Trace Schmeltz - About the Author

Trace Schmeltz is the founding editor and a regular contributor to the GEE Blog.  As a trial lawyer and student of the capital markets, Trace tries complex financial and corporate cases and counsels his clients in the financial industry and elsewhere as to how to avoid legal and regulatory issues.  Trace has tried securities, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate governance, and complex commercial cases, as well as white collar criminal cases. Throughout the course of his career, he has represented corporations, boards of directors, individual officers, hedge funds and hedge fund managers, investment banks, banks, futures commission merchants, broker-dealers, investment advisers, commodity trading advisors and commodity pool operators.     His practice includes representing individuals and corporations in regulatory actions and investigations under the securities and commodities laws, false claims acts in various states, and the FTC Act. Such matters involve understanding a complex regulatory or legal scheme and developing the facts needed to demonstrate a lack of culpable conduct or to isolate and remediate the work of a lone bad-actor. He assists individuals and entities in planning and implementing a strategic approach with the government—one that may include trial or a well-negotiated settlement. He has worked with CEOs in insider-trading cases, pool operators alleged to have misused client assets, traders alleged to have violated the Commodity Exchange Act, defrauded investors, and companies investigated for alleged false advertising, among many other matters.   In addition, his practice involves counseling companies and individuals seeking to avoid legal or regulatory trouble. For instance, he has worked with cryptocurrency traders and blockchain developers to understand the evolving legal and regulatory landscape.  He has counseled broker-dealers looking to establish a compliance regimen.  And, he has advised proprietary traders regarding swaps trading after Dodd-Frank.   When Trace is not working or blogging, he enjoys riding rollercoasters with his three boys, coaching soccer, and watching sports.