When the government investigates, banks need skilled defense counsel who know the industry and can navigate these matters to resolution. McGuireWoods defends and counsels banks in their most sensitive, high-stakes matters.
Our Bank Defense and Counseling team includes seasoned lawyers who defend the world’s largest banks in inquiries by the Department of Justice, SEC, OCC, FRB, CFPB, FDIC, state attorneys general, and several other regulators. Our successes have led to repeated recognition as a Banking Practice Group of the Year and White Collar Practice Group of the Year. With experience in nationwide securities fraud investigations, OCC enforcement actions alleging unsound banking practices, data breaches, and defense of banks in BSA/AML-related inquiries, our Bank Defense and Counseling lawyers have been there. Over the past 20 years, McGuireWoods has built strong relationships with government lawyers and earned a reputation for knowing how to navigate the life cycle of a large-scale investigation.
The complexity of large investigations, often involving multiple agencies and significant public attention, requires counsel who know the banking industry and the regulators that govern it.
In every matter, we understand the heightened privacy concerns and risk-based planning unique to our bank clients, and we keep these issues top of mind when advocating on their behalf.
McGuireWoods’ Bank Defense and Counseling team is part of an elite Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department with decades of bank-related experience. We hold a robust presence in all the major U.S. banking markets and have been recognized as a Law360 White Collar Practice Group of the Year. The firm also has been recognized as a Banking Practice Group of the Year. With decades of experience handling investigations and litigation in the banking sector, our Bank Defense and Counseling team includes former senior enforcement officials from a variety of governmental agencies, including the DOJ, SEC, OCC, and FINRA. We also draw upon the acumen of seasoned litigators in our Financial Services Litigation, Business Securities Litigation, and Complex Commercial Litigation departments, as well as our financial institutions industry team, our broker-dealer team, and our SEC enforcement team. McGuireWoods leverages experience across the full spectrum of regulatory, compliance, and business issues to ensure our banking clients receive well-tailored advice and a comprehensive defense team to handle the many complex issues presented in government inquiries.
Given this special combination of skills, experience and relationships, McGuireWoods’ Bank Defense and Counseling team helps clients develop successful strategies to navigate high-stakes investigations to resolution. From the receipt of a grand jury subpoena or supervisory letter to a full-blown investigation with significant media interest, we gauge the potential legal, business and reputational consequences, counseling clients on charting the best path forward to resolve the issue while avoiding damaging missteps.
Our team also helps banking clients limit the collateral consequences of government investigations by developing strategies to reduce and address the impact on licensing, private litigation and potential criminal exposure. In collaboration with McGuireWoods’ strategic risk and crisis management group, the Congressional Investigations team and McGuireWoods Consulting, we manage ancillary issues associated with bank investigations, including congressional investigations, board and shareholder relations, media inquiries and other crisis management matters.
National banks, regional banks, credit unions, senior executives and boards of directors call on McGuireWoods to handle a range of matters in the investigations arena, including:
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