Goldman Sachs MD the latest to join Jane Street in banking legal and compliance hiring spree

Jane Street, having been in hot water with regulators for much of the past year, has decided to beef up its legal and compliance teams. Though the firm has a reputation for hiring young talent, it has uncharacteristically opted for experience in this case, bringing in a number of senior professionals from investment banks.

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The most recent hire is Colleen O'Brien, an MD and senior counsel for litigation and regulatory proceedings at Goldman Sachs.  O'Brien, a Harvard-educated lawyer, joins as its legal counsel, based in New York. She spent a decade at Goldman, making MD in 2021, and was previously co-chair of its Americas pro bono committee. She also has a background as a litigation lawyer for major New York law firm Wilkie, Farr & Gallagher.

She's not the only recent banking hire; Andrew Weg also joined Jane Street's legal and compliance team in New York this month. He was most recently chief compliance officer at banking infrastructure fintech Clear Street, but also spent seven and a half years at UBS working on trade compliance. 

Back in October last year, Jane Street also hired Jeffrey Siegel as its head of government and regulatory affairs. He spent the last eight years at BNP Paribas, where he headed US government and regulatory affairs, and also previously worked as legal counsel to South Dakota senator Tim Johnson, who chaired the senate banking committee.

With more eyes on Jane Street than ever, the firm is taking a more direct role in influencing politics. Most notably, Bloomberg reports it has begun hiring lobbyists in Washington, DC for the first time in 20 years. This may be a pre-emptive measure to ease tensions and avoid what's currently happening to Jane Street in India; markets regulator SEBI accused the trading firm of market manipulation in July and has since been embroiled in a legal battle with them. 

Jane Street did not respond to a request for comment.

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