The Legal 500

Based out of its New York and Washington DC offices and aided by a substantial international footprint, the ‘very strong’ team at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is well positioned to represent clients on many of the most sophisticated domestic and cross-border mandates in the market. The ‘fluid’ practice regularly works alongside its corporate and capital markets teams to deliver work of the ‘highest calibre’ across the full spectrum of advisory, transactional and enforcement mandates. ‘Very good on counselling’, the group has a keen understanding of developments and trends in the market and has acted for a number of major financial institutions in connection with all aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act. Having had a role in a significant amount of the consolidation within the banking market, the team recently advised several financial institutions, including Citigroup, Bank of America and The Hartford, on their multibillion-dollar TARP repayments. Led by Robert Tortoriello, the practice is advising Credit Suisse on the regulatory aspects of its investment in York Capital Management, a major global hedge fund manager, in a transaction designed to accommodate the nascent Volcker Rule requirements. Tortoriello is also regularly involved in enforcement matters, where he is currently representing a number of major financial institutions in agency investigations into credit card lending to subprime borrowers, involving allegations of unfair and deceptive acts and practices. On the transactional side, the department has handled a number of FDIC-assisted M&A transactions, including OneWest Bank’s acquisitions of the banking operations of First Federal Bank of California and La Jolla Bank, as well as BBVA Compass’ acquisition of the banking operations of Guaranty Bank. The ‘excellent and experienced’ John Murphy is also hugely admired across the gamut of enforcement, transactional and advisory concerns, and is currently advising Bank of America on its $45bn TARP repayment and related $19.3bn securities offering and related asset sales. ‘Excellent at handling international matters’, the firm excels at ensuring banking compliance with the myriad international laws affecting the industry and continues to advise the Bank of America on global regulatory requirements and global integration issues relating to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Derek Bush has an excellent reputation for handling complex bank regulatory matters, either as a standalone instruction or as a function of complex M&A mandates as evidenced by his involvement in the aforementioned BBVA Compass transaction. Other recommended partners include Paul Glotzer for banking M&A, Linda Soldo across a range of regulatory, enforcement and transactional matters, and Giovanni Prezioso for complex regulatory enforcement matters.

The ‘outstanding’ Sullivan & Cromwell LLP provides ‘deep and vast industry knowledge’ to clients in the banking, broker-dealer, commodities, futures and derivatives, insurance, and investment management sectors across the waterfront of regulatory, enforcement and transactional matters. Seen by many as ‘number one for bank regulatory matters’, this viewpoint has been formed as a result of the firm’s regular involvement across the panoply of issues affecting the sector in the past few decades. Aided by the firm’s ethos that sees lawyers trained to be generalists within broad practice areas, this multi and inter-disciplinary approach to handling transactional and enforcement offers value to clients and an ability to ‘see the bigger picture’. Hot on the heels of the firm’s pivotal involvement in many of the hastily arranged mergers within the banking industry following the economic crisis, the team continues to operate at the vanguard of the industry and has, for example, played an instrumental role advising on the regulatory aspects of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, including representing clients in the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) – most recently advising many banking clients on repurchasing stock from the US government as part of the TARP repayment plan. The team has also worked with leading trade groups, such as the Clearing House, on various matters including pending legislation and regulations relevant to the banking industry. Dubbed the “trauma surgeon of Wall Street” by the New York Times as a result of his ubiquitous appearance in the bank bailouts in the immediate aftermath of the economic crisis, the ‘legendary’ Rodgin Cohen has continued to be involved in several of the most significant transactions in the banking industry, such as his role for Barclays on the $15.2bn sale of its Barclays Global Investors business to BlackRock. The ‘exceptional’ Mitchell Eitel is also very well regarded on transactional matters and has recently represented numerous private equity firms in their acquisition of banking entities, including Warburg Pincus’ investments in both Webster Financial and Sterling Financial. Management partner of the firm’s financial institutions group, Michael Wiseman’s broad practice sees him active across the full spectrum of transactional, advisory, enforcement and legislative matters. In addition to the group’s counselling services to a raft of banking giants including Goldman Sachs and UBS – advising on amongst other matters, the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act and the implications of Basel III – the team also regularly works closely with the white-collar practice should the regulators become alerted to a potential enforcement issue; members of the team had a role in RBS’ recent settlement with the DOJ regarding alleged OFAC infringements.

