Practice Areas
Consumer Finance
Credit & Debit Cards
Investment Advisers
Payment Systems
Securities Broker-Dealers
Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
North Carolina
Ohio
Sara E. Emley
Partner •
Sara Emley is a Partner of BuckleySandler LLP. Ms. Emley advises financial services firms on various regulatory and other legal issues. Her clients include investment advisers, broker-dealers, banks, investment companies, private funds and insurance companies. Her practice focuses on providing clients with advice on the laws and regulations applicable to investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers and other specialized regulatory provisions applying to financial services providers, including credit card issuers. Ms. Emley also advises financial services firms with respect to compliance with ERISA and other laws and regulations applicable to retirement accounts. Her practice includes assisting clients with: drafting, reviewing and updating customer agreements; drafting disclosure documents and disclosures on advertisements and other client materials; avoiding and responding to unfair and deceptive claims; developing and structuring wrap fee and fee-based brokerage programs; assisting clients in structuring products, including web-based products, to comply with applicable laws and regulations; drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts with vendors and other third parties; and addressing issues related to payment systems. She also assists with registration issues and with drafting compliance and supervisory procedures. In addition, she assists clients in making various filings with regulators and represents clients in examinations, investigations and proceedings brought by the Securities & Exchange Commission and self-regulatory organizations.
While at Duke University School of Law, Ms. Emley was Note Editor of the Duke Law Journal.
Before joining BuckleySandler, Ms. Emley was Counsel with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in Washington, DC. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Emley served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Stephanie Seymour, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She received a J.D./LL.M. (International and Comparative Law) from Duke University School of Law in 1993 (highest honors, Order of the Coif) and a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1990 (highest distinction, Phi Beta Kappa).