McGuireWoods Partners Discuss Fintech Outlook With Metropolitan Corporate Counsel

November 8, 2017

McGuireWoods San Francisco partner David Reidy and Charlotte partner Alexandra Villarreal O’Rourke, co-chairs of McGuireWoods’ fintech team, are featured in a question-and-answer column titled “Talkative Clients Are Good Clients” in Metropolitan Corporate Counsel’s November issue on the changing fintech industry. In the interview, they discussed the biggest opportunities for fintech companies, regulatory hurdles on the horizon and general counsel preparations for these challenges.

O’Rourke, former senior counsel with the CFPB’s Office of Law & Policy, noted that while there are many opportunities for new innovations to emerge, regulatory changes remain a challenge for some new models. “States often have their own definitions of terms within lending, or of what it means to engage in a particular type of financial business,” she said. “Sometimes those definitions are different for every state, or different for many states.”

“Regulators are really taking note of some of these challenges and some of the ways regulatory uncertainties are preventing innovation. I think they’re trying to address that,” she added.

Reidy, who focuses his practice on representing clients in consumer class actions and in government investigations and enforcement actions, said, “There are unavoidable areas of regulatory uncertainty. Being actively engaged with regulators is key to managing risk.”