Law360 recently covered Scot J. Foley joining our Corporate Practice Group and Buffalo office, highlighting his security experience, including this time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The publication asked Scot how his SEC experience helps him in private practice. He noted he has a better understanding of the agency’s regulations and expectations when dealing with matters such as IPO preparation.

“A lot of public companies, and even some of their attorneys, panic a bit when they get a comment letter from the SEC about their disclosure,” Scot said. “I don’t, because there’s usually very little, if anything, to panic over. The SEC can be quite helpful at times in making disclosure better, or at least clearer, and they’ll work with you in finding common ground in satisfying disclosure requirements, while at the same time protecting commercially sensitive information. Having been on that side for so long, I know it’s not an adversarial process.”

The publication noted Scot’s practice focuses on working with corporate clients such as public companies, companies on an initial public offering trajectory, and companies that want to raise capital or access the public markets through alternative methods on the navigation of securities regulations. He counsels clients on capital raises, debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, global corporate legal issues, legal risk management, contract negotiation, corporate governance and compliance.

Scot also discussed what drew him to Harris Beach.

“The firm has a vision for what it wants to achieve over the next several years, which they articulated to me and which I realized I wanted to be a part of,” he said.

Read more about what Scot told Law360. (Subscription required.)