Fintech & Financial Services

Leveraging deep roots in the Fintech and Financial Services industry to provide practical and actionable legal advice

Overview

The industry experience of our Fintech and Financial Services attorneys - as former  in-house counsel - is what truly sets Scale apart from other law firms. We are fluent in the issues and challenges facing this sector and provide practical, actionable legal advice that strikes the right balance between innovation and risk management.

Drawing on our extensive knowledge of industry practices and applicable regulatory requirements, we advise our clients on bank partnerships, lending & alternative credit, embedded finance, card products, real estate tech, home equity investments, payments, remittances, earned wage access, auto finance, block chain and digital assets, licensing, regulatory compliance and enforcement. We also act as product counsel and fractional GCs for companies with or without in-house counsel.

Our Approach

Driven by an entrepreneurial ethos, our model allows us to deliver results, reduce churn and improve efficiencies with every client matter. We offer advice that can be operationalized and work closely with business teams to design and implement processes that support growth. We also collaborate regularly with our Scale colleagues, tapping into the firm’s deep bench of legal talent to meet the specific needs of each client.

Areas of Practice

Our Fintech and Financial Services attorneys handle a wide range of legal and regulatory matters including:

  • Alternative Finance
  • Auto Finance
  • Bank Partnerships
  • Blockchain & Digital Assets
  • BSA / AML
  • CFPB & State Regulatory
  • Compliance & InfoSec
  • Consumer Financial Products & Services
  • Earned Wage Access
  • Enforcement Actions
  • Examinations & Investigations
  • Fair Lending and Credit Reporting (ECOA, FCRA & UDAAP)
  • Fintech Product Counseling
  • Money Transmission Licensing (MTL)
  • Lending Licensing
  • Payments and Remittances
  • Product Counsel
  • Prepaid, Credit & Debit Cards
  • Real Estate, Mortgage & Equity Sharing
  • Regtech & Proptech

Specifically, our team has deep experience routinely assisting in the following situations:

  • Bank partnerships and agreements with other third party financial and compliance service providers
  • Product counsel for crypto, lending, cards (prepaid, credit & debit), and payments - including intellectual property
  • Licensing, audit and regulatory issues, including regulatory engagement and enforcement actions
  • Consumer-facing agreements, including website terms of use, privacy policy, electronic communications consent, user agreements and MSAs 
  • Reviewing processes and flows to better serve consumers 
  • Advising on onboarding flows and drafting and implementing internal policies and procedures

We can meet the tailored legal needs of each client across a wide range of areas, including corporate / M&A, financing, securities, commercial, regulatory, IP, litigation, employment and real estate.

What Sets us Apart

Fintech industry experience

We have served as GCs and in-house counsel at some of the best known and most innovative companies in the fintech and financial services world, including:

‍

Affirm American Express Blend Bread Financial Guaranteed Rate
Happy Money JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Keller Williams Realty, Inc. Kiavi (formerly known as LendingHome) LendingClub
MetroMile Morgan Stanley Opendoor Payactiv Prosper Marketplace
Qualia Labs Roofstock Unison Upstart Wachovia Bank Capital Markets

‍

Cutting-edge technologies

Our client portfolio includes emerging growth companies exploring new technologies related to:

  • Blockchain and digital assets 
  • White-label card programs including prepaid, credit, loyalty, and reward programs
  • Ledger technologies
  • Payment, remittance and billing platforms
  • Online lending platforms
  • Neo-banks / non-bank financial institutions
  • Private equity and venture capital investors

‍

Deep regulatory knowledge

Our attorneys have significant experience handling regulatory matters at the federal and state level, including those involving: 

  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
  • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
  • Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
  • Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
  • Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (FRB)
  • Internal Revenue Services (IRS)
  • State financial regulatory agencies

Meet The Team

See Full Team

Jason Altieri

Partner

Berkeley, CA

Josh Banerje

Counsel

Los Angeles, CA

Heather Cantua

Deputy Managing Partner - Strategic Initiatives

Port Angeles, WA

Alexander Gershen

Partner

Silicon Valley, CA

Dori V. Karjian

Counsel

Seattle, WA

Alexandra Karram

Counsel

Washington, DC

David Lundeen

Counsel

Nashville, TN

David Reidy

Managing Partner

Silicon Valley, CA

Brian Scherer

Counsel

New York, NY

Houman Shadab

Counsel

New York, NY

Julie Snyder

Paralegal

South Lake Tahoe, CA

Cary Ullman

Partner, Practice Group Leader

New York, NY

Jamie Wells

Partner

Silicon Valley, CA

Nora Wong

Counsel

New York, New York

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(415) 735-5933