Historically, financial regulatory lawyers have rooted themselves in New York or Washington, D.C. to develop thriving practices. Charlotte’s resurgence as a financial center—now once again the nation’s second largest banking center—coupled with the increasing availability of local, reasonably priced and talented banking practitioners, has changed all that.

The Beginnings of the Practice: Reflections From Ed O’Keefe

In 2015, after serving as a senior executive at Bank of America, including as its global general counsel during the aftermath of the financial crisis, I considered retiring. However, my thoughts of retirement were overshadowed by my vision for a world-class bank regulatory practice that would provide practical, innovative results while retaining Southeastern rates and culture. Based on my years of managing legal and regulatory risk, I knew the formula for successful bank regulatory outcomes—they require sound partnerships between skillful law firm teams, thoughtful government regulators and in-house counsel with rich institutional knowledge. In my mind, a law firm team with similarly diverse backgrounds would be able to consider regulatory issues holistically, and deliver creative, efficient and realistic advice. Leveraging the knowledge and experience of litigators, lending lawyers, securities practitioners, privacy and IP experts with bank regulatory lawyers and former regulators would ensure increased efficiencies and creative solutions. The former regulators could opine on likelihood of success while corporate counsel would add market practice knowledge and a focus on achievable solutions.  I also anticipated teaming with large New York firms on major projects, delivering locally based experts at value pricing to financial institutions.