- Find a Lawyer
- /
- United States
- /
- Financial Services Regulation Law
Find Lawyers in America for Financial Services Regulation Law
Practice Area Overview
Financial regulatory practices vary from firm to firm. Some law firms are limited to providing financial regulatory advice to a particular type of financial institution, such as a bank or insurance company. Others focus on bank mergers and acquisitions. Only a few have a full-scope practice consisting of financial regulatory and legislative advice; mergers and acquisitions when the target is a financial institution; capital markets transactions when the issuer is a financial institution; enforcement and other litigation when the defendant is a financial institution; and insolvency and restructuring when the insolvent party is a financial institution.
Financial regulatory and legislative advice consists of advising financial institutions on regulatory limitations and requirements related to their operations and strategy, including chartering and licensing, capital or liquidity requirements, restrictions on investments or activities, financial reporting, business conduct requirements, investor protection, consumer protection, transactions with affiliates, privacy, trading, hedging, and reporting financial crimes by customers or counterparties. It includes difficult statutory or regulatory interpretation where gaps or ambiguities in the law exist, commenting on proposed legislation or regulation, seeking clarification or regulatory changes, and advocating positions before regulatory agencies.
Mergers and acquisitions transactions consist of structuring and executing the purchase or sale of a financial institution, including obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals.
Capital markets transactions consist of structuring and executing the offer and sale of debt, equity, or hybrid securities, including compliance with any special disclosure requirements for financial institutions.
Enforcement and other litigation involve defending against an enforcement action by financial regulators, white-collar criminal defense, or otherwise defending financial institutions in litigation.
Insolvency and restructuring involves advising a financial institution, its creditors or a potential purchaser when the financial institution is in a troubled or failed condition and a regulatory agency is in charge of its reorganization or liquidation.
Select a location from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
State
Anthony Alexis is a partner in Goodwin’s Complex Business Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Financial Industry Litigation practices focusing on Consumer Financial Services Litigation and serves as the head of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement practice. Mr. Alexis’ practice focuses on representing financial services institutions and litigation matters, with a focus on class action litigation and government and regulatory investigations. Prior to joining G...
Wendell's practice focuses on representing financial institutions in government enforcement actions, regulatory compliance matters, internal audits, and real property controversies. Wendell’s litigation experience is broad, having represented clients in a wide variety of matters but with a particular focus in financial services, consumer finance, real property and construction litigation. In addition to litigation, his practice includes performing internal risk assessments and regulator...
Gordon Bava is a senior partner of the firm after serving for a decade as its Chief Executive and Managing Partner. Gordon’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, special committee representation, private and underwritten securities offerings and general corporate representation of clients in a variety of industries. Gordon has conducted these services for public entertainment, utility and healthcare companies, local, regional and multinational financial institutions and holding...
Tom Bieging is of counsel with the firm. He focuses his practice in the areas of banking and commercial litigation. Mr. Bieging’s financial institutions practice includes holding company and change of control applications, loan documentation, regulatory compliance advice, loan work outs, board representation, and the sale, acquisition, and merger of banks and bank holding companies. Mr. Bieging has litigated with government agencies on financial institution policy matters with national ...
Frank is a partner in the Portland, Maine office and practices in three distinct areas. First, Frank assists all types of clients in complying with state and federal consumer financial protection laws related to retail installment sales contracts, secured and unsecured loans and lines of credit, residential mortgages and home equity loans, auto leases, etc., with a focus on compliance with the state uniform consumer credit code ("UCCC"). Frank also assists clients in complying with state and ...
Roy E. Blossman is a founding partner of the firm. Mr. Blossman handles a variety of matters in banking and finance, including commercial financings, trouble debt restructurings, workouts, preparation of standard banking forms, general banking and lending advices and regulatory work. He also represents sellers and purchasers in sales and exchanges of developed and undeveloped real estate, preparation and negotiation of leases on improved and unimproved property, and all other kinds of transac...
Sharon Bramlett represents financial services clients in numerous capacities. A large part of her practice focuses on consumer law, assisting both in-state and out-of-state lenders with licensure and compliance under the South Carolina Consumer Protection Code. She also serves as the South Carolina editor for Houselaw, a national publication dealing with the consumer finance industry. Sharon has been appointed by three Governors to serve on the Council of Advisors on Consumer Credit, a counci...
Roland E. Brandel is a Senior Counsel in the San Francisco office of the international law firm of Morrison & Foerster. He is a member of, and served as the first chair of, the firm’s financial services practice group. He has written several books, including The Law of Electronic Fund Transfer Systems , The Community Reinvestment Act , Policies and Compliance , and Truth in Lending: A Comprehensive Guide and numerous articles on financial service topics. He has served as Chair of th...
