Cooley has hired two leaders of Morrison & Foerster’s fintech group as partners in its Washington, D.C., office, demonstrating that demand for expertise in both lending and payments products remains robust.

Obrea Poindexter had been at Morrison & Foerster for over two decades, and Sean Ruff—apart from a short spell as director of lead payments and regulatory counsel for Square—had been there for nearly as long. Ruff’s practice focuses on the payments side of the equation, while Poindexter concentrates on lending. Both lawyers were most recently co-heads of Morrison & Foerster’s fintech practice.