Donald Runkle, ex-chief compliance officer for Raymond James Financial Services, joining law firm

The former longtime chief compliance officer for Raymond James Financial Services Inc., Donald Runkle, is joining the law firm of Edgerton & Weaver as director of consulting services. With offices in California, New York and Florida, Edgerton & Weaver specializes in representing broker-dealers, registered investment advisers and registered reps in litigation and regulatory matters. “This representation has also led to a growing variety of consulting engagements, and the firm has asked me to join them to lead these consulting efforts and grow the practice,” Mr. Runkle wrote in an e-mail to InvestmentNews. “Our group will be helping clients develop, implement and execute strategies to mitigate or eliminate litigation and regulatory risks.” Mr. Runkle's departure last month from Raymond James Financial Services came as a surprise to some who know that firm well. He had been with RJFS — and its prior incarnations — since 1993. With 3,279 affiliated registered reps and advisers, RJFS is the independent broker-dealer arm of Raymond James Financial Inc. It is the third largest independent broker-dealer in the industry, with $1.35 billion in 2013 revenue, according to InvestmentNews' latest survey.