WASHINGTON – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s Michael Post has been promoted to become the self-regulator’s general counsel, replacing chief legal officer Bob Fippinger who will be departing at the end of the month.
Gail Marshall, who previously served as the MSRB’s associate general counsel who oversaw coordination of enforcement matters with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Securities and Exchange Commission, was also promoted to the role of chief compliance officer.
Post, who has held leadership roles in the MSRB’s market regulation department since 2013, will now serve as senior legal counsel and policy advisor to the MSRB’s board. He will also oversee board governance, rulemaking for municipal securities dealers and municipal advisors, regulatory relationships, and legislative affairs.
“Mike has successfully guided the MSRB’s regulatory affairs through an intense period of rulemaking, driven in part by our expanded mandate under the Dodd-Frank Act and the priorities outlined in the 2012 [SEC] Report on the Municipal Securities Market,” said MSRB executive director Lynnette Kelly. “He is a trusted advisor to the board and we are thrilled to have him step into this role as our chief legal officer, Bob Fippinger, departs at the end of the month.”
Fippinger said Post “is highly respected in Washington for his legal skills over a broad range of securities law subjects.”
“During the past several years, people in the municipal securities industry have gained respect for him for his appreciation of the complex and unique aspects of the municipal market,” Fippinger said. “I believe Mike is the right person to assume the general counsel leadership of the MSRB and to advise the Board of Directors on governance issues.”
Prior to joining the MSRB as deputy general counsel in 2013, Post worked more than 10 years in various senior roles at the Securities and Exchange Commission, including as counsel to chairman Christopher Cox and as a senior litigation counsel in the appellate group in the SEC’s Office of the General Counsel. Before his time with the SEC, Post worked in private practice in the Supreme Court and appellate litigation group at Sidley Austin.
He received his law degree from The George Washington University Law School, a master’s of public administration degree in public policy analysis from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Marshall will be responsible for managing the MSRB’s professional qualifications program, enforcement support initiatives, and internal corporate legal activities in her new role.
“Gail is an indispensable resource for fellow securities regulators and MSRB-regulated firms,” Kelly said. “She works tirelessly to support industry needs and facilitate regulatory compliance.”
Marshall has been the MSRB's primary lawyer in providing guidance to enforcement personnel at the SEC and FINRA on the MSRB's interpretation of its rules, according to Fippinger. He added that Marshal has, over the past year, overseen MSRB professional standards for firms and individuals as well as the MSRB's corporate lawyers representing the organization.
“The MSRB is itself a regulated entity, and she provides legal representation of the MSRB when the SEC examines the organization,” Fippinger said. “Gail is uniquely suited to cover a large variety of compliance and corporate issues."
Prior to joining the MSRB, Marshall worked as of counsel at Bingham McCutchen from 2000 through 2015 where she advised dealers and investment advisors on compliance with federal, state and self-regulatory organization regulatory matters, and represented clients in examination and enforcement proceedings. She also served as special counsel to SEC Commissioner Isaac Hunt as well as special counsel in the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets and Division of Enforcement.
Marshall received a master’s of law in securities and financial regulation from Georgetown University Law Center, a law degree from New England School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in management from Westfield State University in Massachusetts.
