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Frank Zarb

Frank Zarb is a partner in our Corporate Department and a member of the Capital Markets Group, where he concentrates his practice on equity finance and a wide range of regulatory matters under U.S. federal securities laws.

He counsels public and private companies, hedge funds and family offices, and market intermediaries and other financial institutions on a wide range of transactional and securities regulatory compliance matters including:

  • Equity investments and dispositions in public and private companies
  • Public company registration, disclosures and preparation of periodic reports
  • Tender offers, equity lines, proxy contests, SPACs, and other highly regulated transactions
  • Regulation M, Regulation SHO, Forms 13F and 13H, insider trading and other trading issues
  • Corporate governance and stock exchange listing standards
  • Federal and state proxy requirements as well as shareholder proposals and communications
  • Regulation of financial intermediaries, including trading of public and private equity, and complex and novel trading structures
  • Advocating with the SEC on behalf of a market intermediary related to back-office processing matters.

Frank’s practice is both domestic and international, beginning with his experience in senior positions with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a member of the staff of the SEC’s Office of International Corporate Finance, Frank advised U.S. companies seeking to do business in the EU, Asia and the Middle East, as well as companies from those regions doing business in the U.S., or otherwise seeking to comply with the U.S. securities laws.  In the Office of Chief Counsel, he focused on federal proxy rules, and supervised a team of staff members that provided guidance in the course of proxy season.

Prior to joining the Firm, Frank was deputy general counsel/chief securities counsel for Bristol Myers Squibb Co. in a new position required by the SEC. Prior to joining Bristol-Myers, Frank was a corporate partner with Morgan, Lewis & Brockius.

Social Responsibility

Frank is a Trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and he provides significant pro bono assistance to non-profit social service institutions in the Washington, D.C. area.

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On May 19, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed significant amendments to the public company reporting framework that would simplify the current filer status regime and substantially expand the availability of scaled disclosure accommodations. The current framework requires companies to annually reevaluate their filer status (large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, non-accelerated filer) and…

On May 19, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a sweeping set of rule and form amendments intended to modernize and simplify the registered securities offering process for public companies, registered closed-end funds (RCEFs), business development companies (BDCs), and other products. The proposal, if adopted, would be the most significant update to the…

The SEC is reported to be planning to issue rule proposals creating a regulatory framework for trading of tokenized, digital securities of publicly-traded companies that are issued by third parties unaffiliated with the issuer.  The tokens would be similar to “phantom stock,” representing digital representations of the securities, but would have no equity or voting…

On May 5, 2026, the SEC proposed to permit public companies to file semiannual reports instead of quarterly reports. If adopted, companies subject to Exchange Act Section 13(a) or 15(d) that currently file quarterly reports on Form 10-Q could elect to file one semiannual report on new Form 10-S and one annual report on Form…

On April 16, 2026, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued an exemptive order permitting certain tender offers for equity securities to remain open for as few as 10 business days rather than the current 20-business-day minimum under Exchange Act Rules 13e-4(f)(1)(i) and 14e-1(a). The Division said the relief is intended to address market inefficiencies…

The SEC’s Division of Trading & Markets today issued a conditional no-action position that it would not object if compliant “user interfaces” designed to facilitate the execution of crypto securities transactions operate without registering as broker-dealers.  In plain English, the staff’s position applies to interfaces operating in a neutral fashion by providing mechanics to facilitate…

There has been movement forward on the Clarity Act, and the SEC and CFTC have anticipated its passage by pre-emptively completing a “memorandum of understanding” that would be required by the Act, and by beginning the “rulemaking” process with a joint interpretive release distinguishing between “investment contract assets” regulated by the SEC and “digital commodities”…

Prediction markets now offer contracts tied directly to public company events—including stock price movements, earnings call language, regulatory outcomes, corporate announcements, and management decisions. These contracts are typically structured as event-based instruments rather than traditional securities. But for public companies, the practical question is straightforward: If employees are prohibited from trading securities on inside information, can they still bet on it?

The SEC staff has continued to update, refine, and supplement the staff’s longstanding Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (CD&Is) at a rapid pace to reflect the SEC’s current priorities. Earlier this year, the SEC posted new Securities Act CDIs regarding “integration” issues generally in connection with exempt offerings under Regulation D (the full list is available…

In our February 20, 2026 client alert titled “New Reporting Obligations for Directors and Officers of Foreign Private Issuers,” we outlined the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act (HFIAA) and the new reporting requirements under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act for the officers and directors of foreign private issuers (“FPIs”) registered with the…