The Legal Mind Behind Futures Industry Landmarks, Part Four

In the final segment of the John Lothian Profiles interview, veteran attorney William Nissen shared his thoughts on more landmark cases and the evolution of CFTC enforcement practices and their impact on the industry.

Nissen ended up representing Newedge in a FINRA arbitration rather than an NFA arbitration after a case involving two different professional advisors and Newedge clearing trades on the London Metal Exchange. When the primary advisor, who had allocated money to the other manager, was upset with trading losses, he sued the clearing firm, Newedge. The customer agreement offered arbitration with either the NFA or FINRA, the latter as a result of doubly regulated products like single stock futures. However, since the two-year period for the NFA arbitration lapsed as defined in the agreement, the customer selected FINRA even though the products did not involve security futures.

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The Legal Mind Behind Futures Industry Landmarks, Part Three

In the third segment of the John Lothian Profiles interview, veteran attorney William Nissen shared several more landmark cases that have significantly influenced commodities and futures law, including the key struggle of publishers of Commodity Trading Advice to avoid registration.

In a significant case that highlighted the tension between regulatory oversight and First Amendment rights, Nissen represented a publisher, Commodity Trend Service, in a dispute with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over the applicability of Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) registration and anti-fraud provisions to publishers.

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Client Clearing – The Direction of Travel

A recently proposed Futures Industry Association (FIA) European Trustee Model (EATM) to facilitate client clearing in European jurisdictions indicates the industry’s desire to improve clearing brokers’ profitability and facilitate access to clearing for derivatives end-users. At the same time, upcoming Basel 3.1 changes (also known as Basel IV) and, in the United States (US), Basel III ‘Endgame’ proposals, if implemented without amendments, will significantly increase costs of providing access to clearing for both European banks and US-based Globally Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) affiliated Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs).

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Equity Index Futures: Futures Discovery EP 15

In episode 15 of Futures Discovery, we’re embarking on a deep dive into the historical evolution, corrected use, and current impact of circuit breakers, a critical element shaping the course of futures trading.

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The Legal Mind Behind Futures Industry Landmarks, Part Two

Veteran Attorney William Nissen Tells of Legal Cases in John Lothian Profiles Interview

In part two of his interview with John Lothian News, William Nissen, a seasoned commodities and futures lawyer, shared insights from his decades-long career, highlighting more landmark cases that shaped the industry’s legal landscape.

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The Legal Mind Behind Futures Industry Landmarks

Bill Nissen, an attorney, started in the world of futures and derivatives law helping Heinold Commodities collect customer trading debits back at a time when risk management in the futures industry was less developed than today. That early work for one of the largest retail futures brokers spawned a career in futures and derivatives law that has seen him participate in some of the industry biggest cases. Nissen talked to JLN for this John Lothian Profiles interview about his career and the cases that made it. 

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Equity Index Futures: Futures Discovery EP 14

In episode 14 of Futures Discovery, we’re diving into the intricate world of equity index futures, a topic that can shape the flow of your futures trading journey.

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