The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), a Canadian regulator, announced this Tuesday that Samir Sabharwal has been appointed General Counsel. Sabharwal has held the role since last month after Kari Horn, the former General Counsel, was appointed as Vice Chairman of the Canadian regulator.

In his new role, Sabharwal will lead the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The OGC is responsible for providing advice, research, and analysis to ASC members and ASC staff on new problems in the financial services industry.

More importantly, it provides guidance to members on the interpretation of securities laws and policies. OGC employees also work on ASC initiatives on corporate governance and are responsible for the ASC’s corporate legislative and secretarial functions.

Experienced hands

Sabharwal will take up his new role having spent over a decade with the ASC. Until his recent job change, he was Associate General Counsel. In this role, he helped manage the OGC but also represented the Executive Director and the Commission in certain litigation matters.

Before his role as Associate General Counsel, Sabharwal worked as Legal Counsel in the OGC and Litigation Counsel within the ASC’s Enforcement division. He took up this position when he joined the ASC in 2005 and was responsible for providing legal advice on a range of issues.

Stan Magidson, CEO of the ASC, discussed Sabharwal’s appointment to General Counsel saying: “Samir is highly qualified for this role, having served as the ASC’s Associate General Counsel for the past nine years. He has distinguished himself as being able to provide thoughtful and insightful analysis to complex matters, a skill that will serve him well in his new role.”