Lecturer Bios
Russ Ryan, Esq.
Russ Ryan is Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief of FINRA’s Department of Enforcement in Rockville, MD. Before joining FINRA in March 2015, Mr. Ryan was a partner for 11 years in the Washington, DC office of King & Spalding LLP, where he advised clients in a wide range of securities enforcement matters. From 1994 to 2004, he worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission as a staff attorney, branch chief, and assistant director in the agency’s Division of Enforcement. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ryan served as law clerk to the Honorable Henry Bramwell of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and was a litigation associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from St. John’s University School of Law.
Bradley Bennett, Esq.
J. Bradley Bennett is FINRA’s Executive Vice President of Enforcement. He joined FINRA in January 2011, and is responsible for overseeing FINRA’s Department of Enforcement. In this capacity, Mr. Bennett directs investigating and bringing all formal FINRA disciplinary actions against firms and their associated persons for violations of FINRA rules and federal securities laws. Previously, Mr. Bennett was a partner at the law firm Baker Botts in Washington, DC, where he specialized in financial and securities law violations. Before joining Baker Botts in 2001, he was an attorney at Miller, Cassidy, Larocca & Lewin. Mr. Bennett started his career at the Securities and Exchange Commission as a senior attorney in the Division of Enforcement, with responsibility for cases covering all facets of securities law, including accounting, broker-dealer regulation, tender offers and insider trading. Mr. Bennett received his undergraduate degree from St. Lawrence University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Gerald T. Balacek, Esq.
Jay Balacek is Deputy Head of JPMorgan Chase’s litigation department focusing primarily on government investigations, regulatory enforcement matters, congressional inquiries and internal reviews and investigations. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, he held a similar position at the Bank of New York. Before the Bank of New York, he held several public sector positions including: Assistant United States Attorney (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia); Branch Chief, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement (Washington, D.C.); and Patrol Officer, New York City Police Department. Mr. Balacek received his J.D. from Albany Law School.
Thomas A. Hanusik, Esq.
Tom Hanusik is a partner in Washington D.C. and co-chair of Crowell & Moring's White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Group, which Law360 named a "White Collar Group of the Year" in 2012 and one of ten "FCPA Powerhouses" in 2013. Mr. Hanusik’s practice focuses on white-collar defense, SEC Enforcement, FINRA Enforcement and internal investigations. He defends publicly traded and privately held companies, senior executives, board members and politicians during internal and government investigations, criminal and civil trials, regulatory enforcement actions, and appeals. Mr. Hanusik has over twenty years of trial and appellate experience. He also leads teams conducting internal investigations on behalf of companies, boards of directors and board committees, as well as advising corporate clients on remedial measures, compliance programs and training. Mr. Hanusik's recent engagements include representing institutions and executives in matters involving alleged violations of federal securities laws including financial fraud, insider trading, FCPA and Section 5 violations, AML requirements, federal and state tax offenses, public corruption and violations of U.S. export controls and sanctions regulations. InsideCounsel's "Crisis Rolodex" magazine named Mr. Hanusik one of the "The Best Lawyers to Call in a Worst-Case Scenario" for a white collar investigation in its "Crisis Rolodex" in 2007. In 2013, he was named to SecuritiesDocket's inaugural "Enforcement 40" list of the best and brightest and SEC Enforcement attorneys in the industry. Mr. Hanusik is also Chambers ranked in white collar & government investigations where comments about him note, "He is very highly regarded for his extensive knowledge of all white-collar matters," for being "very much attuned to which arguments will work," and for always "genuinely having his client's best interests at heart." He has also been consistently recognized in The Best Lawyers in America since 2008 in the areas of white-collar criminal defense and securities regulation. Mr. Hanusik’s government experience includes U.S. Department of Justice: Criminal Division, Fraud Section-Trial Attorney (1998-2003); Senior Counsel for Securities Fraud (2003-2004); Assistant Chief (2004-2006); the U.S. Department of Justice-Prosecutor, Enron Task Force (2002-2003); and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission-Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement (1994-1998). He received his degree from Fordham University and his law degree from Duke University School of Law.