(February 1, 2011, Washington, D.C.) - Reed Smith LLP today announced the addition of Chief Minority Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Mark Oesterle, to the Financial Services Regulatory Practice of its Financial Industry Group (FIG). Mr. Oesterle will be of counsel in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.
Mr. Oesterle's knowledge and expertise extend to banking, securities, consumer credit, insurance, complex financial instruments and housing finance policy and regulation. He has been involved in every piece of important federal banking legislation enacted over the past decade -- including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the financial provisions of the Patriot Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and, most recently, Dodd-Frank. He has worked with the various financial services regulators while developing such legislation and throughout the regulatory implementation process that follows legislative enactment. He also has considerable experience with hearings and oversight activity and Committee investigations.
"Mark has an impressive command of every topic addressed by the Dodd-Frank banking legislation and its impact on the financial services industry. He instinctively understands financial issues from an industry and client perspective," said Leonard A. Bernstein, Chair of Reed Smith's Financial Services Regulatory Practice. "The recent financial crisis has required a reset in the entire financial services regulatory landscape, which is being shaped right now on a daily basis; having Mark on board to help steward our clients through this process will be a tremendous asset."
"Reed Smith has a group of unique attorneys many of whom have served major financial institutions at the highest levels," said Mr. Oesterle. "The team at Reed Smith looks at clients' banking issues and legal problems from a broad perspective, providing value and insight that comes from having walked in the client's shoes. I chose Reed Smith because I want to work with people with that depth and breadth of expertise." Among Mr. Oesterle's new colleagues in the Financial Services Regulatory practice are several former General Counsels of major banks.
"Mark's arrival enhances our banking regulatory and legislative capacity in Washington, D.C.," said A. Scott Bolden, the firm's Washington, D.C. Managing Partner. "His personal qualities and skill set will help us strengthen our relationships with existing and new banking clients, not only in the nation's capital, but throughout the financial service industry, where we are already well-known and highly respected."
Reed Smith has represented banks and financial institutions for more than 130 years. The firm advises a majority of the world's top financial institutions in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Its 220-lawyer Financial Industry Group is one of the largest practices dedicated to representing clients in the financial sector worldwide.
Mr. Oesterle joined the U.S. Senate Committee as Counsel in 2001, serving as Chief Counsel and Republican Deputy Chief of Staff, Parliamentarian, senior advisor to the Chair, and counsel to the Financial Institutions Subcommittee during his tenure of more than a decade.
He is a 1996 graduate of George Washington University Law School and received his B.A. in Political Science from Fordham University in 1991.
About Reed Smith
Our Financial Industry Group is comprised of more than 220 lawyers organized on a cross-border, cross-discipline basis and dedicated to representing clients involved in the financial sector, advising most of the top financial institutions in the world. As well as being authorities in their areas of law, FIG lawyers have a particular understanding of the financial services industry sector, enabling the practice to evaluate risks, and to anticipate and identify the legal support needed by clients. Lawyers in the group advise on transactional finance covering the full spectrum of financial products, litigation, commercial restructuring, bankruptcy, investment management, consumer compliance and bank regulation, including all aspects of regulatory issues, such as examinations, enforcement and expansion proposals. For more information, visit www.reedsmith.com/fig.