Enforcement Overtime

Braeden Anderson is on his way to becoming the “Mr. Beast” of securities law. In four months, Braeden has grown his new YouTube channel on SEC enforcement and securities law issues to well over 100,000 subscribers—and he has his sights set on reaching one million in the very near future.Braeden joins Bruce to discuss his use of YouTube as a marketing tool for his practice, and the tactics and strategies that have helped him grow his YouTube channel so quickly. He also offers details on how this strategy has paid off so far, and his very ambitious goals going forward.Braeden and Bruce also discuss Braeden’s use of AI in his law practice, as well as in the marketing and operations of his law firm, Anderson P.C.Finally, Braeden and Bruce discuss Braeden’s unusual path to becoming a lawyer—which began with him being one of the best young basketball players in the world until a near-fatal accident changed his course completely. Links:Braeden Anderson’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AndersonSecuritiesLawA College Basketball Player Who Is Also a Law School Student (New York Times, December 12, 2015)

Kurt Wolfe of the law firm Quinn Emanuel (and co-host of the in Securities podcast) joins Brucefor Securities Docket’s 2024 Year in Review!Looking back on a crazy year, Bruce and Kurt give their takes on:Most amusing quote or development of the yearUnexpected event of the yearInteresting discovery of the yearSEC decision/regulation of the yearSEC case of the yearSEC trial of the yearCriminal case of the yearSupreme Court case of the yearBook of the yearPodcast episode of the yearNews article/column of the yearReporter of the yearPersonnel move of the yearIn MemoriamFailure Museum: https://www.wsj.com/business/entrepreneurship/failure-museum-success-Fool Me Once: https://www.amazon.com/Fool-Me-Once-Trillion-Dollar-Industry/dp/1647823919/ref=asc_df_1647823919Prof G podcast with Michael Lewis: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-prof-g-pod-with-scott-galloway/id1498802610?i=1000680116079John Reed Stark column, Dec. 8, 2024:https://x.com/JohnReedStark/status/1865800033058058653

“I mean, honestly, I have not seen anything like this.”Rachel Nonaka, a top legal recruiter at Macrae who focuses on placing senior SEC Enforcement officials with major law firms, joins Bruce to discuss the extraordinary state of the legal market as we begin 2025: “It is truly remarkable how many phone calls we are getting and how many candidates we have on the market right now. I mean, honestly, I have not seen anything like this,” Rachel says. Rachel, who herself spent over a decade in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement before joining Macrae, discusses the flood of candidates who, with the Trump 2.0 Administration imminent, are looking to leave the government now to join the private sector. She also addresses the continued high level of demand from law firms, even after a number of very high-profile hires of SEC Enforcement officials in the past few months.Rachel walks through the types of SEC experience and seniority law firms are looking for, and which cities currently have the highest demand for lawyers leaving the SEC. She also addresses recent statements from top execs at Coinbase that they will not retain any law firms that hire "anti-crypto government lawyers," and whether that is impacting the market.Finally, Rachel discusses other types of government experience (DOJ, FINRA, PCAOB) that is, or is not, in demand now, as well as the state of the lateral partner market and what size “book of business” law firms are looking for from lateral candidates.Rachel Nonaka – Bio: https://www.macrae.com/rachel-nonakaArticle: “Government Attorneys Are Flooding the Job Market, But Is There Room in Big Law? (National Law Journal, December 18, 2024): https://www.law.com/2024/12/18/government-attorneys-are-flooding-the-job-market-but-is-there-room-in-big-law

Crypto-skeptic and former SEC enforcement official John Reed Stark appeared on the December 8, 2024 episode of 60 Minutes to make the case against Big Crypto. Then all hell broke loose. Bruce is joined by John to discuss how John ended up on 60 Minutes in the first place and the craziness that ensued. Bruce takes John through the top five criticisms/ “mean tweets” that the XRP Army directed at John after the program aired, and gets his detailed response to each. They also discuss some intriguing high-level personnel moves made recently by SEC Chair Gary Gensler, and why John calls these “lame duck” moves the “first reverse Saturday Night Massacre.” Finally, John offers some interesting predictions for what to expect from incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins on Day One.