Hilary Sunghee Seo
Partner
New York
Hilary Sunghee Seo
Partner
New York
Contact details
Hilary serves as counsel to broker-dealers, investment banks, trading platforms (traditional and cryptocurrency), and FinTech firms, as well as to private funds, wealth management firms, and private banks, on a wide range of domestic and cross-border regulatory matters.
This includes advising on SEC broker-dealer and investment adviser regulation and on FINRA rules relating to registration and licensing, supervision and governance, business conduct, distribution and marketing, trading, custody, and related compliance obligations. Hilary has in-depth knowledge and broad experience advising as to complex and novel cross-product and cross-jurisdictional matters, often advising across the fragmented patchwork of regulations covering the financial markets in close collaboration with her colleagues in the A&O network. She also regularly advises on regulatory matters in connection with significant M&A and capital markets transactions. She has advocated and obtained regulatory guidance and relief from the SEC, FINRA, CFTC and NFA for clients.
Prior to joining Allen & Overy, Hilary practiced as a transactional and financial regulatory attorney at leading U.S. law firms. In between her law firm tenures, she spent several years co-directing a legal services project that provides free legal services to immigrant survivors of domestic violence, trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence. She is a native of Korea and speaks Korean fluently.
Qualifications
Professional
Registered Foreign Lawyer, England and Wales, 2024
Admitted: Bar of the State of New York
Academic
Columbia University School of Law, New York, Juris Doctor
Journal: Columbia Law Review
Harvard University, Economics, magna cum laude
Other noteworthy experience
Advising:
- Several financial institutions in seeking and obtaining regulatory approvals in connection with acquisitions or divestitures of asset and wealth management businesses
- Several financial institutions on SEC and CFTC regulatory issues in connection with their investments in technology and digital assets businesses
- A global financial services firm on FINRA and SEC regulatory issues in connection with its acquisition of a leading alternative trading system (ATS)
- Several wealth management firms in connection with the formation of a new broker-dealer and registration with FINRA
- A leading market maker in connection with its global digital assets initiative
- A crypto exchange in connection with a new swap/security-based swap business initiative
- Multiple financial institutions on security-based swap dealer implementation issues, including on the regulations for margin for uncleared swaps and security-based swaps and substituted compliance
- A global markets infrastructure firm on SEC clearing agency requirements relating to security-based swaps
- Several non-U.S. private banks and wealth management businesses on a wide range of matters related to the distribution and marketing of wealth management products and services
- Several financial institutions on regulatory issues in connection with the outsourcing of middle- and back-office functions
Qualifications
Professional
Registered Foreign Lawyer, England and Wales, 2024
Admitted: Bar of the State of New York
Academic
Columbia University School of Law, New York, Juris Doctor
Journal: Columbia Law Review
Harvard University, Economics, magna cum laude
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