Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel BCL

Chris Parrington, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Boustead & Company Limited, has been practicing law since 2004. Chris was in private practice as a partner and of counsel for national law firms until he joined Boustead in 2023, where he regularly represented financial institutions including banks, broker / dealers, registered representatives, investment advisory firms and registered investment advisors in a variety of capacities. Chris has almost 20 years of experience litigating customer complaints and industry-related disputes in state and federal courts throughout the United States, as well as arbitrating customer and industry disputes before FINRA-appointed arbitration panels. Chris also has significant experience representing clients in defense of investigations and enforcement proceedings commenced by FINRA, the SEC and state securities regulators, including appeals to the National Adjudicatory Council (“NAC”). In his private practice, Chris regularly advised financial institutions and their associates on compliance with state and federal laws, rules and regulations, in addition to advising clients on general legal matters in the capacity of outside general counsel. Prior to entering private practice, Chris was a judicial clerk for the Honorable Heidi S. Schellhas, Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Chris is regularly asked to make presentations and write articles on significant legal and compliance issues in the financial services industry.

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Since 2014, Chris also has significant experience representing companies operating in the state-legal cannabis industry including licensed operators, investors, and ancillary product and service providers. Chris has assisted cannabis clients in a variety of means including preparing license applications, raising capital, mergers and acquisitions, preparing contracts, and corporate structuring. Chris also regularly advises cannabis companies on best practices for compliance with federal guidance, and state and local government laws, rules and regulations, in addition to assisting cannabis clients in defense of regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings. Chris is recognized as one of the leading legal and compliance professionals in the cannabis industry throughout the United States.

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Chris earned a B.S. in History from Montana State University – Bozeman, and a J.D. from the University of St. Thomas - Minneapolis, where he was a member of the inaugural graduation class. Chris is licensed to practice law in Minnesota, Montana and North Dakota, in addition to numerous federal courts throughout the United States.