The global law firm Jones Day announced today that David E. Aron has joined the Firm as a counsel in its Financial Markets Practice, based in the Washington Office.
Mr. Aron most recently served as Special Counsel in the Division of Data at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where he played a key role in writing a number of Dodd-Frank Act implementing regulations, including the joint CFTC-U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rulemaking further defining the term "swap." He also reviewed a number of innovative, cryptocurrency-related and other financial products and participated in the interdivisional working group that preceded LabCFTC, where he met often with fintech innovators.
"David has nearly three decades of experience working on some of the most complex legal and regulatory issues involving the financial markets, such as fintech, commodity derivatives, and digital assets," said Jayant (Jay) Tambe, who leads Jones Day's Financial Markets Practice. "He is an important force multiplier for us on these emerging areas of the law and we are delighted to welcome him to Jones Day."
At Jones Day, Mr. Aron joins a worldwide team of approximately 320 lawyers in the Financial Markets Practice who advise clients on the full range of cross-border financial transactions, regulatory matters, investigations, and litigation. He will work closely with his colleagues to advise Jones Day clients in large-scale and complex financial transactions in securitization, fintech, debt capital markets, structured finance, and corporate finance in both domestic and international markets.
"David has a distinctive blend of experience as a financial markets lawyer, having worked in private, corporate, and government practice environments," said Noel Francisco, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's Washington Office. "He is a tremendous addition to our strong team of veteran lawyers in the Financial Markets Practice who are based here in Washington, and I look forward to his contributions to the Firm."
Mr. Aron also served as liaison, and provided significant assistance to, the CFTC's Division of Enforcement in multiple swap rules-related investigations and assisted in many other derivatives matters, including those related to CFTC regulation of trading platforms, swap dealers, and swap data repositories. He previously served in a number of positions at the CFTC, including legal advisory posts in the Division of Market Oversight, Office of the Chief Economist, and Office of the General Counsel. During his CFTC tenure, he had several articles published in industry journals and one article recently published in a law review.
Mr. Aron began his career as a derivatives attorney in the Securities Investments unit of the Law Department at a global insurance company, followed by a role supporting the equity, credit, and other derivatives business at a global bank. He went on to work in private practice advising clients on legal, transactional, and regulatory issues related to investment management, energy trading, structured products, and derivatives.
Mr. Aron earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, his MBA degree in Finance from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, and his law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law.