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R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, today announced that Melissa B. Andrews has been promoted to General Counsel.
Since Andrews joined RJO in late 2010 as Associate General Counsel, she has taken on a number of new areas of responsibility and strengthened the department with the addition of new attorneys. Andrews has served on the Futures Industry Association’s Law & Compliance Division Executive Committee since May 2012.
RJO Chairman & CEO Gerald Corcoran said: “Since she joined RJO, Melissa has consistently risen to new challenges. Coming from a strong background in finance law, she picked up very quickly on the complexities of our business and the many facets of our regulatory environment. With a terrific entrepreneurial spirit, she has built a great legal team over the past 12 months, and I’m delighted that she will now take on the General Counsel role.”
Andrews said: “As we continue to see an evolving regulatory landscape, I look forward to working with our team to ensure that RJO navigates the changes in a manner that will best serve our clients and the firm.”
Prior to joining RJO, Andrews served as an Associate in International Finance and Banking for the law firm Lovells LLP (now Hogan Lovells LLP) in New York. Previously, she was an Associate in Structured Finance at Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP (now SNR Denton LLP), also in New York. While in law school, Andrews served as the Summer Honors Intern in the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington.
Andrews, who resides in Chicago, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Rice University in Houston. She earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington. She is admitted to the Bar in Illinois and New York and is a member of the Chicago Bar Association.
