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Russell D. Sacks
Partner




Education

University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, LL.B., 1998, with Honors
Columbia College, B.A., 1994, magna cum laude 


Practice

Mr. Sacks, a partner in the firm’s Asset Management and Capital Markets Groups, provides regulatory advice to regulated and unregulated market participants including broker-dealers, alternative trading systems, exchanges, investment advisers, and hedge funds. He has particular experience in the formation and regulation of U.S.-registered broker-dealers, in the acquisition of regulated entities, and in the U.S. and cross-border operations of international financial institutions. Prior to joining Shearman & Sterling, he served as law clerk to The Honourable Justice Allen M. Linden of the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa, Canada.


Recent Experience

Formation and expansion of broker-dealers

  • Banco do Brasil Securities LLC in the formation and registration of the U.S. investment banking arm of the largest bank in Latin America
  • Bradesco Securities, Inc. in the expansion of the U.S. investment banking arm of the largest private bank in Latin America to permit a wide range of investment banking activities
  • Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg in the formation of a self-clearing investment bank in the United States

Representation of clients seeking regulatory relief


Advice to financial institutions involved in capital markets or acquisition transactions

  • Itaú, its merger with Unibanco
  • Merrill Lynch in its acquisition by Bank of America
  • UBS in the acquisition of the private client and brokerage business of McDonald Investments
  • Merrill Lynch in the acquisitions of The Advest Group, Inc. and of Petrie Parkman & Co.
  • Merrill Lynch in its in-branch networking partnership with Carver Bank
  • Tudor Ventures in its private equity investment in Pipeline LLC
  • Technology Crossover Ventures in investments including thinkorswim, inc., Liquidnet, Inc., FX Alliance LLC, and Automated Trading Desk, LLC
  • Underwriters, before the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, in offerings including the initial public offerings of China Netcom Group, China Telecom Corp., JetBlue Airways, Kinetic Concepts Inc., McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants, PortalPlayer, Inc., Qimonda AG, Sterlite Industries, and Texas Roadhouse Inc.


Selected Professional & Business Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association
    • Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities, Subcommittee on NASD Corporate Finance Rules
    • Committee on State Regulation of Securities
  • Member, Securities Industry Association, Legal and Compliance Division
  • Past speaking includes lectures and seminars relating to securities law and regulation at:  the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, the New York State Bar Association Committee on Securities Regulation, and the Practising Law Institute and the Investment Dealers Association of Canada


Select Recent Shearman & Sterling Publications

External Publications 

  • Nathan Greene and Russell D. Sacks, “Conflicts of Interest” in Hedge Funds and Prime Brokers (2nd Ed.), Risk Books, 2009.
  • Russell D. Sacks, “Short sale update: SEC extends emergency actions through extraordinary rulemaking; US short selling ban expires,” Journal of Investment Compliance, Vol. 10, No. 1 (March 2009)
  • Charles S. Gittleman and Russell D. Sacks, “The Development of US Regulation of Securities Research,” Journal of Investment Compliance, Vol. 9, No. 2 (May 2008)
  • Charles S. Gittleman and Russell D. Sacks, “SEC adopts Amendments to Rule 105 of Regulation M, including important exceptions for bona fide purchases and for separate accounts,” Journal of Investment Compliance, Vol. 9, No. 1 (January 2008)
  • Charles S. Gittleman and Russell D. Sacks, “NASD publishes initial proposal to change conflict of interest rules relating to underwriting of public offerings in the United States,” Journal of Investment Compliance, Vol. 7, No. 4 (November 2006).
  • Contributor to James Bartos, United States Securities Law: A Practical Guide, 3rd Edition (Kluwer, 2006).
  • Charles S. Gittleman and Russell D. Sacks, “Anti-money laundering regulations: Treasury Department enacts final rules implementing Section 312 of the PATRIOT Act relating to foreign correspondent accounts and private banking accounts,” Journal of Investment Compliance, Vol. 6, No. 4 (March 2006).
  • Charles S. Gittleman and Russell D. Sacks, “SEC Approves NASD and NYSE Uniform Branch Office Definition for Broker-Dealers,” Journal of Investment Compliance, Vol. 6, No. 2 (December 2005).
  • Charles S. Gittleman and Russell D. Sacks, “How Plans to Curb Spinning Could Wrong-Foot Banks,” International Financial Law Review, January 2004 (Cover Article).


Bar Admissions/Qualifications

New York
Ontario