Kathryn M. Trkla is a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP where she is a member of the Securities, Commodities & Exchange Regulation Practice within the Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice. She is also a member of the firm's Business Law Department and Energy Industry Team. Ms. Trkla's experience encompasses more than 25 years in the futures and securities industries, including 11 years with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) where she was senior vice president and associate general counsel before joining Foley in 2000.
Ms. Trkla works on a variety of matters for futures and securities brokerage firms, institutional investors, professional trading firms, commercial hedgers, domestic and foreign exchanges, clearinghouses, and other clients. Her experience ranges from representing clients on matters before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission, analyzing regulatory proposals, counseling clients on the implications of legislative and rule changes and providing general regulatory counsel. Her deep experience and background qualify her to provide a broad and unique perspective on the issues and regulations facing the financial markets and market participants.
Ms. Trkla has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system and has been selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2007-2012 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of derivatives law. She was also selected for inclusion in the 2008-2011 Illinois Super Lawyers® lists and The Leading Lawyers Network, and was ranked by The Leading Lawyers Network as one of the top 100 business lawyers in Illinois in 2010.* Ms. Trkla is one of nine women interviewed in the program "America's Most Influential Women," which aired on American Airlines during December 2004 on Forbes Radio.
In 2007, Ms. Trkla conducted an international assessment of Armenia's securities market regulatory framework as part of an initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development to strengthen the banking, insurance and securities market infrastructure in the country. Her work involved assessing the degree to which the regulatory framework in Armenia complies with 30 international principles of securities market regulation developed by the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO).
In 2003, Ms. Trkla participated in a pro bono project in Lithuania sponsored by the Financial Services Volunteer Corp to provide training assistance on the structure and regulation of futures markets to the Lithuanian Securities Commission, National Stock Exchange of Lithuania and the Central Securities Depository of Lithuania. The project covered standards for designing futures contracts, clearing and settlement of futures transactions and registration and fitness standards for industry professionals.
During her tenure at the CBOT, Ms. Trkla represented the exchange at the annual meetings of the Consultative Committee of IOSCO. From 1997 to 1998, she chaired a special subcommittee of the IOSCO Consultative Committee, which prepared a report on best practices for the design of futures contracts and exchange market surveillance programs.
Ms. Trkla is a 1983 cum laude graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, where she was the coordinating executive editor of the Journal of International Law & Business. She graduated with a B.A. in public affairs in 1980 from the University of Chicago, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
She is a member of the Illinois Bar, American Bar Association, and Chicago Bar Association.
Selected Publications:
· "Clearing of Swaps and Security-Based Swaps" and "Trading Requirements for Swaps and Security-Based Swaps and Customer Clearing and Trade Execution Documentation," Advanced Swaps & Other Derivatives 2011 (PLI; 2011)
· "Trading and Clearing of Swaps: Regulatory Considerations for Hedge Funds," Hedge Funds 2011: Strategies and Structures for an Evolving Marketplace (PLI; 2011)
· "CEA Developments Affecting Trading By Hedge Funds," Hedge Funds 2010: Strategies and Structures for an Evolving Marketplace (PLI; 2010)
· "Discussion Regarding the Commentary on Hedging "Event" Risk," Review of Futures Markets (Kent State University/Institute for Financial Markets; Sept. 2008)
· Co-Author, "The Regulation of Specialists and Implications for the Future," The Business Lawyer (Nov. 2005)
· Co-Author, "The CFTC's Proposal for a Brave New World," Journal of Global Financial Markets (Fall 2000)
Leadership Positions and Professional Affiliations:
· Program Co-Chair, ABA Business Law Section, Derivatives and Futures Law Committee Winter Meeting, February 2011
· Program Co-Chair, ABA Business Law Section, Derivatives and Futures Law Committee Winter Meeting, February 2010
· Member, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Group on Financial Markets
· Member, Advisory Board, Master of Science in Financial Engineering degree program at Kent State University
· Chair, Sub-Committee on Derivatives Clearing Organizations of the ABA Business Law Section, Derivatives and Futures Law Committee
· Past Chair, Futures and Derivatives Law Committee, Chicago Bar Association (1997-1998)
Selected Speaking Engagements:
· Moderator, "Clearing and Trading," PLI Conference on Advanced Swaps & Other Derivatives (Oct. 2011)
· Panelist, "Swap Execution and Reporting; Giveup and Backloading Arrangements," PLI Conference on Advanced Swaps & Other Derivatives (Oct. 2011)
· Moderator, "Special Considerations for OTC Clearing," Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) International Symposium and Training Program (Oct. 2011) (Moderator for other panels offered in prior years at this annual program)
· Panelist, "Trading Issues Relating to Swaps Under Dodd-Frank," PLI Conference on Hedge Funds 2010: Strategies and Structures for an Evolving Marketplace (Sept. 2011)
· Panelist, "On a Clear Day ... Intra- and International Clearance and Settlement Organizations are (Electronically) Paving the Way," ABA Annual Meeting (Aug. 2011)
· Panelist, "The CFTC and SEC Dodd-Frank Rulemakings for Derivatives: Compliance Issues for Businesses that Use Swaps and Security-Based Swaps," ABA Annual Meeting (Aug. 2011)
· Panelist, "Developments in Agriculture and Energy," Futures Industry Association (FIA), Law & Compliance Conference (May 2011)
· Panelist, "CFTC Implementation of Dodd-Frank," ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting (Apr. 2011)
· Panelist, "Hedge Fund Trading Issues," PLI Conference on Hedge Funds 2010: Strategies and Structures for an Evolving Marketplace (Oct. 2010)
· Panelist, "Execution Systems, Clearinghouses, Trading Rules and Markets," FIA Financial Reform Forum: Impact on Derivatives Market Participants (Aug. 2010)
· Panelist, "The Changing OTC Market," Reuters HedgeWorld Chicago CTA Conference (June 2010)
· Panelist, "Futures Compliance Update," FIA Law & Compliance Conference (Apr. 2010)
· Co-presenter, "The Ongoing Impact of the Commodity Exchange Act on the Food Industry," Foley & Lardner LLP Webinar (Mar. 2010)
· Panelist, "Mitigating Direct Market Access and Other Electronic Trading Risk," FIA Law & Compliance Conference (May 2009)
· Co-presenter, "Bankruptcy Issues for Derivatives and Securities Markets," presentation to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Group on Financial Markets (Oct. 2008)
*The Illinois Supreme Court does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.