Financial services trade associations and industry coalitions
Financial services trade associations have been a core focus of our practice for over half a century. The firm has served as outside counsel to over a dozen leading industry trade associations, as well as numerous issue-focused coalitions. Several of the firm's senior lawyers worked in-house at trade associations prior to joining the firm.
We provide trade associations with legal counsel on federal banking, consumer finance, and housing policy matters. Our work includes drafting and editing comment letters to regulators such as the OCC, Federal Reserve, CFPB, FDIC, Treasury, FHFA, and HUD, as well as preparing white papers and advocacy materials on issues ranging from capital requirements to mortgage servicing standards. We also serve as regular outside counsel advising on governance and membership issues.
In addition, as part of our public policy practice, we often organize, manage, and support issue-based industry coalitions, providing legal expertise and administrative support for collective advocacy efforts. We have extensive experience forming and managing coalitions of financial institutions around specific regulatory and legislative issues. Our coalition work includes preparing comment letters to regulators, developing industry best practices, coordinating member engagement, and advocating before Congress and federal agencies.
Services we provide to trade association clients include:
Public Policy
Strategy & Engagement:
We help clients develop advocacy strategies to engage effectively with policymakers on financial services regulations.
Monitoring & Tracking:
We perform tailored monitoring of regulatory developments and provide custom trackers, reports, and other data products.
Bill and Rule Analysis:
We provide analysis of legislative proposals and regulatory rulemakings, as well as summaries and analysis of comments submitted by other stakeholders.
Legislative Drafting:
We draft bills, amendments, and legislative text to support clients' advocacy efforts relating to financial services regulation and policy.
Comment Letters:
We draft comment letters for clients on regulatory proposals and analyze the broader comment record to help clients understand where their position sits in the field.
White Papers:
We produce policy white papers and analytical studies on financial services regulatory issues.
FOIA Requests:
We submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to federal agencies and follow up with demand letters to obtain regulatory documents and agency records.
Congressional Testimony:
We prepare written and oral testimony for Congressional hearings on financial services law and regulation.
Agency Challenges:
We provide technical legal advice and strategic counsel to clients who are contemplating or pursuing challenges to agency actions.
Executive Briefings:
We prepare and deliver regulatory update briefings to client senior executives visiting Washington and help prepare them for meetings with regulators, congressional staff, and executive branch officials.
Impact Analysis:
We help clients understand the impact of existing and proposed laws and regulations on new or existing products and services.
Industry Coalitions
Administrative Support:
We supply administrative support for industry coalitions, including meeting planning, recordkeeping, and web presence.
Coalition Leadership:
We organize and manage various industry coalitions that focus on regulatory, compliance, and policy issues.
Issue Engagement:
We represent industry coalitions in direct engagement with government agencies on issues within the scope of their mission.
Legal and Policy Support:
We provide coalitions with comment letters, testimony, memoranda, and legal analysis, and we participate in meetings with policymakers.
Member Engagement:
We keep coalition members informed and engaged by providing regular updates, memos, and materials on coalition work and relevant regulatory developments.
Special Projects:
We manage specialized consulting engagements and coordinate data collection projects for industry coalitions.