Financial Services Litigation
Our attorneys have extensive experience with all phases of financial institutions litigation, arbitration, and contested regulatory proceedings. We routinely handle such matters from pre-litigation advice and investigation, through initial case assessment, dispositive motions, class certification, discovery (including extensive experience with complex e-discovery issues and responding to subpoenas), trial, and appeal. While we most frequently represent defendants, we are also experienced in presenting claims on behalf of plaintiffs. We have litigated on behalf of banks, savings institutions, their holding companies, finance companies, other non-bank lenders, officers, directors, investors, trade associations, and (occasionally) governmental entities.
- Our Financial Institutions Litigation team includes numerous attorneys with extensive first-chair trial experience and many seasoned appellate advocates; the roster includes a former Comptroller of the Currency, a former OCC Director of Enforcement, a former Acting General Counsel of the FHLBB, and several former Assistant US Attorneys.
- Our financial institutions litigation and arbitration portfolio includes matters related to consumer lending, mortgage securitization, regulatory enforcement, challenges to statutes and regulations, contract disputes, takings claims, tax and tax-benefit disputes, deceptive-practices claims, statutory claims (under TILA, FDCPA, state and federal False Claims Acts, and other statutes), antitrust claims, securities claims, and a variety of other subject matters. We have also recently presented several successful challenges to state and local regulatory and disclosure enactments on grounds of federal preemption.
- We also have extensive recent experience litigating class-action matters involving overdraft-fee practices, credit-card account disclosures, and mortgage servicing and origination practices, as well as defending financial institutions against claims for breach of securitization-trust reps and warranties. We were recently engaged to handle more than 50 cases involving the interpretation and application of the tax-exemption terms of certain federal financial institution charters. We regularly represent major financial institutions in securities matters, including SEC investigations and enforcement actions, as well as class actions alleging securities fraud and related securities law violations.
Experience
Dismissal of claims in alleged housing discrimination case.
Persuaded Court of Appeal to uphold US$31 million trial award for expectancy damages and incidental losses in a breach of contract action against the United States.
Obtained $401.5-million restitution and damages award in a breach of contract action against the United States on behalf of Keystone Holdings Partners, LP, and its principal investor, Robert M. Bass.
Represented client in a three-week “bellwether” AAA arbitration against claims by over 100 hedge fund investors who claimed that Schwab failed to oversee trading and reporting by hedge funds custodied at Schwab.
Successfully obtained a FINRA hearing panel’s decision that FINRA’s enforcement division cannot block a broker-dealer from including class action waivers in its customer arbitration agreements.