‘One of the best around’, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP has been at the vanguard of regulatory changes in the financial services sector and has provided its impressive collection of banking clients with a full-ranging service throughout the life-cycle of the Dodd-Frank Act. Initially active during the regulatory implementation stage, the team has been at the forefront of law firms during the regulatory implementation phase. ‘Innovative and thoughtful’, the team’s sophisticated approach was demonstrated by the development of the Davis Polk Regulatory Tracker, an internet-based tool which allows clients to track and receive easily accessible regulatory implementation data on the major US financial regulatory developments. The firm’s involvement for six of the largest banks (including JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association on Dodd-Frank implementation also indicates the esteem with which it is held by the key industry players. On the transactional side, the team has ‘very deep expertise in structuring securities transactions and products’ and recently represented the underwriters (including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs) on Bank United’s $300m IPO. Other capital markets-related highlights included advising Sandler O’Neill as underwriter of First BankCorp’s $500m common stock offering and representing ICICI Bank on several major bond offerings. Benefiting from the collaborative approach engendered by the firm’s implementation of the lockstep compensation structure, the regulatory group is a pivotal presence in many of the firm’s M&A transactions within the financial services sector. It played a major role for Green Dot, a leading provider of prepaid debit cards, on its $15.5m acquisition of bank holding company Bonneville Bancorp. Led on the regulatory side by John Douglas, the matter involved core regulatory issues since Green Dot is becoming a first-time bank holding company. Head of the bank regulatory practice, Douglas is a key figure within the group and has been involved in all the troubled-bank M&A transactions and recapitalizations handled by the firm. Leader of the financial institutions group, Randall Guynn is also recommended, in particular for his high-profile work in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis and for assisting clients on matters relating to the regulatory changes brought about by the Dodd-Frank Act. The arrival towards the end of 2008 of former SEC commissioner Annette Nazareth has bolstered the firm’s expertise within the broker-dealer arena, where its impressive client base now includes GE Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Citigroup.

Driven out of its New York and Washington DC offices and aided by a significant presence in Europe and Asia, Debevoise & Plimpton’s financial institutions group includes some ‘very talented lawyers’ who are active across the spectrum of regulatory issues facing the insurance, banking and private equity industries. Able to leverage off the firm’s ‘pre-eminent insurance M&A department’, the firm has handled some of the market’s most complex and cutting-edge mandates, many featuring myriad regulatory concerns. Most significantly, the firm has represented beleaguered insurance giant AIG on its post-credit crunch international disposition program. Following on from its ultimately failed attempt to sell American International Assurance (AIA) to Prudential, John Vasily represented AIG on AIA’s spin-off and $20.5bn IPO and listing in Hong Kong. The largest IPO in Hong Kong’s history and the world’s largest IPO in the insurance market, the mandate highlighted the firm’s ability to handle a major cross-border mandate that required transactional and regulatory expertise. While the practice remains best-known for its insurance expertise, the recruitment in July 2009 of Gregory Lyons and Satish Kini from Goodwin Procter LLP underscores the firm’s commitment to building up its banking practice. Their arrival has already started to pay dividends and as well as advising a swathe of banks (including Fifth Third Bank) and trade associations on Dodd-Frank compliance issues, the team has handled a number of significant M&A mandates. The group has been particularly active for private equity entities acquiring distressed lenders and, led by Lyons, it advised Federal One on its acquisition of a thrift in New England and a subsequent, separate acquisition of bank branches from Millenium Bank. Nicholas Potter co-heads the overall financial institutions group and is recommended for his expertise at handling transactional work, while Paul Lee co-heads the banking practice. The firm is also active on the enforcement side, where it is able to draw upon the strength of its ‘market leading white-collar team’.

