For over 20 years, the Hamburger Law Firm has worked side-by-side with its affiliated consultancy, MarketCounsel Consulting, developing a stellar reputation of its own by providing a blend of trusted business acumen and legal counsel on wealth management industry matters – bringing a rarefied depth of focus to this highly-regulated niche.
Today, the firm supports business endeavors in and around the securities industry, throughout their entire lifecycle. They counsel startup investment advisors, manage the employment transition for the industry’s most accomplished financial advisors, and represent established investment advisors, financial technology firms, broker-dealers, funds, and their corresponding service providers as they navigate a broad array of complex issues faced by growing companies in a highly-regulated space. The ultimate success of our firm is inextricably linked to attracting and retaining the best and brightest people who live our core values. From there, we have built and foster a culture that frees our attorneys to be passionate about their work and recognizes their fierce dedication and total commitment to our clients.
At HamburgerLaw, our attorneys work together with a talented and empowered staff who are committed to excellence and thrive in a rather unconventional, fast-paced, technology-driven, team environment.It’s a recipe that has served us well, combining stellar client satisfaction rates and remarkable results. When you go above and beyond, clients tend to recognize it, appreciate it, and share their gratitude. Across the firm, we re aligned on a common goal –- to consistently achieve exceptional results while simultaneously delivering unparalleled value.
Learn more about our firm’s accomplished roster of attorneys including their experience and areas of concentration.
Brian Hamburger, Esq., AIFA, CRCP
FOUNDER & CHIEF COUNSEL
Brian Hamburger is an entrepreneur, attorney, strategic advisor, speaker, and industry commentator who has spent more than 26 years helping shape the business, strategic, and regulatory landscape of the wealth management profession.
Brian helps founders, CEOs, boards, and leadership teams build enduring businesses across the wealth management ecosystem. Throughout his career, he has advised many of the profession’s most successful entrepreneurial firms on the strategic decisions that define their futures—from growth strategy and advisor recruiting to mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, governance, enterprise risk, and crisis management—helping clients navigate the execution of their most consequential strategic initiatives.
Brian founded MarketCounsel and The Hamburger Law Firm to serve entrepreneurial firms through a highly coordinated combination of strategic counsel, legal guidance, and business advisory services. Today, he works at the intersection of business strategy, law, regulation, and innovation, advising wealth management firms, technology companies, strategic investors, and the innovators serving the profession as they navigate complexity, seize opportunity, bring innovative ideas to market, and scale them successfully.
Widely regarded as one of the architects of the modern independent advice movement, Brian has advised thousands of advisory firms throughout their lifecycles—from launch and growth to advisor recruiting, innovative business models, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, and many of the industry’s most significant advisor transitions, business sales, and founder exits. His work has helped shape many of the legal, strategic, and operational frameworks that define today’s RIA profession.
Brian’s leadership and the organizations he founded have been recognized through numerous industry awards honoring innovation, leadership, legal excellence, and strategic contributions to the wealth management profession.
A sought-after keynote speaker, moderator, featured guest, and industry commentator, Brian has appeared at leading industry conferences throughout North America. He founded and hosted the award-winning MarketCounsel Summit for 16 years, an invitation-only gathering widely recognized as one of the profession’s premier forums for candid dialogue among industry leaders.
Brian is regularly quoted by leading business and financial media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Barron’s, Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones, as well as virtually every major wealth management publication.
Beyond his professional practice, Brian is committed to strengthening the future of the profession through board service, philanthropy, and industry leadership. He serves on the boards of the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation and the FinServ Foundation and chairs the MarketCounsel Foundation.
Sharron Ash, Esq.
CHIEF COUNSEL, LITIGATION
Sharron Ash is Chief Litigation Counsel at the Hamburger Law Firm and serves as trusted counsel to the firm’s client base of investment advisors, broker-dealers and registered securities personnel, relating to securities industry employment matters, regulatory controversies, customer disputes, and other dispute resolution matters.
