Hi Sagacity,
lindq is right, as you know--you must get an attorney who is experienced in these matters. You can get killed by not knowing what you don't know. The rules don't always make intuitive sense.
I don't know about exams, state and federal rules, or any of that, but I am an old dog and have been around the block a few times.
The best way to find any professional who is going to be on your team and help you, not just give you incompetent advice and take your money, is to get a recommendation from another professional who knows them and has worked with them--preferably more than one recommendation, from different people who don't know each other. If I were you, I would hunt around the nearest large city for attorneys who know securities law, and I would ask them, or their administrative staff, if they would be willing to contact a couple of their clients and ask them if they will talk to you about their investment business (they can't tell you who their clients are, of course--the client would have to 'opt in'). Simultaneously, I would hunt around for investment professionals who are already doing what you want to do (professional associations are one way to find some) and I would ask them about their thoughts about types of exams and also about attorneys they have used. Most people will be willing to talk to you if you let them think that you are a kid still wet behind the ears, and not a serious competitor. If they don't have answers to your questions, ask them if they have a colleague you can talk to and request an e-mail introduction to that person. By calling a lot of people who are investment professionals in the same area, you will find that a few of the same attorneys' names crop up. These are likely to be the respected individuals that you might want to be contacting. And by asking the same questions of everyone, you'll get an idea of where you ought to be heading education and credentials-wise. Just talk to a lot of people, and eventually the picture will start to come together.
Make sure any attorney you use is personally recommended by others who are involved in this area of business. Just because they are on a list provided by the state bar does not mean anything--nobody vets those lists very much, and anyone can be on them. Then have a conversation with the ones you think you may be interested in, and evaluate whether they can communicate with you effectively (my experience has been that some attorneys aren't skilled at this). They should be able to explain issues relevant to you in a way that you, a non-attorney, can understand.
I have used this method many times, for many purposes. As a mundane example: to buy a house in a strange town I once moved to. I kept calling lenders and agents and asking them to recommend each other. Eventually just by asking a lot of questions you start to hear the same names and find out where the cream is. Needless to say, there are plenty of lenders and agents who are crooks or just careless, and the other lenders and agents know damn well who they are. They won't outright tell you who they are--but you also won't find many people recommending them.
Most people choose others to help them for silly reasons--they like the person, or their friend or neighbor likes them or recommends them. You can come up with something more concrete than that. My personal experience has been that my friends and neighbors don't usually have a clue, but just choose people for emotional reasons.
Best of luck to you.
lindq is right, as you know--you must get an attorney who is experienced in these matters. You can get killed by not knowing what you don't know. The rules don't always make intuitive sense.
I don't know about exams, state and federal rules, or any of that, but I am an old dog and have been around the block a few times.
The best way to find any professional who is going to be on your team and help you, not just give you incompetent advice and take your money, is to get a recommendation from another professional who knows them and has worked with them--preferably more than one recommendation, from different people who don't know each other. If I were you, I would hunt around the nearest large city for attorneys who know securities law, and I would ask them, or their administrative staff, if they would be willing to contact a couple of their clients and ask them if they will talk to you about their investment business (they can't tell you who their clients are, of course--the client would have to 'opt in'). Simultaneously, I would hunt around for investment professionals who are already doing what you want to do (professional associations are one way to find some) and I would ask them about their thoughts about types of exams and also about attorneys they have used. Most people will be willing to talk to you if you let them think that you are a kid still wet behind the ears, and not a serious competitor. If they don't have answers to your questions, ask them if they have a colleague you can talk to and request an e-mail introduction to that person. By calling a lot of people who are investment professionals in the same area, you will find that a few of the same attorneys' names crop up. These are likely to be the respected individuals that you might want to be contacting. And by asking the same questions of everyone, you'll get an idea of where you ought to be heading education and credentials-wise. Just talk to a lot of people, and eventually the picture will start to come together.
Make sure any attorney you use is personally recommended by others who are involved in this area of business. Just because they are on a list provided by the state bar does not mean anything--nobody vets those lists very much, and anyone can be on them. Then have a conversation with the ones you think you may be interested in, and evaluate whether they can communicate with you effectively (my experience has been that some attorneys aren't skilled at this). They should be able to explain issues relevant to you in a way that you, a non-attorney, can understand.
I have used this method many times, for many purposes. As a mundane example: to buy a house in a strange town I once moved to. I kept calling lenders and agents and asking them to recommend each other. Eventually just by asking a lot of questions you start to hear the same names and find out where the cream is. Needless to say, there are plenty of lenders and agents who are crooks or just careless, and the other lenders and agents know damn well who they are. They won't outright tell you who they are--but you also won't find many people recommending them.
Most people choose others to help them for silly reasons--they like the person, or their friend or neighbor likes them or recommends them. You can come up with something more concrete than that. My personal experience has been that my friends and neighbors don't usually have a clue, but just choose people for emotional reasons.
Best of luck to you.