The Outsourced Chief Compliance Officer service gives your RIA a designated CCO — named on your Form ADV, serving as your primary regulatory contact, and backed by a full team of compliance professionals and securities attorneys.
Named CCO on Form ADV & All Regulatory Filings
Primary Regulatory Contact
ComplianceNerdOS Platform Included
Built for RIAs with $500M–$5B AUM
Some RIAs need more than a compliance team. They need a designated Chief Compliance Officer, someone formally named on Form ADV, accountable to regulators, and responsible for the firm’s entire compliance governance structure.
The Outsourced Chief Compliance Officer service fills that role. We become your firm’s CCO: named on your filings, serving as the primary point of contact for the SEC, FINRA, and state examiners, and overseeing every aspect of your compliance program.
Unlike a solo consultant or a single in-house hire, your OCCO engagement includes a full compliance team — manager, analysts, and securities attorney oversight, plus our proprietary compliance management platform, all operating as one coordinated structure.
You are engaging a law firm that works exclusively with financial firms — with a full team, a proven compliance infrastructure, and the legal standing to represent your firm before regulators.
If you checked any of these boxes, our OCCO is right for you.
OCCO includes the complete foundation of our Outsourced Compliance Department — dedicated compliance manager, 2+ analysts, attorney oversight, and the ComplianceNerdOS platform — plus a suite of enhanced capabilities that reflect the full scope of the CCO designation.
Complete compliance team, software, and program management
CCO designation, on-site visits, legal services, enhanced support
Included Support: Advertising review, cybersecurity guidance, IMA/ERISA agreement reviews, and phone support during SEC exams.
OCCO takes everything in OCD and adds 9 premium features that make us your complete, designated Chief Compliance Officer. These enhancements provide the highest level of regulatory protection and support.
The OCCO Difference: These 9 premium features transform our service from compliance support into complete CCO replacement—you get the designation, the authority, the on-site presence, and the legal backing that comes with being your official Chief Compliance Officer.
An Outsourced Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) is a compliance professional who serves as your firm’s designated Chief Compliance Officer but is employed by an external firm rather than being a full-time in-house employee. The OCCO is named on your Form ADV, acts as your primary contact with regulators, and takes full responsibility for your compliance program—just like an in-house CCO would.
CCO departing, retiring, or recently left. OCCO provides immediate, structured continuity.
Owner or COO managing compliance alongside their primary responsibilities. OCCO separates the roles cleanly.
Expecting examination within 12 months, or navigating a post-exam remediation period.
$500M+ RIAs with multi-state presence, multiple advisors, sophisticated products, or M&A activity.
OCCO is appropriate when the firm needs a CCO who can be named, accountable, and authoritative — not just a compliance resource, but a designated compliance leader with legal backing.
Most outsourced CCO providers are compliance consulting firms. My RIA Lawyer is a law firm that works exclusively with RIAs and broker-dealers. That distinction shapes how your compliance program is built, how regulatory relationships are managed, and how your firm is positioned when examiners arrive.
As securities attorneys, we bring legal authority to the CCO role — not just compliance expertise. When regulators ask questions, we respond with the standing of legal counsel. When examination findings require a response strategy, we apply legal judgment to the process.
We do not serve general business clients, healthcare companies, or technology firms. Every attorney, compliance manager, and analyst on our team works exclusively with registered investment advisers and broker-dealers. We understand Form ADV, custody rules, IAR supervision requirements, and the governance expectations of institutional RIAs because it is all we do.
Your OCCO engagement includes a compliance manager, two or more analysts, and attorney oversight — all operating within a single coordinated structure. No coverage gaps, no knowledge held by one person, no disruption when personnel change. The program continues regardless of what happens inside our firm.
Your firm gets a CCO with legal authority, a full team, and a compliance platform — without hiring a single full-time employee.
Our clients don’t engage us to learn their business. They engage us because we already understand it.
Standard implementation takes 30–45 days and includes:
Rush implementation available: If you have an urgent situation (CCO just left, exam coming soon, regulatory crisis), we can accelerate implementation to 2–3 weeks.
As your OCCO, we serve as the primary contact for SEC examinations:
Before Exam: We receive the examination notice, prepare all documentation, organize files, and coach your team.
During Exam: We’re available to be on-site during the examination, serving as the main point of contact for examiners, coordinating document requests, and managing the process.
After Exam: We review findings, prepare responses to any deficiency letters, implement corrective actions, and provide legal defense if needed.
Result: We’ve successfully guided dozens of RIAs through SEC examinations. Many receive clean exams or minimal findings because we’ve proactively addressed issues before examiners arrive.
Our OCCO service is designed to work nationwide, regardless of your location. Most day-to-day work happens remotely (calls, emails, software platform), but we provide:
Many of our best OCCO relationships are with firms hundreds or thousands of miles away. Modern compliance doesn’t require daily in-person presence—it requires expertise, responsiveness, and technology
Yes. Our OCCO service operates on a monthly subscription with reasonable notice for cancellation (typically 30–60 days).
We’re confident in the value we provide—we don’t need to trap you in multi-year contracts. If your situation changes (you hire in-house, merge with another firm, wind down the business), you can cancel without penalty.
Transition Support: If you decide to bring compliance in-house, we’ll work with you to transition smoothly to your new CCO.
Yes. The SEC permits RIAs to designate an outside party as Chief Compliance Officer, provided the arrangement includes proper due diligence, ongoing performance monitoring, and that the designated CCO has the authority and resources to fulfill the role. My RIA Lawyer’s OCCO service is structured to meet all SEC expectations for outsourced CCO arrangements.
Schedule a consultation to discuss your firm’s compliance structure, CCO situation, and whether OCCO is the right fit.