Although it is more limited in its bandwidth than other firms in the ranking, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is ‘quite clearly top of the class’ when it comes to financial services M&A. Able to tap into the firm’s fantastic relationships with many of the leading banks and private equity sponsors, including the Carlyle Group, the 15-partner team has been the cornerstone to many of the transactions that have recently been completed in this space. Clients are impressed by the group’s ‘responsiveness and unflappability’, and also praise its ability to appropriately resource matters, noting that ‘staffing is lean where it should be but can be quickly expanded to include more resources or niche expertise’. ‘Calming and authoritative’ team head Lee Meyerson is ‘truly amazing in his depth of knowledge and terrific guidance in the context of bank M&A deals where regulatory issues are a constant challenge’. At the heart of many of the firm’s most challenging mandates, Meyerson recently represented the Bank of Nova Scotia on its $5.6bn acquisition of the banking operations of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico from the FDIC. He also recently completed two transactions on behalf of People’s United Financial on the acquisitions of Smithtown Bancorp and LSB Corporation for an aggregate cost of $156m. Described as a ‘real scrapper’, Maripat Alpuche has a core focus advising financial institutions in their merger activity including his recent work for Wells Fargo & Company on its $4.5bn acquisition of Wachovia Securities Financial Holdings. Also active in capital raisings for financial institutions, Alpuche recently acted for Barclays Capital as underwriter in connection with Fulton Financial Corporation’s $230m public offering of common stock, net proceeds of which were used to redeem the preferred stock Fulton issued to the US Department of Treasury as part of the Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program. Benefiting from an office in Tokyo, the firm also recently advised AIG on the $4.8bn sale of its Japan-based life insurance subsidiaries to Prudential Financial – an important step in AIG’s program to repay US taxpayers.

The ‘excellent’ Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP has a strong track record across the gamut of regulatory matters for a blue-ribbon array of financial institutions including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan. Driven out of New York and Washington DC and aided by an impressive international footprint, the firm’s expertise lies in financial institution-related M&A. Formerly of the Federal Reserve Board, the ‘excellent’ William Sweet heads the practice and is a fixture in many of the firm’s most significant mandates including its involvement for Citigroup and its subsidiary, Primerica, on the $230m sale of common stock and warrants of Primerica to Warburg Pincus. Mirroring the team’s global prowess, Sweet also recently advised Chinese entity CITIC Securities in its agreement with Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank to explore the combination of their global equity brokerage and investment banking businesses. Co-head William Rubenstein is also well regarded for M&A transactions within the sector, a reputation that was recently underscored by his involvement for a consortium of private equity firms including Friedman Fleischer & Lowe on their $115m investment in Green Bancorp. On the consumer side, the firm is particularly well regarded at handling significant litigation and investigations. Co-led out of Washington DC by Anand Raman and Joseph Barloon, the consumer financial services enforcement and litigation group is active across a range of criminal, regulatory, and internal investigations, class action and commercial litigation. While much of the work handled is confidential and regularly results in non-determination actions, recent public representations include acting for Countrywide Financial Services in litigation alleging discriminatory mortgage loan pricing and steering. Jamie Boucher also has an enforcement and litigation focus, however, her remit lies predominantly in the representation of banking entities outside of the consumer sector. Particularly accomplished at handling international trade matters, Boucher is currently representing both Compass Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in separate investigations into alleged violations of US economic sanctions.

Arnold & Porter LLP’s team of over 35 lawyers provides domestic and international financial institutions with comprehensive regulatory, litigation, legislative and transactional services. Based out of the firm’s Washington DC and New York offices, the practice includes a number of former high-ranking government officials and also benefits from the ability to tap into the huge reserves of knowledge within other complementary practice areas at the firm. ‘Superb for enforcement and investigations on behalf of banks’, the team continues to represent the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) as conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in litigation across the country. The firm’s strength in enforcement and litigation is complemented by a robust bank advisory service, which advises a broad mix of financial institutions across legislative, policy and operational concerns. Important recent work has included advising clients on the implications of the Dodd-Frank Act. Led by Brian McCormally and utilising a broad multi-disciplinary team, the firm represented the two multibillion-dollar bank subsidiaries of Lehman Brothers in all matters relating to the banks’ federal and state banking regulators, including regulatory and bankruptcy court approval of the recapitalization of the banks, and the successful resolution of over $2.5bn in bank claims in the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcies. Managing partner Richard Alexander has a ‘fantastic’ reputation, particularly in relation to handling high-profile enforcement matters and continues to advise significant institutions such as the FHFA. Howard Cayne is also well-regarded for enforcement and litigation, and represents the FHFA as conservator in a broad range of litigation. On the compliance side, David Freeman regularly handles product development matters for high-profile banks, while Kevin Barnard and the ‘superb’ Patrick Doyle are also recommended.

