Lecturer Bios
Amy C. Sochard
Amy C. Sochard is the Senior Director in FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department. The department protects investors by ensuring broker-dealer members of FINRA use advertisements and other sales communications that are fair, balanced and not misleading. Ms. Sochard leads the department’s investigative and targeted examination activities. She also serves as liaison to other FINRA departments involved in examinations, including the departments of Enforcement and Member Regulation.
In addition, Ms. Sochard oversees staff dedicated to the routine review of advertisements and other sales communications filed with the department by broker-dealers. Ms. Sochard assists in the development of rules and interpretations for communications with the public and social media, and she routinely speaks at industry events on these topics. Prior to joining FINRA’s predecessor (NASD),
Ms. Sochard worked with a real estate syndication firm in Washington, DC. She received a bachelor’s degree with distinction in English from the University of Virginia and studied poetry writing at Columbia University.
Pamela Ellis, Esq.
Pamela Ellis is Associate General Counsel for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. She provides legal expertise and support associated with the development of regulations governing municipal market professionals, including dealers and municipal advisors. Before joining the MSRB, Ms. Ellis was counsel at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP (Sutherland), where she worked for more than 15 years. At Sutherland, she advised financial institutions on the organization and operation of Section 529 college tuition savings plans; she also advised financial institutions on the development, disclosure, and administration of innovative life insurance products, including variable, indexed and fixed products. Further, Ms. Ellis served on the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Division of Investment Management. Ms. Ellis earned an A.B. from Wellesley College as a Wellesley College Scholar with Honors in Political Science and a juris doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law.
Christopher Kelly
Christopher Kelly serves as the Regional Chief Counsel for the North Region of FINRA’s Enforcement Department. As Regional Chief Counsel, Mr. Kelly oversees the work of the Enforcement Staff in the Boston, New Jersey, and Philadelphia District Offices. Prior to joining FINRA, Mr. Kelly served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. In that role, Mr. Kelly supervised more than 35 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Office’s white collar units: Economic Crimes, National Security, Healthcare and Government Fraud, and Cybercrime.
Prior to his promotion to the position of Deputy Chief, Mr. Kelly served as the Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he oversaw the Office’s prosecution of complex economic crimes, including crimes involving insider trading, securities fraud, tax evasion, bank fraud, corporate fraud and embezzlement. Mr. Kelly also served as the lead prosecutor on several complex matters, including U.S. v. Tiger Asia, one of the first ever criminal prosecutions of a hedge fund. Mr. Kelly graduated from Duke University and Harvard Law School. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was an associate at the law firm Dechert LLP. Mr. Kelly also clerked for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey.