Catherine is a partner in the Hanover, Maryland office. She assists national and state banks, investment banks, consumer and commercial finance companies, mortgage bankers, installment lenders and other licensed lenders in the development and maintenance of nationwide consumer and commercial lending programs. Catherine engages in credit due diligence on behalf of investors in fintech firms, bank partnership platforms, small business lenders, merchant cash advance companies, consumer finance c...
Sanford Brown, a partner in the Financial Services & Products Group, counsels and represents financial institutions and specialty finance companies, as well as their shareholders and holding companies, in matters involving state and federal banking laws, regulations and enforcement actions; in corporate transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, securities offerings, holding company formations and Subchapter S corporation elections; and in matters involving privacy and identity theft. M...
While fully engaged as Managing Partner of Buckley King, Brent Buckley counsels and represents financial institutions, private equity firms, lenders, businesses and executive management on business issues, complex and structured finance, workouts, asset-based lending, corporate internal investigations, and commercial litigation matters. Brent is nationally recognized for excellence in both corporate law and banking and finance litigation. He is named among the prestigious Legal Who's Who as o...
C. Phillip Buffington, Jr. advises financial institutions throughout the United States on federal and state banking laws and regulations. For more than 30 years, he has served as a trusted advisor to community, regional and national financial institutions, helping them to assess and analyze regulatory and litigation risks. Phil advises on a full range of issues, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, expansion and divestitures, de novo formations and charter conversions, ba...
Jason Bushby provides regulatory compliance, enforcement, and litigation assistance to a range of financial services clients across the country. On the compliance and enforcement side, Jason assists numerous clients as they bring their operations into compliance with various obligations imposed on them by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including the Mortgage Servicing Final Rules in Regulations X and Z and the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule. He also advises clients on...
Pierce Atwood senior counsel Scott Cammarn has 34 years of banking law experience, focusing his practice on regulatory matters, mergers and acquisitions, legislation, and transactions. Scott has represented various national and international financial institutions, and has practiced before the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and many state banki...
Joseph has more than 15 years of experience advising financial institutions on corporate, securities, and regulatory matters. Joseph uses a practical and efficient approach to help clients achieve their goals and has successfully completed over 100 M&A and capital market transactions. He focuses his practice on the financial services industry and actively serves as outside corporate counsel for more than 25 banks. Joseph is co-chair of BFKN's Financial Institutions Group. He regularly rep...
Christopher P. (“Chris”) Couch advises banks and other financial institutions on regulatory and operational matters as well as on compliance with banking and lending laws, rules, and regulations. He counsels national, regional, and community banks with respect to deposit operations, payment systems, treasury management products, consumer regulatory regimes, and new services offerings, including electronic and mobile banking. Chris also represents financial institutions, finance co...
Bill Daniel represents major financial services companies in commercial and consumer finance matters, and chairs the firm’s Financial Services Practice Group. He has extensive experience representing financial services companies in virtually every phase of their operations including litigation, regulatory, compliance, workouts, transactions and bankruptcy. Bill speaks to industry and bar groups on Texas financing law. Bill was named Lawyer of the Year for Financial Services Regulation L...
Mr. del Hierro is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group of Kirkland & Ellis and heads our bank regulatory practice. He has more than 30 years of experience in representing banks and bank holding companies, thrifts and thrift holding companies, payments and fintech companies, investment banks and institutional lenders in connection with regulatory issues relating to capital formation transactions, mergers and acquisitions and complex financings. He has significant experience representi...
Daniel A. DeMarco represents creditors, both secured and unsecured, creditor’s committees, indenture trustees, trustees, receivers and debtors in numerous reorganization proceedings. He served as chair the firm’s Commercial Services & Restructuring Practice Group and was a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. Dan represents secured lenders including The CIT Group, U.S. Bancorp Equipment Finance, Inc., Textron Financial Corporation, BMW Financial Services NA LLC, Foot...
Carolyn Duncan’s practice is concentrated in securities issuance and compliance matters. Experienced in a wide variety of public and private securities work, she represents issuers, underwriters, and other parties in numerous facets of this area of law, including public and private offerings of securities, registration and continuous disclosure matters, proxy solicitations, tender offers, business combinations, restricted securities and transactions by corporate insiders. She represents...
George R. Fair was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1973. He has a general civil practice of both business and litigated matters, primarily in the banking, commercial lending and finance, corporate, public utilities, construction, fidelity and surety areas. George is a former President of the Mississippi Bar and an active member in several professional organizations.
