Robert Vaughan Cornish, Jr.

Robert (Bob) Cornish is a securities attorney who handles litigation, regulatory and compliance matters for broker/dealers, investment advisers, hedge funds, commodities firms, institutional investors and family offices in the United States and abroad.

Bob has experience forming hedge funds, fund of funds, private equity funds, commodity pools and structured financial products. He also advises clients on verification and compliance matters regarding AIMR/GIPS and on registration of funds and firms on a global basis. In addition, Bob has prepared compliance manuals and developed compliance programs for broker/dealers, investment advisers and commodities firms. Bob regularly handles litigation and arbitration matters for both firms and investors in the financial markets.

Bob has more than ten years of in-house counsel experience with investment firms. He previously served as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer for Pacific Income Advisers and its affiliates. He also served as General Counsel for a prominent hedge fund manager. This previous experience provides valuable insight for investment management clients with complex business management and marketing matters.

Representative Experience

• Represents institutional investors and firms in matters related to various “crashes” of the financial markets
• Represents investors and firms in commodities/futures related matters
• Represents investor group in connection with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act litigation against “rogue board” of petroleum exploration company in Kazakhstan
• Represents family offices, hedge funds, mutual funds and investment advisers on state and federal securities related compliance matters
• Represents securities and commodities registrants in connection with expungement and disciplinary proceedings
• Represents hedge fund managers and commodity traders in formation of investment vehicles

Professional & Community Activities

• Member, SIFMA Legal & Compliance Division
• Certified Speaker, CFA Institute Speaker’s Bureau (Hedge Fund Due Diligence)
• Industry Arbitrator, FINRA and National Futures Association (Chairperson Trained)
• Former FINRA General Securities Principal (Series 24)
• Member, London Court of International Arbitration

Speeches & Presentations

• Panelist – “Future Regulatory Trends in Hedge Funds,” Opal Alternative Investment Summit, Dana Point, California, December 2008.
• Presenter - "But For the Grace Go I: Lessons from Sullivan v. Harnisch," Atlanta B/D & RIA Continuity Group Conference, November, 2008.
• Presenter - "Global Legal/Regulatory Developments of Interest to Russian Investors," LBS Global Investment Management in Russia Conference, Moscow, Russia, October, 2008.
• Presenter - "Global Legal & Regulatory Developments Concerning Alternative Investments," Marcus Evans Alternative Investments & Funds Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, October, 2008.
• Presenter – “Manager Selection: Evaluating the Business Operations of Investment Managers in Due Diligence Reviews,” CFA Society of New Orleans, July 2008; CFA Society of Mississippi, April 2010 and Austin CFA Institute, October 2010.
• Panelist & Speaker - "Selected Legal/Compliance Trends for Investment Funds & Managers," Opal Group Public Funds Summit, Cancun, Mexico, July, 2008.
• Presenter & Organizer – “Dollar, Euro, Pound, Yen – An Overview of Currency Management for Family Offices,” Family Office Exchange, June, 2008.
• Presenter – "Manager Selection & Philosophy," Opal Group Latin American Private Wealth Conference, Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 2007.

• Dilworth Paxson partner, James Rodgers appeared in a news story on WWL-TV in New Orleans, LA
• Dilworth Paxson Welcomes Securities Lawyer Robert V. Cornish to Its Washington DC Office

• Wall Street Finds Friends Can Help Scrub Records

• IN THE MATTER OF QA3 FINANCIAL CORP.

• Robert Cornish Speaks at Manager Selection: Evaluating the Business Operations of Investment Managers in Due Diligence Reviews