Cahill Introduces Trading and Markets Practice With New Hire

Cahill Gordon & Reindel is launching a new trading and markets practice with the former general counsel of HSBC’s securities team as it embarks on a new chapter of growth.

Frank Weigand, former general counsel at HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and alternative trading system Oasis Pro Markets, is joining Cahill as the chair of its new practice in New York. Weigand will work with clients on financial services matters, including regulatory and transactional matters related to securities, commodities and digital assets.

“Cahill has a reputation as being extremely skilled and valued advisors to clients and the opportunity to join them and expand the firm’s capabilities into an area that will bring even more value to clients was a fantastic opportunity,” Weigand said in an interview.

Weigand’s addition comes at a time of transition for the storied Wall Street firm that has seen several partner departures over the last year. Herbert Washer, co-chair of Cahill’s executive committee, is set to become the firm’s sole leader in January 2024, succeeding its longtime chair William Hartnett.

The leadership transition is expected to be seamless, and the firm will look for areas of growth going forward, as it has with Weigand’s addition and others, said David Januszewski, Cahill executive committee member and co-chair of its antitrust litigation

Earlier this year, the firm added King & Spalding’s global chair of life sciences patent litigation practice Gerald Flattmann as well as Joel Moss, former co-head of Shearman & Sterling’s financial restructuring and insolvency practice. Cahill has also seen several practice heads depart to other firms, including former executive committee co-chair Jennifer Ezring and corporate partner Corey Wright who joined Latham & Watkins and Elai Katz, head of its antitrust practice, who jumped to McDermott Will & Emery.

“We’re certainly looking for opportunities, but we’re careful and conservative,” said Januszewski, who will become chair of Cahill’s litigation department after Washer steps into the lead role.

Cahill, a New York-founded firm that specializes in capital markets, banking and finance, already has a busy practice in the crypto space and Weigand will advise clients on the issues of regulatory scrutiny that arise, a need that has consistently grown over the years, Januszewski said.

Weigand “knows how regulators think and what they’re expecting and what they’re looking for,” he said.

Weigand, a former Davis Polk & Wardwell associate, has spent over 20 years in the finance space and has extensive experience advising registered entities on their trading and markets activities, including broker-dealer and securities regulation. He also previously served as the Americas Head of Legal for HSBC’s Global Markets division.

Having worked in financial institutions and being close to the regulators will provide clients with an inside perspective as how regulators look at organizations and how regulations should be applied to these businesses as they grow, Weigand said.

“There’s a client demand, there’s interest, and there’s technology out there that will be beneficial to consumers and beneficial to the market so what they want to know is how can we actually structure our business in a way that will be regulatorily compliant,” he said.