Strategic legal guidance empowers you and your RIA firm to thrive
Shumaker brings a deep understanding and extensive experience supporting Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firms and their partners through every stage of inception, transition, growth, and succession. When disputes arise, we aggressively assert, protect, and defend our clients' interests and reputations. Our multidisciplinary team delivers practical, timely counsel to help RIAs navigate the complex legal, regulatory, and business challenges unique to the industry.
Our Services for RIA firms:
- Transition Counseling: Strategic guidance for advisor transitions, including risk assessment, strategy, document drafting, and rapid litigation defense, if needed. The transition is overseen by attorneys specializing in financial industry transitions and dispute resolution to support successful transition.
- Litigation: Rapid and effective engagement in disputes, including advisor migration, restrictive covenants, and other RIA-related matters.
- Corporate Formation and Mergers & Acquisitions: Efficient entity formation, operating agreements, and extensive experience negotiating and drafting asset purchase agreements for RIA buyers or sellers.
- Succession Planning: Succession planning for a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is the strategic process of preparing the firm for a future transition in leadership and ownership, whether planned (like retirement) or unexpected (like death or disability). The primary goal is to ensure business continuity, preserve the firm’s value, and provide a seamless transition for clients and employees.
- Regulatory: Advice regarding registrations and navigating complex regulatory matters involving state and national entities.
- Tax Services: Shumaker's Taxation team is highly knowledgeable about RIA-specific issues and can be quickly involved in matters related to corporate documents, asset purchase agreements, and structuring.
- Employment Law: Guidance on hiring, onboarding, compliance, and custom employment agreements, as well as terminations, handbooks, and development and collection of transition and retention loans, plus training and ongoing HR support.
- Real Estate: Support for office acquisition, leasing, build-outs, and landlord-tenant matters, with national experience for fast, practical solutions.
- Data Privacy, Data Breach & Cybersecurity: Proactive counsel on data protection, breach response, and compliance with evolving regulations.
- Trusts & Estates: Review and advice regarding trusts to hold equity and related counseling.
- Intellectual Property (IP) and Trademark: Review and advice regarding IP protection and registration of trademarks.
- Immigration: Review and advice regarding immigration and visa issues.
- Lobbying & government affairs through Shumaker Advisors at the state and federal level.
