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Regulatory Structure Could Be Redrawn, Bingham Lawyers Say
A shake-up of the U.S. financial regulatory system is likely under President-elect Barack Obama, although any change could take years to effect, Bingham securities and government affairs lawyers said at a recent breakfast briefing. The global financial crisis has highlighted some of the inadequacies of the current U.S. financial regulatory system, said Bingham Securities Area co-chair Roger Joseph. “The current system was created almost 75 years ago — not coincidentally — as a result of another major financial crisis,” said Joseph, who spoke at Bingham’s Securities Regulation Breakfast Series along with securities partners Geoffrey Aronow, Hardy Callcott and Kenneth Kopelman, and government affairs partner Gary Slaiman. “Clearly, there is an opportunity for change in the regulatory structure. The questions are will there be change and what will it look like?”
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The telecommunications and media policies of President-elect Barack Obama will likely be more focused on the public interest, with his administration engaging in proactive strategies to promote telecommunications, media and technology benefits, Bingham lawyers said during a recent webinar. “Clearly, President-elect Obama has a fundamentally different view on telecommunications, media and technology than the current administration, which is more hands-off,” said Andrew Lipman, a Washington-based partner and co-chair of Bingham’s Telecommunications, Media and Technology Practice Group. Lipman spoke during the webinar with fellow Washington partner Ulises Pin.
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As business leaders come to terms with the operational effects of recent developments in the international financial markets, new regulations that are beginning to take hold, and a vastly different market for their products and services, they are looking to outside counsel for help. Thanks to its 130 lawyer-strong Securities Area, Bingham is ideally positioned to serve clients across the industry. One of several key partners in Bingham’s Securities Area with in-house experience, San Francisco partner Hardy Callcott has had the benefit of being on both sides of the equation as a former senior vice president and general counsel for Charles Schwab before joining Bingham in January 2004. Formerly with the Office of the General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Callcott recently took some time to discuss the securities industry and what clients need to know during today’s challenging times.
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Three new partners in the Antitrust & Trade Regulation Practice Group joined Bingham’s Washington office, continuing a pattern of strategic growth that has included several recent lateral hires. Former Clifford Chance lawyers Leiv Blad, Jon Roellke and Boyd Cloern add significant antitrust and intellectual property experience to Bingham’s already-strong team of more than 70 antitrust lawyers across the globe, providing competition law proficiency to complement the firm’s recognized securities, corporate, intellectual property, telecommunications and litigation practices.
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Diversification. Integration. Investment. Global relevance. Flexibility. These hallmarks of Bingham’s strategy are essential — now, more than ever — given the last few weeks on Wall Street and in Washington.
“No one could have anticipated the scale of our current fiscal crisis,” said Bingham Chairman Jay Zimmerman in an Oct. 6 internal email to lawyers and staff. “But as a firm, we have been spending a great deal of time preparing for some upheaval in the markets. And that preparation has left us extremely well-positioned.”.