Citing the increasing needs of clients in consumer and specialty finance, fintech, and banking sectors, global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has added Benjamin M. Saul as a shareholder in the firm’s Financial Regulatory & Compliance (FRAC) Practice in its Washington, D.C. office. Previously at Bryan Cave, Saul’s consumer enforcement matters have involved fair lending and servicing, unfair deceptive and/or abusive trade practices, and other federal and state consumer finance laws.
Saul has worked with clients on high-stakes regulatory, enforcement, and litigation matters for nearly 20 years and is known as a leader in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) matters.
“Ben Saul is one the United States’ best consumer finance protection lawyers, having successfully closed without administrative action or resolved on favorable, private terms for clients 25 out of 26 CFPB investigations and 35 out of 35 fair lending investigations across a range of federal and state agencies, including the CFPB,” said Carl A. Fornaris, co-chair of the firm’s FRAC Practice. “The pending change of leadership at the CFPB and expected crisis in housing and student loan debt, mean that lender and servicer clients are likely to see an uptick in activity that requires the differentiating experience Ben has to offer, added Gil Rudolph, also co-chair of the FRAC Practice.”
Beyond his CFPB work, Saul routinely assists clients in matters involving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), state financial services authorities, state attorneys general, and state civil rights commissions.
Saul often helps fintech and related clients understand how financial services law maps onto new technologies and innovative products involving big data, artificial intelligence, marketplace and online lending, blockchain, digital assets and cryptocurrencies, digital banking, and payment systems. His hands-on experience includes advising lenders and servicers on how to manage fair lending and bias risks associated with the use artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.
“Ben has a unique understanding of what needs to happen from the outset when financial institutions implement innovative technologies. The addition of Ben represents a strategic move to grow our already robust capabilities in this area. We are excited to have him join Greenberg Traurig at this critical time in the trajectory of the CFPB and related agencies. The synergies with our governmental law, corporate, regulatory, litigation, and other key practices are extraordinary,” said Ernest L. Greer, firm co-president and chair of the Washington, D.C. office, together with Pamela Marple, an established Washington, D.C. litigator and the office’s administrative shareholder.
“Greenberg Traurig is a great fit for my practice and clients. This firm has the teams – litigation, regulatory, governmental, and others – and platform that create a perfect cocktail of expertise to keep my clients ahead of the curve,” Saul said. “In addition, the firm’s footprint in the United States allows clients to draw on its capabilities in markets across the country when they need to address local needs and build cost effective teams.”
Saul also advises lenders, servicers, alternative financial service providers, and money service businesses on product and service development, licensing, compliance program enhancement, and the applicability of federal and state consumer credit and other financial services laws. In addition, Saul provides financial services regulatory support for corporate and capital markets transactions.
Saul holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from American University, Washington College of Law, where he was editor of the American University Law Review, a Karl Scholar, and Mussey-Gillett Fellow. He received a B.A., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a clerk to the Hon. John M. Steadman, District of Columbia Court of Appeals from 2002 to 2003.
Saul has served as a fintech advisor and mentor at Plug and Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley since 2017. He is an avid writer, previously serving as an editorial advisor in Banking for Law360; a member of the Board of Editorial Advisors for Review of Banking and Financial Services; former editor-in-chief for the American Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee Journal; co-author of the leading academic treatise Attorney-Client Privilege in the United States (West); and a recipient of the Law360 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing in 2018 and 2019.
Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. office has experienced growth this past year in several disciplines. Since January 2020, the following attorneys and governmental professionals have joined the office: Smith (Smitty) W. Davis as shareholder and Rodney P. Frelinghuysen as senior director in the Government Law & Policy Practice; Kyle R. Freeny as shareholder in the White Collar Defense & Special Investigations Practice; Robert (Bob) Hollingshead as shareholder in the Intellectual Property & Technology Practice; Matthew L. Kanna as shareholder and Friederike S. Görgens as of counsel in the International Trade Practice; Chia-Feng Lu as shareholder, Andrew Tsui as of counsel, and Tyler Scandalios as an associate in the Health Care & FDA Practice; Gary Lombardo as of counsel in the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Practice; Jack T. LeBris Erffmeyer as an associate in the Energy & Natural Resources Practice; and Christopher O’Brien as an associate in the Government Contracts Practice.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Financial Regulatory and Compliance Group: Greenberg Traurig’s Financial Regulatory and Compliance Group has wide-ranging experience assisting national, regional, and local clients in a variety of matters affecting the financial services industry. The national team of skilled attorneys works with clients as they face regulatory, litigation, legislative, supervision, examination, licensing, compliance, and governance matters. Greenberg Traurig’s regulatory attorneys regularly advise banks, broker-dealers, investment advisors, mortgage lenders and servicers, small dollar lenders, consumer finance companies, registered and private investment funds, debt collectors, and other financial institutions in complying with state and federal regulatory requirements and interfacing with governmental agencies.
For more information about Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. Office, click here.
For more information about Greenberg Traurig, click here.
