Mark Furletti > Ballard Spahr LLP > Philadelphia, United States > Lawyer Profile

Ballard Spahr LLP has a very broad practice across the consumer finance space. In addition to its work advising clients in traditional sectors such as mortgage lending, student loans and medical financing, the practice is frequently engaged by fintech clients as well as by companies using AI and ‘big data’. The team’s regulatory advice includes assisting clients in compliance with the Truth In Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, CFPB rules and state-level legislation such as the California Consumer Privacy Act. The practice is jointly led by Christopher Willis in Atlanta, and Mark Furletti and Daniel McKenna in Philadelphia. New York-based Judy Mok was promoted to partner in July 2021.

Ballard Spahr LLP has established an extremely good reputation for banking, payments and financial services regulatory advice. The multi-disciplinary practice is especially good at defending clients against regulatory enforcement actions and investigations. On the transactional side it assists major banks in developing in-house products and relationships with technology companies. New York’s James Kim and Minneapolis-based partner Ronald Vaske jointly lead the fintech and payments team, which includes Washington DC-based privacy and data security partner Kim Phan. Philadelphia’s Peter Jaslow co-leads the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency group, while recently promoted New York partner Judy Mok is active in the payments arena. In Philadelphia, consumer financial services co-head Mark Furletti ‘knows everything that could be known about financial regulations’.

Ballard Spahr LLP is widely recognized by peers for its expertise in the consumer lending space. The practice is highly active in government relations matters, representing clients facing investigations by federal regulators as well as by state-level attorneys general and regulators across the country. The team is also regularly engaged by clients to handle class actions, with particular focuses on student lending matters and alleged breaches of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The firm’s compliance and litigation practices are integrated, with Christopher Willis, Mark Furletti and Daniel McKenna leading the combined consumer financial services group. Alan Kaplinsky and Stefanie Jackman are also key figures in the team, with Jackman focused on debt collection and Kaplinsky specialising in matters involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Kaplinsky, Furtelli and McKenna are based in Philadelphia, while Jackman and Willis are based in Atlanta.