Ernesto A. Lanza

Ernie served as in-house attorney-adviser at the SEC from 2019 to 2022, including as Acting Director of the SEC’s Office of Municipal Securities from November 2021 to April 2022. Previously, he served more than 15 years in-house at the MSRB, including four years as General Counsel and three years as Deputy Executive Director.

Ernie was a primary author of many of the municipal market’s enhanced-disclosure regulations and transparency regimes, as well as numerous rules on fair dealing, pay-to-play, secondary market trading and transparency, municipal advisors, and other securities law areas. His work as a regulator provides him exceptional understanding of the policies and intentions behind new regulatory regimes and likely approaches to enforcement.

During more than a decade in private practice, Ernie represented broker-dealers, municipal advisors, state and local governments, investors, trade groups, industry vendors, and other key market structure entities on municipal bond and 529 college savings plan market matters. He has served as bond counsel to state and local governments as well as underwriter’s counsel on numerous public sector capital financings for public and social infrastructure projects and private activity such as multifamily housing.