Henry Fields has represented domestic and international financial institutions for more than 40 years. Mr. Fields advises banks in mergers and acquisitions and capital market activities, as well as private equity firms and other investors in the financial institutions sector. Mr. Fields has also represented numerous international banks on the establishment of branches, agencies, and representative offices in the United States. Mr. Fields provides financial services regulatory advice on a broa...
Rick Fischer’s practice focuses on retail financial services, privacy, and data security. For over 40 years, he has advised banks, retailers, insurers, technology and other companies throughout the United States on the full range of financial services and payment system issues. His practice has a special emphasis on privacy, data security, e-commerce, technology, and financial services joint ventures, as well as compliance and enforcement matters involving the Consumer Financial Protect...
Rob has more than 25 years of experience advising financial institutions on mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities offerings, recapitalizations, and contract negotiations. Clients have commented that Rob is personable, efficient, strategic, and committed to his clients’ success. Rob is a co-chair of BFKN’s Financial Institutions Group. Rob focuses his practice on serving financial institutions in all their corporate needs, including advising them on their strategi...
Carl A. Fornaris is Co-Chair of the firm's Financial Regulatory and Compliance Practice. With 20 years of legal experience, Carl concentrates his practice on the representation of financial services firms in all aspects of their business. In particular, he represents U.S. and non-U.S. firms on finance and corporate matters, and provides supervisory and compliance counseling for institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, FinCEN, CFPB, SEC, FINRA, Florida Office of Financial Regu...
John has more than 40 years of experience advising hundreds of financial institutions and their boards on mergers and acquisitions, bank regulatory issues, corporate governance, and securities law matters. John is straight-forward, a good sounding board and strategic thinker, meticulous, and personable. John is the founder and co-chair of BFKN’s Financial Institutions Group and has advised hundreds of financial institutions on strategic, corporate governance and other matters. His exten...
Key players in the financial services industry, including banks, mortgage companies, and wealth management and investment advisory firms, rely on Chris to guide them through business combination and securities transactions, as well as ownership transition and succession planning transactions. His knowledge is also sought on corporate governance matters and new business formation and registration. Chris Frieden, former co-chair of Alston & Bird’s Financial Services & Products Gro...
Glenn is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, and a member of the firm's Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Distressed Investing Practice Group. He regularly represents creditors in out-of-court workouts, bankruptcy cases, and litigation. Glenn also has substantial experience in representing mortgage servicers and other financial institutions in mortgage-related litigation in bankruptcy courts. Glenn practiced at two large Birmingham firms in their bankruptcy and creditors’ rights areas before j...
Neil Grayson, a partner with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and the head of the Firm's Financial Institutions Practice Group, has a corporate practice focused primarily on the financial institutions and mobile payments industries. Mr. Grayson advises clients on matters related to corporate governance, enforcement actions and other bank regulatory matters, recapitalizations, private equity, securities offerings and reporting requirements, mergers and acquisitions, executive compens...
Howard Hagen practices primarily in banking law. For over 25 years he has counseled banks in virtually every Iowa county on such issues as regulation, acquisitions and various corporate and shareholder matters that have confronted banks in both good and troubled times. Howard also has served as counsel to the Community Bankers of Iowa for more than 20 years. He currently serves as a member of the American Bar Association Banking Law Committee. Earlier in his career, Howard served in the publi...
Patrick Hanchey counsels and represents banks and other financial institution clients in matters involving state and federal banking laws, regulations, enforcement actions, and other corporate activities, such as mergers, acquisitions, capital markets transactions, and holding company formations. Patrick regularly counsels clients on compliance with complex banking laws and regulations before entering into transactions or business activities, and he also has extensive experience in representi...
Bill Heller founded and chairs Akerman’s Consumer Financial Services Practice Group, among the largest national legal teams supporting consumer financial service providers. Bill leads a team of more than 100 lawyers—some former in-house and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau attorneys—with a platform for big stakes and high volume national litigation, federal and state examination, investigation and enforcement support, as well as regulatory compliance in all 50 states. A ...
Peter R. Herman is a shareholder at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. and co-chair of the Banking & Financial Services and the Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights groups. His broad banking and corporate law practice includes representations of lending institutions and business entities in a variety of commercial finance transactions. Mr. Herman also advises companies in the real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, and service industries with regard to both national and international transa...
Kristin Hinson is a partner in the Financial Services & Products Group. She focuses her practice on private investment funds and funds of funds, investment adviser registration and compliance, unregistered offshore private investment funds and private equity funds. Prior to joining Alston & Bird, Ms. Hinson was a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Association, and is also a member of the New York Bar ...
Justin is a partner and chair of the firm's Small Dollar and Alternative Financial Services Practice Group. He focuses his practice on regulatory compliance for alternative financial service providers including fintech providers, consumer lenders, buy-now-pay-later providers, wage advance providers, and virtual rent-to-own providers. Justin provides guidance on new product development, compliance management systems, and consumer disclosures. He provides third-party compliance opinions and day...
