Senior Blue Sky & Securities Compliance Program Lead Associate

Sidley Austin LLP; New York (NY); On-site; USD 230,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Sidley Austin LLP seeks a senior leader to head its established blue sky and securities filing program. You will lead modernization, standardization, and expansion of federal/state exempt offering filings for private funds and other issuers, including Form D, Form ID, and state notices.

Responsibilities include staffing, risk management, and liaison with regulators; you will guide NSMIA exemptions, oversee legal staff, and evolve workflows with EDGAR and NASAA EFD.

Qualifications

• Hands-on blue sky experience, ideally with private funds and Regulation D offerings.
• Experience leading, scaling, or significantly improving a blue sky or securities compliance function.

Responsibilities

• Lead and expand the blue sky program for Sidley Austin's funds, venture, and corporate practices.
• Standardize templates, strengthen QC, reduce manual effort, and assess new tech like EDGAR/NASAA workflows.
• Oversee all federal/state exempt filings for private funds and other issuers (Form D, Form ID, state notices).
• Develop and execute a roadmap to broaden coverage across fund strategies and geographies.
• Provide guidance on NSMIA exemptions and preemption, resolve multi-state issues.
• Supervise, train, and mentor the staff attorney and paralegals; recruit as the program grows.
• Strengthen risk controls and monitor regulatory developments; maintain regulator relationships.
• Serve as primary contact on blue sky matters, gather feedback, and refine service models and budgets.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Mentoring staff

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Tools

EDGAR

NASAA EFD

Job description

Overview

• Lead, modernize, and expand Sidley Austin's established blue sky and securities filing program, which supports the firm’s investment funds, venture, and corporate practices by handling a substantial volume of federal and state exempt offering filings for private funds and other issuers.
• Assume leadership of the existing operation, ensuring accuracy and reliability while assessing current workflows, staffing, documentation, and controls to identify and prioritize improvements.
• Develop and execute a roadmap to upgrade the program by standardizing templates, tightening quality-control standards, reducing manual effort, and evaluating/implementing new technology, including EDGAR and NASAA EFD workflows.
• Expand the program's coverage to additional fund strategies, offering types, geographies, and filing needs, developing a plan to scale capacity as demand from the firm's funds practice grows.
• Oversee all federal and state exempt offering filings for private funds and other issuers, including Form ID, Form D (initial, amendment, and annual), state notice filings, fee calculations, and renewals under Regulation D and related exemptions.
• Provide expert guidance on state securities law exemptions and preemption under NSMIA, resolving complex multi-state questions arising from fund offerings.
• Supervise, train, and mentor the staff attorney and paralegals, overseeing team development and leading recruitment for additional members as the program grows.
• Strengthen risk management controls, monitor and communicate state and federal regulatory developments affecting exempt offerings and blue sky compliance, and maintain relationships with state securities regulators, EDGAR filer support, and NASAA staff.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for Sidley attorneys on blue sky matters, gather feedback, present the program to clients, and refine service models, staffing plans, and budgets.
• The role requires substantial hands-on blue sky experience, ideally with private funds and Regulation D offerings, and demonstrated experience leading, scaling, or significantly improving a blue sky or securities compliance function at a law firm or similar organization.
• Required technical knowledge includes Form D, Form ID, Rule 506 and Rule 701 requirements, state notice-filing regimes, and proficiency with EDGAR and the NASAA electronic filing depository; familiarity with the Investment Advisers Act and Investment Company Act is a plus.