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January 06, 2015 at 07:59 AM
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards announced Tuesday that it has appointed Leo Rydzewski to the newly created role of general counsel.
Rydzewski most recently served as a partner in the Washington office of global law firm Holland & Knight, which has been representing the Board in its ongoing legal battle against Jeffrey and Kimberly Camarda, the two CFPs that the Board alleges violated its fee-only definition.
Rydzewski has represented CFP Board in defense of the claims raised by the Camardas since 2013. Holland & Knight will continue to serve as counsel to CFP Board in the Camardas’ litigation.
CFP Board CEO Kevin Keller told ThinkAdvisor in a Tuesday morning interview that Rydzewski’s role as general counsel includes filling the enforcement duties held by Michael Shaw, the Board’s former managing director for Professional Standards & Legal, who departed on Dec. 12.
In addition to overseeing the Board’s standard setting and enforcement duties, Keller said that Rydzewski will provide “strategic corporate advice to me, the CFP Board as well as to the entire organization,” which will help the Board “better deliver on our mission.”
Keller said that Rydzewski brings an “in-depth understanding of CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct and CFP Board’s investigative and adjudicatory functions,” and that Rydzewski “will leverage his legal experience to promote the highest standards of ethical and professional responsibility for the benefit of the public.”
The Camardas are suing to block the CFP Board’s public letter of admonition, as well as for their legal costs and for business damages they claim have resulted from the publicity generated by the case.
