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Kiran Somashekara, a member in Wolff & Samson’s Financial Services Litigation and Investigations Group, practices in the areas of securities regulation and enforcement, litigation and arbitration, broker/dealer compliance counseling and general commercial litigation. His securities practice includes advising the firm’s clients in matters involving regulation and enforcement, and representing banks and securities firms in responding to grand jury subpoenas, investigations, inquiries, and industry sweeps conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and state regulators. Kiran also advises clients on regulatory, compliance and employment issues relating to internal investigations of their employees.

Kiran’s securities litigation and arbitration practice includes the representation of broker-dealers, their affiliates and employees in clearing firm litigation, hedge fund litigation, customer complaint arbitrations, enforcement of restrictive covenants, counseling and defense of new hires, promissory note enforcement and expungement actions. His general commercial litigation practice involves representing business entities in various commercial disputes in federal and state courts.

The issues Kiran regularly handles for the firm’s financial services clients include the following:

• Advertising and marketing materials
• Books and Records
• Employee embezzlement
• Employee dishonesty and cheating
• Employee recruiting and raiding
• Fee-based brokerage accounts
• Insider trading
• Privacy violations
• Market timing
• Unauthorized trading/Discretion
• Churning
• Penny stock trading
• Supervision

Kiran graduated with honors from the George Washington University Law School, where he served as a legal research and writing instructor and was a member of the Public Contract Law Journal and the Trial Court Board. He earned his B.A. with high honors, and distinction as a Henry Rutgers Scholar, from Rutgers University. Prior to joining the firm, he was law clerk to Presiding Judge Stephen Skillman, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. In 2011, Kiran was listed as a "Rising Star" in New Jersey Super Lawyers.