‘One of the best in the market for pure bank regulatory work’, Covington & Burling LLP is admired for its interdisciplinary approach to compliance and enforcement. Based out of Washington DC, the team benefits from ‘strong agency relationships’ and has handled several major investigations resulting from the financial downturn including representing the former CEO of IndyMac Bancorp in litigation and governmental inquiries across a range of matters arising out of the failure of the bank including mortgage-backed securities cases. While the firm is less active on the transactional side, it recently acted for Financial Federal on its $738m merger with People’s United Financial. ‘Empathetic, professional and responsive’, Jean Veta has an excellent reputation on the enforcement side in particular, and is regularly instructed by financial institutions in high-stakes investigations. Stuart Stock is recognized both for his regulatory and enforcement prowess and continues to advise Freddie Mac on the ongoing government conservatorship. Other recommended members of this ‘empathetic, professional and responsive team’ include Mark Plotkin and John Dugan, who now chairs the financial institutions group following his return from a spell as Comptroller of the Currency.

‘Knowledgeable and responsive’, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP’s financial services practice provides ‘excellent commercial judgment’ to an impressive array of banking clients on their most critical strategic initiatives, transactions, litigation and regulatory services. ‘Very capable on M&A generally and the issues confronting financial advisors’, the firm has handled a slew of high-profile mandates for underwriters on capital raisings for financial services companies. Recent highlights include advising Bank of America and Goldman Sachs as underwriters in Cathay General Bancorp’s $125.6m common stock offering and representing the underwriters, led by Deutsche Bank and Bank of America, on CreXus Investment’s $200m IPO. Philip Richter regularly represents Goldman Sachs in its role as financial advisor on many M&A transactions and recently represented it in this capacity in relation to leading Puerto Rican bank Popular’s agreement to sell its majority interest in its processing subsidiary EVERTEC, to funds managed by Apollo Management. Also active on the enforcement front, the group is representing various Federal Home Loan Banks across a raft of regulatory and potential enforcement actions. Chair of the firm’s litigation department, William McGuinness is recommended for his work within the brokerage, securities and financial services industry.

Hogan Lovells US LLP provides ‘effective and timely guidance’ to an impressive roster of clients including CNB Bank, First Trade Union Bank, Webster Bank and Westfield Bank. With 24 partners spread out across the firm’s national patchwork of offices and also aided by a significant international network, the team has both the critical mass and the geographical diversity to handle many of the most complex compliance, enforcement and transactional mandates in the market. On the compliance side, as well as handling advisory work for clients during the gestation period of the Dodd-Frank Act, the team has worked closely with the firm’s privacy group to advise banks on many new uses of consumer data spawned by technological developments. Global co-head of the corporate practice, Stuart Stein has ‘vast knowledge of the financial services industry’ and recently represented both Provident Funding and Torrey Pines in consumer lending matters and compliance with banking laws at both federal and state level. Also praised for his ‘knowledge of the regulatory environment’, Gregory Parisi provides ‘sound, timely feedback and advice’ and, along with Stein, recently advised the National Rural Utilities Co-operative Finance Corporation on consumer lending and wholesale funding operations. Richard Schaberg co-heads the group and is often involved in financial institution M&A including recently representing Danvers Bancorp on its $2.6bn sale to People’s United Financial. Benefitting from a heavy concentration of lawyers in Washington DC and strong relationships with the regulators, the team has an excellent track record on behalf of clients before all the federal banking agencies.

While it may be smaller than many of its peers, under the stewardship of the ‘wonderful’ Brian Smith, Latham & Watkins LLP has successfully developed a significant reputation for handling a wide range of matters including product development, regulatory compliance and financial institutions M&A. Praised for its ‘excellent and timely work product’, the team also benefits from the broad-ranging expertise of a full-service firm and frequently works alongside lawyers within the corporate and finance groups. Aided by the corporate practice, it recently advised the Prosperity Banking Company on the sale of control to a group of unrelated private investment funds. In addition, the practice has had vital input into the regulatory issues associated with numerous private investment funds’ investments into US commercial banks. As well as transactional work, the group has advised a slew of clients as to the ramifications of the recent legislative changes to the financial services landscape including Dodd-Frank; recently acting for a global non-financial company on the Act’s implications on its ongoing operations and financial commitments, including the implications of the FDIC’s new orderly liquidation authority. While the team also includes ‘excellent’ associates Angela Angelovska-Wilson and Melissa Hall, it is without doubt Smith that ‘steals the show’. Formerly a senior federal regulator, ‘in addition to knowing all the details of the areas of law, he also knows the personnel and modus operandi of the regulatory agencies that administer those laws, and is very creative in fashioning workable solutions to challenges arising in newly forming and changing industries’.

