MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: NEIL BARITZ
MEET NEIL BARITZ, ESQ. OF FSDA ADVISORY MEMBER BARITZ & COLMAN LLP.
We are speaking today with Neil Baritz of Baritz & Colman LLP, a law firm with offices in Boca Raton, Florida, and New York, New York.
Neil, please tell us a little bit about yourself
I was raised in Roslyn, New York, got my bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology at the University of Rochester and graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1983. I founded Baritz & Colman LLP in 1996 after having practiced law in New York and Florida. I have spent my entire professional life in the financial services industry. My career began while I was in law school, working in EF Hutton’s Legal Department, where I became in-house counsel upon graduation. I then served as General Counsel to Ehrlich Bober & Company, a publicly traded broker-dealer and registered investment advisor. I moved my family to Florida in 1993, where I worked for two well-known South Florida law firms handling securities arbitration and litigation, before joining one of my clients as the firm’s in-house corporate securities and litigation counsel. In 1996, Baritz & Colman opened its doors for business, where my primary focus has been on the financial services industry.
Tell us a little about your current legal practice and the types of clients that you represent.
My practice is almost entirely focused on the financial services industry. We represent broker-dealers, registered investment advisors, clearing and custodial firms, and their respective associated personnel. I am regularly engaged in matters ranging from entity formation and registration to arbitration and litigation, and from employment to regulatory matters. On behalf of the Firm’s clients, I have represented the industry and its associated persons before AAA and FINRA arbitration panels, state and federal regulators (including Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, the SEC, and FINRA) throughout the country. On the broker-dealer side, our clients include full-service and discount firms, large and small, and on the investment advisory side, we represent newly formed entities at their inception as well as established firms with multi-billion dollars under management. Part and parcel to both the broker-dealer and investment advisory aspects of our practice, we are regularly engaged to assist our clients with ever increasing licensing and registration challenges. Because of the breadth of our financial services practice, I am regularly asked to present at client and industry conferences around the country, principally in the area of best practices.
How does Baritz & Colman’s New York Office fit into the picture?
While Florida has been home for almost 27 years, I confess to being a New Yorker and remain a diehard Giants fan. On the business side, we have found that whether it’s on the financial services front or in the context of our other practice areas (real estate, corporate, commercial litigation and trust and estates), it’s a perfect fit. Our New York team perfectly complements our Florida business and adds depth to what we are able to offer our clients and collaborative solutions to their challenges.
Why is it important for Baritz & Colman to be a member of the FSDA?
Alex Sarafoglu “recruited” me several years ago, telling me that I needed to get involved with FSDA – and he was right. Since joining, I have found the work that FSDA does, be it education, outreach, or industry advocacy, to be first-rate and committed. For the last several years, I have chaired the Education Committee where I have been involved with a committed team in presenting topical agendas with highly regarded experts in their respective fields. What I find most rewarding about FSDA is its collegiality and the shared goal of advancing industry objectives, while providing education to our membership as well as the public-at-large.
I know that the lawyers in your firm are very involved locally in Boca Raton. Please tell us a little bit about that involvement.
Yes. Our lawyers are involved both at the civic and the charitable levels. One of our lawyers is an elected member of the Boca Raton City Council, while other members are very active with organizations like the local Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Association of Women Lawyers, to name a few. My family and I are very involved with the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, one of the most highly regarded such organizations in the country. Through the Federation, we do great work in both local and international arenas. Our particular interest is providing a “safety net” to the community where essential services are not otherwise available or its needs met. To say it’s rewarding is an understatement!
Neil, thanks for taking time to speak with us today.
