Financial Institutions
The Firm Provides comprehensive legal representation to banks, lending companies, and other types of financial institutions in the following areas:
- Legal Representation, Advising, and Support
- Legal Process, including Subpoenas, Writs, Levies
- Research and Analysis of Laws and Regulations Impacting Bank Operations
- Regulatory & Legal Compliance Consultation and Advising
- Risk Management Services
- Corporate Governance
- Development of Programs, Policies, Procedures, and Internal Guidance
- Collection Matters
- Contracts
- Vendor Reviews
- Loss Mitigation and Short Sale Transactions
- Sales of Other Real Estate Owned (OREO) Properties
Michael Gardner brings extensive legal, regulatory, and compliance experience within the banking industry experience to the firm by virtue of his time served with both national and state chartered financial institutions in legal and compliance positions. Throughout his career, Michael has focused on meeting the legal, compliance, and risk management needs of financial institutions operating within a very challenging regulatory-intense frameworks and environments. This includes providing a wide range of traditional financial institution professional legal services such as consultation, advice, representation, and support services.
In addition to providing traditional financial institution legal services, Michael has also developed, implemented, managed, reviewed, and audited various aspects of legal and compliance departments of financial institutions. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Consumer Compliance
- Fair Lending
- Legal Process
- Community Reinvestment Act Programs
- BSA/AML Compliance
- Fraud Prevention Programs
- Model Risk Management Programs
Michael has worked with many clients with the evaluation, self-assessment, and audit of their institution's compliance with applicable legal and regulatory compliance requirements. Michael has also conducted extensive look-back examinations, developed comprehensive and robust compliance programs, policies, and procedures, and delivered customized, hands-on, job-specific training programs to all levels of bank personnel, based upon the nature of institution’s business, examination results, internal audits, and applicable laws and regulations.