Today, Andy Altahawi’s practice is advisory: he advises companies listing on the national exchanges. It is the current chapter of the operational history — the one still being written while the foundation is formed alongside it.
What the practice does
- Direct exchange listings — advising companies entering NASDAQ and NYSE without a traditional underwritten IPO: existing shares registered for public trading, the opening price set by the market itself, no underwriting discount, no lock-up.
- Regulation A+ and registered offerings — guiding issuers through Tier 2 Regulation A+ offerings of up to $75 million and S-1 registrations, and pairing a qualified offering with an exchange listing where the capital plan calls for it.
- Listing readiness — the unglamorous center of the work: corporate housekeeping, audited financials, governance build-out, and exchange quantitative standards, managed from engagement through the first day of trading.
- Cross-border coordination — international issuers approaching the U.S. markets, with local counsel in every jurisdiction a transaction touches.
How the practice is framed
Mr. Altahawi practices listing advisory and consultancy. He is an international non-U.S. attorney; he does not practice U.S. securities law, and any matter requiring U.S. legal advice or opinions is handled in co-counsel with U.S.-admitted securities attorneys. He is neither a registered broker-dealer, investment advisor, nor funding portal. The advisory work is described in full at directlylisted.com.
What this chapter gives the foundation
The current practice is the working engine behind the foundation’s formation — and the model for the Cross-Border Scholar Award: students whose studies cross legal systems and markets, exactly as the practice does. It is also the reason the foundation’s announcements are made the way exchange work is done: in writing, on the record, with the disclosures up front.