Mayer Brown provides ‘consistently excellent, very responsive and cost conscious regulatory advice’ to an excellent roster of domestic and international financial institutions including Associated Bank, Northern Trust Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Toronto-Dominion Bank, UBS and Wells Fargo. Active across the regulatory waterfront, the firm has assisted clients on a range of issues arising out of the financial downturn, including financial assistance and investment opportunities. The practice has also provided ‘invaluable advice’ to clients on the scope and impact of the recent legislative changes affecting the financial services sector. It is advising a leading funds transfer service on its response to Dodd-Frank, including identifying potential new business opportunities brought about by its enactment, as well as potential changes to its regulatory framework. Benefiting from a strong international network of offices, the 30-strong team’s reach extends to international mandates such as its recent work for a major US financial institution on its merger with a sister bank which drew on the regulatory resources of lawyers on three continents. Co-leader of the team Charles Horn is ‘well regarded and very knowledgeable in bank regulatory matters and knows regulatory officials if contact needs to be made’. Co-head Scott Anenberg ‘frames issues in a business context and clearly illustrates the pros and cons of alternative strategies’. As part of his broad-reaching practice, Anenberg has developed a reputation as a go-to-person for foreign banks seeking geographic expansion as a result of ‘his familiarity with the foreign banks’ concerns’. The ‘responsive and knowledgeable’ Thomas Delaney and Jeffrey Taft are recommended, as is David Sahr, who has a particular niche advising foreign banks on establishing their operations in the US and is praised for his ‘solid knowledge of the field’.

Equally spread across its New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles offices, Morrison & Foerster LLP’s ‘outstanding’ ten-partner practice provides ‘exceptional’ advice across the gamut of regulatory concerns affecting the industry and successfully melds regulatory expertise with a strong subject matter knowledge applicable to the matter at hand. The firm’s geographical diversity is matched by the variety of work it handles within the financial services sector, from advising on financial institution M&A to compliance with the myriad legislative changes that have impacted on the industry. ‘Particularly strong on the consumer finance side’, the firm has a long and distinguished history of acting for payment card issuers which can be traced back to the 1960’s when it was involved in the Master Charge interchange bank card program. The firm’s continued reputation in the area is underscored by its current role as Washington DC legislative and regulatory counsel to Visa. As well as advising several large banks on the regulatory implications of the recent enactment of the Consumer Finance Act, the practice has handled a raft of work for the PNC Financial Services Group including in connection with its agreements with Visa. By no means limited to work in the consumer finance space, the firm has handled some high-profile mandates in the wider banking community including advising Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities on the financial regulatory matters pertaining to the $5bn convergence of their Japanese securities with those of Morgan Stanley Japan. Led out of Los Angeles by Henry Fields, the mandate highlights the team’s ability to handle complex cross-border mandates, utilising as it did lawyers in the firm’s Tokyo office. Co-headed out of Washington DC by Oliver Ireland and Rick Fischer, the team includes recent recruit from Alston & Bird LLP, Dwight Smith, and the ‘responsive and knowledgeable’ Joseph Gabai, who is ‘one of the best and brightest in the mortgage banking area’. Clients include Bank of America, Bank of Montreal, BNY Mellon, JPMorgan and Chinatrust Commercial Bank.

Kick started just over three years ago when Gerard Comizio joined the firm from Thacher Proffitt, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP’s ten-partner financial services regulatory team has quickly established itself as a significant player in the market. Active across a myriad of matters, from operations to M&A, lending to litigation, and formation to financing, the firm provides a broad-ranging service to a balanced client roster from all areas of the industry. Spearheaded by Comizio, the team has handled some of the largest private sector bank mergers in recent years. In 2010, it represented Harleysville National Corporation on its $302m sale to Niagara Financial. As well as advising clients on the implications of new legislation, such as Dodd-Frank, it also regularly plays a role in shaping the law. This lobbying ability recently manifested itself when, on behalf of PHH Corporation, a major US auto leasing company, the firm successfully persuaded the Federal Reserve to include auto leasing companies as qualifying entities for its TALF program. The firm’s expertise in the financial services space is rounded out by a payments system practice. Headed by Chris Daniel, the team handles the gamut of matters affecting financial institutions in this space, from product development to work involving investments into payments system companies. Utilising the firm’s wide international footprint, Daniel is currently working with Visa to develop and implement a worldwide money transfer program to enable any Visa cardholder to send money to another Visa cardholder wherever they may be located in the world. Other clients include Emigrant Bancorp, Home Savings of America and Oaktree Capital Management.

