McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Focuses practice on counseling commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, other derivatives and commodity professionals and private investment fund managers on operational, regulatory and compliance matters. 

Jake regularly advises hedge and private equity fund managers with respect to futures and swaps trading; the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s exemptions, registration and reporting requirements; and compliance with the requirements of the National Futures Association, as well as CFTC and exchange rules concerning OTC and listed derivatives.

He conducts training sessions with respect to regulatory compliance matters and helps guide firms through regulatory examinations. Jake also has expertise in the formation and ongoing operational needs of hedge funds and other private investment funds and provides guidance on a variety of regulatory, compliance and risk management issues related to the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Jake rejoined the firm from T. Rowe Price where he was vice president and managing counsel after serving as special counsel at Schulte for 6 years. Prior to Schulte, Jake was at the CFTC, where he was special counsel in the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight. At the CFTC, he drafted new regulations and worked on a broad range of matters related to CFTC registration and compliance.

John Nowak is the co-lead of McDermott Will & Schulte's SEC enforcement practice. He represents private equity funds, hedge funds, broker-dealers, corporations, boards of directors and their principals and executives in internal investigations, government inquiries (by the SEC, DOJ, FINRA, CFTC and others) and bet-the-company litigation involving allegations of fraud, accounting disclosures, sales practice abuse, securities violations, conflicts of interest, related party transactions and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

John also provides advice to investment advisers related to trading compliance, insider trading, examination concerns, and thorny disclosure issues, and John regularly counsels public and private companies on compliance procedures, enforcement response initiatives and proactive strategies designed to mitigate legal, regulatory and reputational risks.

He defends large-scale investigations of white collar and securities crimes in multiple domestic and foreign jurisdictions, has 22 federal white collar and securities trials, and has argued more than a dozen cases before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

His significant representations have included a vast array of issues, including false or misleading disclosure allegations, insider trading, best execution, PIPE financings, breaches of fiduciary duties, adviser conflicts of interest, and accounting fraud.

Clients and government officials alike hold John in high esteem, and he is ranked in Chambers USA, with clients commenting that John is a “life adviser” and someone who is “knowledgeable, proactive and has good client service.”

John also has unique experience as a supervisor with the government, having previously served as the Deputy Chief of the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and as a Branch Chief in the Enforcement Division of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.