During her tenure at the firm, Sharron has served as the architect behind many of the most complex and sizable transitions within the industry, and has a nationwide reputation for tackling what are often high-risk issues, with thorough, strategic counsel. When disputes arise, Sharron has significant experience defending restrictive covenants and trade secret claims common to the securities industry and the temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions used to enforce them, as well as collateral employment related issues that often arise in such cases. When exigent circumstances arise, registered individuals rely on Sharron to navigate regulatory reporting on their Form U5, obtaining new employment, and related regulatory investigations. She regularly resolves outstanding promissory note obligations, including disputes that may mitigate the obligation to pay those notes.
Sharron’s long term relationship with the firm’s clients demonstrate their trust and confidence in her skills, guiding them throughout the life cycle of their careers and businesses, whether navigating employee disputes, hiring or business acquisition, defending customer complaints or regulatory interactions. Sharron has practiced extensively in state and federal courts across the country. She is well-versed in all phases of trial, arbitration and mediation proceedings, and has successfully represented the firm’s securities industry clients in formal and informal regulatory and law enforcement inquiries and disciplinary proceedings, including those before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), various state securities regulators, as well as accreditation related disciplinary boards, such as the Board of Certified Financial Planners.
Sharron is a sought after media resource, as well as frequent presenter on employment, privacy and dispute related issues in the securities industry. She has been a part of the Hamburger Law Firm since January 2010. A litigator since 1991, Sharron is able to offer clients valuable practical advice to avoid legal proceedings where possible, or deploy aggressive litigation based strategies when circumstances require a strong response.
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Daniel Bernstein, Esq.
CHIEF COUNSEL, REGULATORY
Daniel Bernstein is responsible for thought leadership, content development, and management of a team of regulatory professionals. He is Chief Regulatory Counsel at MarketCounsel Consulting, the leading business and regulatory compliance consultancy to the country’s preeminent independent investment advisors. He is also an attorney with the Hamburger Law Firm, a boutique law firm with its practice in virtually all areas related to the wealth management industry, entrepreneurial and employment matters.
Dan has significant experience in providing a broad range of legal services to individuals, startup and emerging companies, financial technology firms, enterprises and institutions in the securities industry. Dan first began working with Brian Hamburger more than 25 years ago and joined the firm in 2003. Dan is often referred to as a leading authority in regulatory compliance for registered investment advisors.
Dan is admitted to the bars of New Jersey and New York, as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. He formerly held the FINRA General Securities Representative Exam (Series 7), NASAA Uniform Investment Advisor Law Exam (Series 65) and held New Jersey Property and Casualty and Health Insurance Producer licenses. He earned his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Connecticut. He went on to earn his Juris Doctor from the Rutgers School of Law where he was Chairman of the Moot Court Board.
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Robert Lipsey, Esq.
CHIEF COUNSEL, BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS
As Business Transaction Counsel for Hamburger Law Firm, Bob is the trusted advisor to emerging and established clients in the areas of corporate formation, governance and taxation, among others. He brings to bear decades of experience in both the practice of the law and operating executive roles on behalf of clients as well as a holistic, creative problem-solving approach.
Bob draws on his wealth of professional experience, including as a practicing attorney and as a general counsel and broker-dealer president, in addition to significant experience in the insurance industry.
Bob earned his Juris Doctorate (JD) from the University of Louisville in 1975, his Masters of Laws (LLM) from Temple University in 1980 and the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation in 1989. He has held numerous securities licenses, including Series 7, 24, 27, 63 and 65, and is an admitted member of the Philadelphia and American Bar Associations as well as of the Society of Financial Services Professionals. He is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States Tax Court, and has been elected to the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor.
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Jonathan Macy, Esq.
COUNSEL, BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS
Jonathan Macy is involved with all aspects of the firm’s business and transactions practice.
Jonathan primarily engages with clients in the areas of corporate formation, governance, mergers and acquisitions and related transactions, and taxation. He has extensive experience in the healthcare, insurance, and financial services industries over his career in which he has represented entrepreneurs, executives and corporations in various matters and transactions.
Jonathan received his Juris Doctorate from New York Law School. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the University at Albany. He is a member of the Bar of the State of New York and is also admitted to practice in federal court in the Southern District of New York and the United States Tax Court. Jonathan also carries his Series 7 and Series 66 securities licenses.
Jonathan resides in Florida with his wife and two sons.
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