Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Andrew P. Cross has joined the firm’s Pittsburgh office as of counsel in the Finance, Restructuring, and Bankruptcy group. Andrew focuses his practice on derivatives transactions and investment management regulatory matters. He joins from Perkins Coie LLP.

Nationally, Blank Rome has experienced significant and strategic growth since the start of the year, including opening a Dallas office with a team of leading corporate, real estate, and finance partners, adding a team of nine leading litigators in New York, welcoming a group of nine international trade attorneys and legal professionals in Washington, D.C., and bolstering its Chicago office with a real estate finance trio.

“We are pleased to welcome Andrew to our firm’s leading finance practice and our growing Pittsburgh office,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Chair and Managing Partner. “Andrew’s derivatives transactional experience and extensive background in the investment management space will further strengthen our national finance team and will be of great value to our clients.”

Concentrating his practice on complex financial transactions and regulatory matters, Andrew advises a diverse client base that includes financial institutions, commodity trading firms, family offices, public companies and other corporate end-users, registered investment advisers, registered investment companies, and private funds. Andrew routinely negotiates complex derivatives transactions and related trade agreements, so that clients can achieve their investment and risk management objectives. On the regulatory front, Andrew’s practice covers issues arising under federal statues that govern the use of derivatives for investment or hedging purposes. He routinely advises clients regarding the application of the Commodity Exchange Act, the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act, the Investment Company Act, and the Investment Advisors Act.

Additionally, Andrew has more than 20 years of experience as an investment management attorney, regularly advising mutual funds and their boards and investment advisers with respect to regulatory matters, including client commission arrangements and related fiduciary oversight matters, as well as fintech regulatory issues.

“We are thrilled to have Andrew join our finance team as his derivatives transactional experience and ability to provide regulatory analyses will greatly benefit our financial services clients in Pittsburgh and across the country,” said Lawrence F. Flick II, Partner and Chair of Blank Rome’s Financial Services industry group. “Combined with Blank Rome’s innovative work with commodity and energy finance transactions, Andrew’s experience will help us expand our asset-management focused derivatives regulatory and transactions practices.”

“Blank Rome has an incredible reputation in the finance industry, and I am excited to work with such talented and experienced attorneys,” added Cross. “There are already synergies with several partners who practice in the derivatives transactional space, including David Kronenberg and Brendan Delany, making Blank Rome a great fit for me to serve my clients, further develop my practice, and contribute to the growth of the firm’s derivatives and investment management service offerings.”

Andrew earned his J.D./M.B.A from the University of Pittsburgh, his M.A. from the University of Balamand, and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Washington & Jefferson College. Andrew has been recommended by The Legal 500 and recognized in DerivAlert’s “Who’s Who in OTC Derivatives Reform.”