Dan Hugunine is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he is a member of the Corporate practice group. Dan frequently represents clients in the preparation and negotiation of product and services agreements, vendor and procurement contracts, and software licensing agreements. In addition, Dan counsels clients in many aspects of the financial services industries, addressing federal and state banking regulation, securities regulation, broker-dealer and investm...
Eric is a partner in the firm's Oklahoma City office and Editor in Chief of CounselorLibrary.com's Spot Delivery publication. He assists national and state banks, savings associations, credit unions, mortgage bankers, other licensed lenders, motor vehicles dealers and automotive finance companies in the development and maintenance of nationwide consumer mortgage and automobile finance programs; online motor vehicle sales programs; litigation funding programs; and electronic payment programs. ...
Gretchen L. Jones is a shareholder and Business Practice Group Leader at the law firm of Eaton Peabody, resident in the Brunswick, Maine office. Ms. Jones earned her law degree from the University of Maine School of Law and her undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Bowdoin College. Ms. Jones’ practice is focused on representing and counseling financial institutions and other businesses. She has extensive experience in legislative and regulatory advocacy on behalf of clients before th...
Mark is the Chair of the firm's Financial Services & Products Group, focusing on the representation of banks and other financial institutions, as well as real estate investment vehicles, such as REITs. Mark assists these companies with private and public securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, underwritings, corporate formations and restructurings, recapitalizations, corporate governance and a host of related complex regulatory issues. In the current economic cycle, Mark has worke...
Harvey Koning is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and is active in the firm’s Financial Institutions Industry group. He works with a wide variety of businesses, from start-ups to public companies. He represents companies involved in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and also initial and secondary public offerings. Harvey’s corporate practice also includes private equity, venture capital, securities regulation and executive compensation. He works extensively with a numbe...
Craig Landrum is a partner in the Banking & Financial Services Industry Team. Craig focuses his practice on bank regulatory law, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law, and securities law. Craig has extensive experience representing banks in a broad range of issues, including more than 100 merger and branch acquisition or sale transactions, as well as representing insurance companies and agencies with regard to corporate and regulatory matters, including the licensing of bank subsidi...
Publications: City of Cleveland v. Deusche Bank Trust Co., et al. , LexisNexis Expert Commentaries (February 2008). Consumer Credit: Law, Transactions and Forms , author, Matthew Bender & Company, six volumes (1984-present). Banking Law , contributing principal author, Matthew Bender & Company, four volumes, part of a 13-volume treatise (1980-present). Rabkin & Johnson Current Legal Forms , contributing author, Matthew Bender & Company (1979-1999). Credit Union Law Service , c...
Bill's practice experience encompasses the formation, regulation, and operation of banks and bank holding companies; securities offerings and reporting; mergers and acquisitions; and corporate governance matters pertaining to publicly-held companies. He has been rated by his peers as being "preeminent" in his fields of law. Prior to joining the Firm, Bill served as vice president and general counsel/corporate secretary for one of North Carolina's multi-bank holding companies.
Richard Latta is a partner in the Business Practice Group, Co-chair of the Reorganizations, Financial Restructuring and Workouts Group, and a leader of the firm’s Distressed Real Estate Group. He practices in the areas of corporate and partnership acquisitions and reorganizations, debt restructurings, corporate banking transactions, corporate governance matters, tax law, and planning for closely-held businesses, including succession planning for generational transfers of wealth. In addition t...
Brian Richard Lenker represents lending institutions and businesses across a broad range of corporate and commercial finance transactions. A member of the Firm’s Executive Committee, Brian is a highly experienced business lawyer with a deep knowledge of banking, corporate, and tax laws. Brian focuses his practice on commercial lending, acquisitions, sales, reorganizations of businesses, and real estate law. Representing banks, commercial real estate clients, and business entities rangin...
Robert practices in Financial Services Litigation with an emphasis in mortgage litigation and compliance and commercial/real estate litigation. He is a Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) and is one of only a handful of attorneys in the nation who have achieved this status. His national practice focuses primarily on representing two specific industries: financial institutions and mortgage companies. Robert's representation of clients in the financial institutions and mortgage industry is both tri...
Karl May has over 40 years of experience in the field of broker/dealer and investment advisor regulations, including the representation of clients at SEC, state agency, and self-regulatory (FINRA) enforcement and licensing proceedings. He counsels stock brokers, investment advisors, entrepreneurs and other entities regarding SEC and FINRA matters, as well as with commercial and securities litigation. He assists clients with with non-public securities offerings and advises generally in various...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.