Law firm Alston & Bird has appointed Kamal Jafarnia as counsel in the firm's financial services and products group, and as a member of the firm's real estate investment trust (REIT) team.

Jafarnia has almost two decades of experience as an attorney and a compliance professional for investment program sponsors, broker dealers, investment advisers and registered associates.

Prior to joining Alston & Bird, Jafarnia served as counsel at American Realty Capital and as chief compliance officer of its affiliated broker-dealer, Realty Capital Securities. During his time at American Realty Capital, he also served as CCO for Business Development Corporation of America, a non-traded business development company and its SEC registered advisor, BDCA Advisors.

Prior to American Realty Capital, Jafarnia served as executive vice president of Franklin Square Capital Partners, an investment products firm. He also has served as CCO at investment advisor FB Income Advisor; as assistant general counsel at investment firm Behringer Harvard; as CCO at Behringer Securities; as VP of legal at private investment management firm at CNL Capital Markets, and as CCO for CCO for CNL Fund Advisors. In each of these positions,  Jafarnia was responsible for overseeing regulatory compliance programs.