The ‘top notch’ team at Shearman & Sterling LLP provides ‘sound judgment’ to a broad array of financial institutions including banks, broker-dealers, exchanges and fund groups players. Particularly accomplished on the general compliance and M&A side, the firm’s commitment to the area was recently underscored by the creation of a nascent cross-disciplinary financial recovery and reform advisory group which has already made numerous presentations to US and foreign banks on the developments and legislative changes in the US and Europe. Employing a cross-border team, the firm has handled a raft of work for IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) including advising on its acquisition of The Clearing Corporation, as well as representing ICE Clear Europe on the establishment of its credit default swap clearing service. Other transactional highlights included acting for Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg on the sale of its US broker-dealer, LBBW Securities, to Links Holdings, a subsidiary of Guggenheim Partners. Bradley Sabel spearheads a group that gained increased credibility following the recent arrival of former bank regulator Donald Lamson.

Sidley Austin LLP’s ‘very broad and deep’ 16-partner financial services group has expertise in the majority of areas affecting the industry, including broker-dealer issues and more esoteric areas such as the privacy and information matters affecting the financial services industry. Consumer finance is a core area of strength and lawyers within the team have been particularly active of late advising clients including JPMorgan, HSBC and GE Capital on extensive rule making before the Federal Reserve Board regarding the re-regulation of the credit card industry. MasterCard is a core client of the group and instructs the firm on public policy, regulatory and compliance issues affecting payment systems and banks and other financial institutions. As well as advising domestic entities, the team has also established an ‘excellent reputation’ for aiding foreign banks on their expansion into the US. Praised for her ‘unprecedented amount of experience, and knowledge with regard to laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the international banking community’, Connie Friesen is particularly skilled in this area, and recently advised both the Agricultural Bank of China and the China Merchants Bank on the establishment of a New York branch. The ‘exceptionally intelligent’ David Teitelbaum has particular expertise advising on the regulatory aspects of credit card, debit card and other e-payment systems and represents the National Automated Clearing House Association across the gamut of the regulation and ongoing development of the automated clearinghouse payment system. Department head William Eckland has tremendous experience across a range of matters and has recently handled a significant volume of financial services M&A for GE Asset Management including in connection with an investment in newly formed banks, Grandpoint Bank and Carlile Bank.

Although it has a narrower bandwidth than many of its competitor firms, for consumer finance Ballard Spahr LLP is ‘one of the very best’. Headed by the ‘very knowledgeable’ Alan Kaplinsky, and including four members of the American College of Consumer Financial Services, the seven-partner team provides overarching expertise in product development and regulatory matters, as well as representing clients in litigation and agency investigations. On the contentious side, as well as the firm’s ongoing representation of a number banks including Huntington National Bank, Sovereign Bank and PNC Bank, in high-profile overdraft fee litigation, it also recently successfully represented Chase Bank in the action it brought against debt settlement company Hess-Kennedy. Pioneering the use of arbitration provisions in consumer financial services contracts, the firm has recently represented a number of leading national bank trade groups in a series of cases addressing the enforceability of such provisions. Group vice-chair Jeremy Rosenblum has a focus on federal and state lending and consumer practices laws, with an emphasis on the interplay between federal and state laws, while associate Mark Furletti is praised for his ‘highly analytical and extremely methodical approach to work’. Clients include ACE Cash Express, Alliance Data, Bank of America, Fidelity National Financial, Sallie Mae and Sovereign Bank.

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP’s ‘top-notch’ practice provides a ‘knowledgeable, responsive and practical service’ across a range of bank regulatory matters including financial services M&A, litigation and compliance. Sanford Brown is a pivotal member of the team and as part of his broad-ranging practice has handled transactional work for the likes of Dallas-based bank Connemara Bancorp on its acquisition of First Amherst Bancshares. ‘Not only does he possess deep knowledge in all banking and financial regulatory areas but he has the unique ability to translate complex issues into actionable business language.’ The firm also benefits from five attorneys who focus on broker-dealer matters, although it is the ‘knowledgeable, responsive and practical’ Julian Rainero, who is the ‘clear superstar’ in this field. Rainero recently advised one of the country’s leading clearing firms on the launch of a multi-currency, multi-asset class clearing firm. William Luedke and Charlotte Rasche are also recommended and are ‘both extremely knowledgeable in the needs of publicly traded financial institutions’. Clients include Lehman Brothers Holdings, Prosperity Bancshares, Green Bancorp, Fidelity Investments, Bank of New York, Oppenheimer, Sandler O’Neill & Partners and Credit Suisse.

