FinTech is a new area of law relating to the application of new technologies to the financial sector. Law firms featured in this section are conversant with the latest technologies, comfortable in advising on matters where the law is not yet decided or clear, and in working with both startups and incumbent institutions. Law firms may have experience working alongside regulators and industry bodies to establish good practice, and helping clients navigate grey areas where technology has outpaced established law. FinTech studies the critical legal, regulatory, and policy issues associated with cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, online lending, new payments and wealth management technologies, and financial account aggregators. In addition, you will learn how regulatory agencies in the U.S. are continually adjusting to the emergence of new financial technologies and how one specific agency has proposed a path for FinTech firms to become regulated banks.

Solving Drafting/Editing Problems:

  1. Wordiness – When it comes to legal writing, especially in the area of FinTexh, the aspect that’s arguably the most appreciated is concision. Anyone who has even minimal experience with the law and the legal world is aware of just how much paperwork is involved with every motion, as well as how unnecessarily long legal documents can be. Get to your point quickly and then say what you have to in as few words as possible (while still being clear enough that there’s no room for ambiguity and misinterpretation). Concise language reduces confusion and encourages readers to look over your work. Here are some tips to be more concise: avoid lengthy or wordy idioms, cut metadiscourse and nominalizations, and write in the active voice instead of the passive.
  2. Writing from the Bottom – Consider using a writing strategy known as “writing from the top.” This involves stating your conclusion and, if applicable, your requested relief, and then supporting it in later sections. At heart, people are lazy. The less work they have to do, the happier they are. When you put your conclusion first and begin your argument with your strongest piece of evidence, you ensure that others read the most important parts of your writing with a fresh mind. Start every section of your legal writing with a roadmap, or thesis, paragraph. (Definition: a paragraph that clearly states what you’ll be discussing in the section and what conclusion you’ll draw.) Your readers should be able to tell what’s being discussed and how important a section is to your overall argument by reading the first paragraph or two in your section. Roadmaps also enable readers to know where in your argument of discussion they can find the information they want or need.

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