Rick Cella is a former federal prosecutor and proven courtroom advocate. With extensive first-chair trial experience and a keen understanding of government and regulatory investigations, Rick helps clients navigate complex litigation and regulatory matters alike.
Prior to joining the Firm, he served as a Senior Litigation Counsel at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the largest independent regulatory body for securities firms operating in the United States. At FINRA, Rick represented FINRA’s Department of Enforcement in complex enforcement proceedings involving violations of federal securities laws as well as FINRA and NASD Rules.
Before joining FINRA, he served for more than five years as a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Oklahoma, where he specialized in white collar crime, including healthcare fraud, corporate crime, and tax offenses. As a federal prosecutor, Rick prevailed as first-chair trial counsel in multiple federal criminal jury trials, as well as appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Prior to his service with the DOJ and FINRA, Rick worked for six years as a litigator in the Dallas office of a large international law firm, where his practice focused on complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts and in arbitration proceedings.