Celiza (Lisa) Bragança
Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
SEC FINRA Defense, Whistleblower Protection & Recovery of Investment Losses
Lisa Bragança protects individuals and businesses from being bilked by Wall Street and bullied by regulators. She knows how to get important information to securities regulators early, before they have reached a decision on whether to charge and what to charge. Lisa served as a Branch Chief in the Division of Enforcement of the Chicago Office of the Securities & Exchange Commission, where she handled investigations of accounting fraud, Ponzi schemes, insider trading, churning, and unsuitability. While at the SEC, Lisa collaborated with the federal criminal prosecutors in securities fraud investigations at major corporations.
Since leaving the SEC, Lisa has represented financial advisors, company employees, executives, CEOs and others in SEC, FINRA, and state securities regulatory investigations and litigation. Lisa has assisted people in determining whether and how to report violations of securities laws to the SEC Office of the Whistleblower and other government agencies. Lisa has recovered millions of dollars in investor losses via court litigation and arbitration.
Lisa is a triple graduate of the University of Chicago. She has a B.A. (with honors) and J.D./M.B.A. (Order of the Coif, honors). She is a member of the Women's White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA), the Public Investor Advocate Bar Association (PIABA), the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), and the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA). She is often asked to comment on securities regulation by media like CNBC, Fox Business News, CoinDesk.TV, and leading securities news outlets.
- Securities Law
- White Collar Crime
- Business Law
- Business Litigation, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
- Gov & Administrative Law
- Administrative Law
- Zoom
-
Free Consultation
Contingency fee, fixed fee, and hourly rates available. - Contingent Fees
- Illinois
-
- 7th Circuit
-
- English: Spoken, Written
- Owner/Attorney
- Bragança Law LLC
- - Current
- Lisa Braganca started Braganca Law LLC to make sure that client interests are always first. Lisa's experience as an SEC Branch Chief with the Enforcement Division gives her a unique and valuable perspective in representing individuals and businesses in SEC, FINRA, and state securities regulatory investigations, as well as investors in court and FINRA arbitration, in representing whistleblowers reporting fraud to SEC and other agencies. Lisa has successfully represented individuals targeted by, and involved in, regulatory investigations including SEC investigations of alleged fraud and insider trading. Lisa also helps people decide whether and how to self-report possible violations of securities laws in order to get the best possible result.
- Trial Attorney
- Stoltmann Law Offices
- -
- Legal Director
- Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago
- -
- Partner
- Sperling & Slater, PC
- -
- Branch Chief
- Securities & Exchange Commission
- -
- University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
- J.D. (1992) | Law
- -
- Honors: Honors and Order of the Coif
- Activities: Mandel Legal Aid Clinic
-
- University of Chicago
- MBA (1992) | Industrial Economics
- -
-
- University of Chicago
- B.A. (1984) | Economics
- Honors: Graduated with Honors
-
- Leading Lawyer 2018-2022
- Leading Lawyer
- Lead On
- Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago
- Award for service as class counsel in three class actions brought to compel the State of Illinois to serve people with disabilities in community-based settings rather than nursing facilities
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
-
- Womens White Collar Defense Association
- Member
- - Current
-
- PIABA - Public Investor Advocate Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Member of Fiduciary Standards Committee and Annual Meeting Committee. Presenter at 2015 and 2016 Annual Meeting.
-
- Chicago Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Securities Law Committee - organizing February 2018 CLE program Former Chair of Securities Law Committee
-
- State Bar of Illinois # 6226636
- Member
- - Current
-
- NAELA
- Member
- -
-
- League of Women Voters of Wilmette
- Board Member
- -
- Activities: Coordinate the Observer Corps team which attends and reports on meetings of local governmental entities
-
- 2021 Updated Study on FINRA Expungements - A Seriously Flawed Process
- The PIABA Foundation
- Business Law: Misc. Operating Issues Illinois State Regulation of Securities
- IICLE
- Aging & Money, Perspectives from Financial Institutions - co-author of chapter with Lisa Bleier
- Springer Pub
- 2019 Study on FINRA Expungements
- The PIABA Foundation
- Dipping Your Analog Toe into Digital Coins
- ABA Law Practice Magazine
- Apes Together Strong Documentary - the story of what happened when investors in GameStop and AMC investors ran up against a system that favors the establishment, www.apestogetherstrongdoc.com, Available on Amazon and at apestogetherstrongdoc.com
- https://youtu.be/TwNzVWDDb6s
- AMA (Ask Me Anything) with Apes - answering questions about SEC, securities regulation, and what investors can do, SuperStonk AMA - Reddit, https://youtu.be/TwNzVWDDb6s
- SuperStonk
- https://youtu.be/TwNzVWDDb6s
- Securities Law in the Trump Administration, Chicago Bar Association Securities Law Committee CLE, Chicago, IL
- Chicago Bar Association
- Creative Counters to Dirty Deeds, PIABA Annual Meeting 2017, Colorado Springs, CO
- Public Investor Advocacy Bar Association
- How to counter discovery and trial antics of broker counsel in FINRA arbitrations
- Elder Financial Abuse by Brokers, webinar
- National Association of Elder Law Attorneys - Illinois Chapter
- How to identify and address elder financial exploitation by brokers
Bragan
Bragan
AMA with Lisa Braganca - Former SEC Branch Chief / Attorney at Braganca Law LLC
Lisa does a Superstonk AMA (Ask me anything) answering questions about SEC regulation, short selling, what the SEC should do, and what Apes can do.
APES TOGETHER STRONG TEASER
Lisa appears in Apes Strong Together - a documentary by the Mulligan Brothers about what we learned about how markets work from GameStop and AMC trading in February 2021 and what we should do about it.
Bogleheads
Lisa does an audio interview with Rick Ferri of Bogleheads about investor protection and what to do to recover investment losses.
Former SEC Enforcement Branch Chief Weighs in on Legal Battles Against Celsius, Coinbase
Lisa speaking on Coindesk.TV on SEC bringing charges against Alex Mashinsky of Celsius on the date of his arrest.
Is there a big SEC crackdown coming?
Lisa comments on CNBC about what the SEC might do to investigate and remedy what we discovered GameStop/AMC trading
Ken, Charles and Lisa Braganca Discuss Hedge Funds and SEC's Regulation of the Markets
Lisa appears on FOX Business - Making Money with Charles Payne - to talk about hedge funds and reporting of short positions
