Walnut St, Suite 2250, Philadelphia PA 19103 Boutique corporate firm; explicit fintech + "investment adviser regulation under federal and state law" listed as practice area; serves SaaS and fintech; startup-focused. Best geographic fit for PA-resident operator. Verify which attorney handles IA Act specifically.
5 Shulman Rogers Hunter M. Haines Securities, fintech, startup Yes — startup + mature company mix Potomac MD / DC metro (remote-friendly to PA) $350–600/hr est. (unverified) Via shulmanrogers.com / 301-230-5200 (Potomac); ask for Hunter Haines Explicitly represents fintech startups; securities group handles IA registration, fund formation, and compliance; DC regulatory hub proximity. Published 2026 SEC exam priorities alert. Confirm whether they handle pre-registration "do we need to register?" analysis.
6 Rich May PC Thomas H. Bilodeau III or Scott A. Stokes Investment management, IA compliance, private funds Moderate — skews toward $1M+ AUM clients; confirm startup fit Boston, MA (remote-friendly) $450–700/hr est. (unverified) tbilodeau@richmaylaw.com / 617-556-3813; sstokes@richmaylaw.com / 617-556-3810 Deep IA compliance practice; publishes 2026 Investment Adviser Compliance Calendar; SEC exam priority analysis; Reg S-P amendments coverage. Stronger fit for ongoing compliance than pre-registration opinion — confirm intake appetite for seed-stage pre-revenue work.
7 Thompson Hine LLP Michael V. Wible or Richard Heller IA Act, investment management, fintech added 2024 Moderate — larger firm; confirm startup appetite Columbus OH / NY (remote-friendly) $500–750/hr est. (unverified) Michael.Wible@ThompsonHine.com / 614.469.3297; Richard Heller 212.908.3907 Recognized by Chambers and Legal 500 for investment management; explicitly added fintech attorneys in 2024; serves startups through dedicated new-ventures practice. May skew toward fund formation. Confirm they handle "should this platform register?" platform analysis.
8 Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough [IM group — contact firm] Investment management, broker-dealer, fintech, RIA Moderate — Am Law 100 firm but has fintech startup track record Multiple offices nationwide incl. NY (remote-friendly) $500–800/hr est. (unverified) Via nelsonmullins.com IM group intake Explicit fintech + RIA formation + BYOB aggregator experience; represented mobile RIA with "gifting" feature (similar novel model). Larger firm but documented startup track record in fintech. Confirm scale appetite.
9 Duane Morris LLP Mary P. Hansen IA Act, BD regulation, SEC investigations + compliance Moderate — Big firm; startup appetite uncertain Philadelphia, PA (operator-local) $600–900/hr est. (unverified) Via duanemorris.com / Philadelphia office Explicit Investment Advisers Act + fintech practice; documented representation of investment advisers in SEC investigations + examinations; Philadelphia-based. Higher cost profile. Use as backup if boutiques unavailable or if a Philly-local relationship matters for entity formation integration.
10 Shustak Reynolds & Partners [Contact firm] IA/BD formation, registration, compliance Yes — boutique serving small advisers nationwide NY + CA (remote-friendly; NY office covers East Coast) $350–550/hr est. (unverified) Via shufirm.com / New York office Named "Top Securities Boutique" by CA Daily Journal; 40+ years IA/BD formation and regulation; national practice from NY and CA offices. Explicitly handles IA formation and registration questions. Less fintech-specific than others on list — confirm they handle platform-company (non-RIA applicant) analysis.

Notes on Excluded Providers

InnReg — Regulatory compliance consultancy, not a law firm. Cannot issue legal opinion letters. Valuable for ongoing compliance post-engagement but not a substitute for attorney sign-off on the IA Act analysis. Contact: info@innreg.com. Use as compliance-operations layer after the attorney engagement closes the registration question.

My RIA Lawyer (Leila Shaver) — Fixed-fee RIA registration firm. Business model assumes registration is needed and handles the mechanics. Not the right fit for "should we register at all" pre-registration posture analysis. Would be the right contact if attorney engagement concludes registration is required.

Parker MacIntyre — caveat — Recent blog content skews toward post-registration compliance monitoring rather than pre-registration exemption analysis. May still be appropriate; confirm at intake call.

Top 3 to Contact First

See DECISION-MATRIX.md for scoring detail.

1. Joseph C. Antonakakis — Stark & Stark PC Closest geographic fit (Hamilton NJ, 60 miles from PA), documented seed-stage IA representation, active public writing on IA Act issues including the Marketing Rule, podcast host on compliance topics, Rising Stars recognition. Best combination of specialty fit + cost + startup scale fit.

2. Lex Nova Law — Philadelphia PA Operator-local boutique with explicit fintech + IA regulation practice language and documented startup-company focus. Verify attorney assignment at intake — ask specifically for the attorney who handles Investment Advisers Act § 202(a)(11) analysis (not just capital-raising securities work).

3. Parker MacIntyre — J. Steven Parker Entire practice built around IA Act compliance; fixed-fee initial engagement possible; extensive published output on IA Act registration requirements. Remote-friendly from Atlanta. Confirm at intake that they will handle "should we register at all" analysis (not just registration mechanics).

Sources