Robert A. Schwartz

Partner

Drawing on his time at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rob Schwartz counsels clients on rules, regulations, and enforcement actions undertaken by the agency as well as litigation involving the CFTC and more broadly affecting those in the derivatives markets. Most recently serving as the CFTC’s general counsel, he was the agency’s chief legal advisor and led its Office of the General Counsel. He has a deep understanding of the Commodity Exchange Act, CFTC rules and regulations, and National Futures Association regulations, and applies this knowledge and experience to traditional products and markets as well as to emerging markets for digital assets.

At the CFTC for more than a decade, prior to becoming general counsel, Rob served as the agency’s chief litigator in the role of deputy general counsel for litigation, enforcement, and adjudication. He successfully represented the CFTC in significant cases, including several lawsuits under the Administrative Procedure Act challenging the agency’s implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and other agency actions; appeals in enforcement actions; and crisis litigation. Rob was additionally involved in the CFTC’s rulemaking to implement Dodd-Frank and numerous other aspects of the Commodity Exchange Act, as well as entity registration, product approval, no-action letters, and interpretive guidance.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Rob spent several years in private practice at another international law firm, primarily representing businesses and individuals in enforcement actions and investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and other government agencies, as well as in private civil actions at all levels of the federal judicial system covering a broad range of business issues.

New York University School of Law, 2003, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
Tufts University, 1998, B.A., political science

District of Columbia
US Supreme Court
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit
US District Court for the District of Columbia
US District Court for the District of Massachusetts
US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Clerkship to Judge Amalya L. Kearse of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (August 2003 - July 2004)

Listed, Law360, Rising Star, Securities (2015)