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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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Legislation that will subject non-US companies that publicly report in the U.S. to short-swing profits liability rules under Section 16 of the Exchange Act is embedded in the annual defense funding bill that has passed in the House and goes to the Senate as early as next week.  The requirement would apply to companies that…

On December 3, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an exemptive order to postpone the compliance deadline for Rule 13f-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by two years.  The new deadline for compliance is January 2, 2028. Rule 13f-2 was adopted in October 2023 and compliance had already been extended…

Glass Lewis, one of the two large proxy advisory firms to institutional investors, announced earlier this month that it would no longer employ standardized “benchmark” voting policies, but instead customize policies on a client-by-client basis.  It explained the shift by citing “[r]apid advances in technology, especially AI, that are enabling highly customized approaches to voting,”…

As of 12:01 am on October 1, 2025, congressionally appropriated funding lapsed for most operations of the United States government. Though the government has shut down, business continues, and market participants that need to interact with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in order to complete a transaction may encounter delays. Below is a…

On September 15, 2025, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission said that it will not recommend enforcement action if Exxon Mobil Corporation implements its proposed Retail Voting Program. See the no-action letter available here. Exxon’s proposed program would allow its retail shareholders to set standing voting…

On September 8, 2025, the Nasdaq Stock Market submitted a proposed rule change to the Securities and Exchange Commission that, if implemented, would allow for the trading and settlement of tokenized securities.  Nasdaq points out that even traditional securities are traded in electronic format, and that it should not be a stretch to allow settlement using…

A three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently remanded two rules adopted by the SEC in 2023 for further consideration – Rule 13f‑2 (the short sale rule) and Rule 10c1‑a (the securities lending rule), stating that the agency did not properly consider the cumulative economic impact of the…

These “frequently asked questions” explain tariffs at a basic level, the Administration’s recently-announced new tariffs, its announced a 90-day “pause” on certain of the new tariffs, and how the new tariffs will impact U.S. companies.    

We start with the basics below, then address what we currently believe is happening and what the near-term future…

Paul Atkins, who has been nominated by President Trump to serve as Chairperson of the Securities & Exchange Commission, last week completed a short confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.  Despite its brevity, the hearing provided meaningful clues to Mr. Atkin’s plans if he is confirmed by the Senate to lead the SEC, which appears reasonably assured to occur.  On April 3, 2025, the Senate Banking Committee approved his nomination with a vote 13 to 11. 

Paul Atkins previously served on the staff of SEC Chairman Richard Breeden, as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, and as a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP following the 2008 financial crisis.  Most recently, he founded and ran a regulatory and compliance consulting company.