This area of law covers both non-contentious and contentious matters arising out of the Financial Services industry and the provision of advice on all aspects of internal organization and governance, transactions and operations. Non-contentious matters include assistance to banks / financial institutions clients in complying with the full range of financial services laws and regulations in their daily operations (such as the Anti-Money Laundering Act, International Banking Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the USA PATRIOT Act and many other statutes affecting the financial services day-to-day business). Financial Services Regulation also encompasses financial institutions’ business transactions, especially the advice on regulatory issues in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures of financial services companies and the implementation of holdings in foreign countries. This section also covers the lobbying work done by the firm for the development of new laws and regulations before Congress or other regulatory agencies. In contentious matters, Financial Services Regulation Law includes advice related to the defense of financial institutions in criminal and civil examinations, inspections, investigations, and formal proceedings by the SEC and other federal and state financial regulators and self-regulatory organizations.

Solving Drafting/ Editing Problems:

  1. Comparison-Related Mistakes – When you write a comparison, make sure that the items being compared are comparable both grammatically and logically. Example: Incorrect: Unlike the economies in England and France, Spain has a declining economy; Correct: Unlike the economies in England and France, the economy in Spain is declining. When you compare something to something else, always clarify what that something else is. Otherwise, the comparison is incomplete, and the reader
    won’t know what the comparisonmeans. Example: Incorrect: The weather on the West Coast is dryer and warmer; Correct: The weather on the West Coast is dryer and warmer than that on the East Coast.
  2. Mistakes Involving Active and Passive Voice – The “voice” of a sentence confuses people. When a sentence is written in the active voice, the subject performs the action that the verb expresses. When a sentence is written in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon. (E.g. for active voice: “A man in a red shirt stole my car.” E.g. for passive voice: “My car was stolen by a man in a red shirt.” A double, or blank, passive hides the actor: “My car was stolen.” The passive
    voice sounds weak and unclear. The active voice doesn’t. Active voice: The prosecutor bears the burden of proof. Passive voice: The burden of proof is borne by the prosecutor. Active voice: The plaintiff will serve on the clerk a copy of the order. Passive voice: A copy of the order will be served to the clerk by the plaintiff. Use the passive voice only when you have a good reason to use it. These reasons include: You don’t want to mention the actor’s name. (E.g.: I have been told that he’s
    not an honest man.); The subject of the action is not important, and you want to put the emphasis on the action itself. (E.g.: This article has been cited frequently.); You don’t know who did the acting. (E.g.: My jewelry was stolen.) Hint: If your sentence still makes sense when you insert the words “by zombies” at the end of it, then it’s written in the passive voice.

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