Lecturer Bios
Linde Murphy
Linde Murphy is Chief Compliance Officer for M.E. Allison & Co., Inc., a full service broker/dealer and Texas registered investment adviser. Founded in 1946, the firm also provides municipalities with advisory and underwriting services. In 2012, Ms. Murphy joined Presidio Financial Services as they began the CMA process to join M.E. Allison & Co., Inc. Ms. Murphy started her career in investments on a trading desk in Chicago in 1999 and has held positions in compliance, sales, business development and management.
Ms. Murphy graduated with honors from American University in Washington, D.C. with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration focusing on international finance. In addition to the pertinent industry licenses, Ms. Murphy obtained the CRCP designation in
2014 after attending the FINRA Institute at Wharton on the FINRA Small Firm scholarship.
James S. Wrona, Esq.
James S. Wrona is Vice President and Associate General Counsel for FINRA in Washington, DC. In this role, he is responsible for various policy initiatives, rule changes and litigation regarding the securities industry. Mr. Wrona formerly was associated with the law firm of K&L Gates LLP, where his practice focused on complex federal litigation. He also previously served as a federal law clerk for the Honorable A. Andrew Hauk of the United States District Court for the Central District of California (Los Angeles).
Mr. Wrona is a frequent speaker at securities and litigation conferences and author of numerous law review articles, including The Best of Both Worlds: A Fact-Based Analysis of the Legal Obligations of Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers and a Framework for Enhanced Investor Protection, 68 Bus. Law. 1 (Nov. 2012); The Securities Industry and the Internet: A Suitable Match 2001 Colum. Bus. L. Rev. 601 (2001).
Kay Johnson
Kay Johnson is Chief Compliance Officer of National Securities Corporation and vFinance Investments, Inc., and Vice President and CCO of National Asset Management, Inc. National Securities is a large, full-service independent brokerage firm that provides a broad range of securities brokerage and investment services to retail and institutional clients, as well as corporate finance and investment-banking services to corporations and other businesses. vFinance Investments is a broker-dealer specializing in institutional trading and market making. National Asset Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Ms. Johnson oversees all facets of compliance functions and manages regulatory relationships for these entities, which have more than 750 registered persons combined within more than 140 branches. In addition to maintaining compliance policies and procedures to keep up with ever-changing business lines and regulations, her compliance team conducts and is responsible for AML, continuing education, internal auditing, regulatory inquiries and exams, annual compliance meetings, and designing and implementing effective coordination and communication of compliance initiatives throughout the firm. Ms. Johnson completed the Certified Regulatory Compliance Professional™ (CRCP™) designation at The FINRA Institute at Wharton in 2006. She serves on the FINRA Committee on Continuing Education and is currently serving her second term on the FINRA District Committee. She has also served as a volunteer panelist on an extended disciplinary hearing and as an arbitrator and chairperson for FINRA Dispute Resolution. Previously she served on the FINRA Registration and Qualification Subcommittee.