Although Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP has broadened the scope of its practice somewhat to include occasional matters for banks, it is still predominantly centered on the insurance industry. Increasingly transactional in its focus, the firm has been particularly active advising on significant M&A transactions and capital raisings within the insurance industry. It is advising MetLife on its $16bn acquisition of American Life Insurance Company from AIG. In what was one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the insurance industry, the mandate involved complex regulatory issues, including co-ordinating regulatory approvals in more than 50 jurisdictions. The team also represented Fairfax Financial Holdings on its $370m acquisition of General Fidelity Insurance from Bank of America. The practice has also been involved in advising insurers on product development, including Karson Capital in the structuring and implementation of a novel product to enable life insurance securitizations. John Pruitt and Cynthia Shoss are pivotal members of a team that acts for a raft of key players in the insurance industry including Ambac Financial Group, AIG, Aviva, Fidelity National Financial, MBIA, Metropolitan Life Insurance, Munich Re and Zurich Financial Services. The firm is also active on the SEC enforcement side, where Ralph Ferrara and Ann Ashton are the main contacts.

At Gibson Dunn, Washington DC-based of-counsel Susan Grafton is the principal contact for financial services regulatory work. Formerly vice president and associate general counsel at Goldman Sachs, Grafton provides first-hand experience of the regulatory matters affecting the banking industry. Involved across the waterfront of matters, she has represented numerous clients on a variety of issues raised by the Dodd-Frank Act throughout the legislative process, as well as regularly assisting the transactional lawyers navigate their way through any concomitant regulatory concerns. Broker-dealer work is another niche area of specialism.

Venable LLP provides regulatory advice to a broad range of players within the financial services industry including commercial banks, savings banks, credit unions, bank holding companies and foreign banks. Driven out of its Washington DC office and including four former banking agency regulators, the firm is particularly accomplished on the enforcement side across the waterfront of matters including under the Fair Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity Acts. In addition to representing several banks in agency enforcement proceedings, the firm has also developed a specialism in advising directors and officers of failed banks in investigations by the FDIC. Spearheaded by William Donovan and working closely with the firm’s standalone legislative and government affairs team, the firm has also handled a significant volume of work for clients seeking to influence public policy. Donovan in particular has worked with Congress in shaping most major pieces of legislation shaping the law relating to consumer financial services over the past 35 years. Ronald Glancz heads the six-partner team whose clients include ING Direct, the Department of the Treasury and USAA Bank.

The ‘responsive, insightful and practical’ four-partner team at Winston & Strawn LLP provides ‘very business-oriented advice’ to clients across a swathe of regulatory issues. The firm’s ‘sterling reputation for uncompromising quality and for its masterful depth and acumen in areas that relate to bank regulation’ has ensured that it has picked up a raft of impressive mandates for a diverse range of clients in the industry including banks, non-banking financial institutions, broker-dealers and hedge funds. The practice has also recently developed a particular area of strength advising directors of financial institutions on their rights and obligations in these uncertain times. Led by ‘strategic and creative’ department head Christine Edwards, the firm represented the independent directors of the board of Associated Bank on the potential regulatory implications triggered by the bank’s receipt of $500m of TARP capital. Formerly general counsel at several large financial institutions, Edwards has ‘deep knowledge and experience in the market’ and ‘really anticipates the needs of her clients’. Ex-head of equities compliance at Deutsche Bank, Edward Johnsen leads the firm’s broker-dealer practice and is appreciated by clients for his ‘direct relationships with regulators that provides valued insight and an understanding of the clients’ needs’. Described by one client as ‘among the finest regulatory practitioners in the country’, of-counsel Julius Loeser also adds tremendous credibility to the team following his arrival in March 2010 from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. Of-counsel Peter Malyshev focuses his practice on transactional and regulatory issues affecting the commodities, financial and derivatives products markets and has recently handled work for Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital on derivates-related matters under Dodd Frank.