Michael McDonald is Of Counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He is knowledgeable about the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and FINRA rules and regulation, and regularly provides regulatory counseling services to clients in these industries.

Michael focuses on providing legal and compliance support for investment advisers, investment companies, and broker-dealers to assist them in navigating financial services regulation, examinations, and enforcement proceedings.

Michael previously was in-house counsel and a senior compliance analyst at an RIA and a fund manager with approximately $80 billion in assets under management. He also worked in-house at a dually registered broker-dealer/investment adviser, served as regulatory affairs counsel at the Financial Services Institute, and spent time working with the Investment Adviser Association and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC's) Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets. Michael has significant, hands-on experience managing compliance programs, including drafting regulatory filings, managing and monitoring a code of ethics, and reviewing and approving marketing materials, as well as responding to requests from clients and regulators. In addition, he has commodities experience assisting clients in registering with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA), and has provided his insight to Financial Advisor IQ. His thought pieces on investment adviser and broker-dealer compliance have been published by Law360 and NYU’s Program on Corporate Compliance.

Michael is practicing virtually in North Carolina. He is admitted in Maryland and Washington, D.C. He is not admitted in North Carolina and therefore not authorized to practice law in North Carolina.