Manatt Expands Financial Services Practice

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Feb. 12, 2014 — Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, announced that Carol Van Cleef has joined the Washington, D.C., office as a partner in the Financial Services practice. She joins the firm from Patton Boggs, LLP, where she was a partner leading the firm’s emerging payments and anti-money laundering compliance practices.

Considered one of the nation’s leading experts on issues related to payments systems and digital and virtual currencies, including Bitcoin and other crypto and commodity-backed currencies, Van Cleef has extensive experience in the financial services arena with a concentration on electronic payments, anti-money laundering, and Office of Foreign Assets Control compliance, state money transmitter licensing, consumer protection, privacy and data security, and other banking regulatory and enforcement issues.

She represents banking organizations and credit unions; money services business and other non-bank financial institutions; retailers; third-party payment processors and other payments-related companies; and private equity and venture capital firms in federal and state regulatory, compliance and enforcement matters.

“We are thrilled to have Carol with us,” said Gordon M. Bava, firm co-chair and national chair of Manatt’s Business, Finance and Tax division. “She has developed a sophisticated financial services practice focusing on critical issues involving electronic payments, data security and privacy as well as anti-money laundering compliance. Carol’s deep experience and strategic thinking in these areas further complement our considerable capabilities in the financial services and emerging payments industries.”

“Growing our national Financial Services, Privacy and Data Security practices, particularly in the area of electronic payments, is a strategic goal for the firm,” said William T. Quicksilver, Manatt’s chief executive officer and managing partner. “We will integrate and leverage Carol’s expertise in these areas across our core industry platforms, including healthcare, digital media and consumer brands, as well as with our traditional financial institution and payments clients. We are pleased to welcome her to Manatt.”

In addition to her practice, Van Cleef is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and has created a series of anti-money laundering compliance training programs, which have been sponsored by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and attended by regulators from more than 45 states and representatives of domestic and foreign financial institutions and money service businesses.

“With the intense focus on all aspects of consumer protection and the fast-moving advances — and challenges — in technology around electronic payments, companies need a firm with the experience and judgment to help capitalize on opportunities while appropriately mitigating risks,” Van Cleef said. “Manatt has a reputation for excellence across a number of key industries and is a recognized leader in government relations and public policy strategy. The firm is well-positioned to advise clients on how best to navigate these fast-changing dynamics. I’m excited to join Manatt and look forward to working with my accomplished colleagues.”

Manatt is recognized as one of the leading financial services law firms in the United States, counseling more than 300 financial institutions across the nation and abroad. The firm represents virtually every type of financial institution, including commercial banks, domestic and foreign financial holding companies and bank holding companies, savings institutions, savings and loan holding companies, representative and agency offices of foreign banks, leasing companies, industrial loan companies, specialty finance companies, trust companies and credit unions.

In addition to the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Van Cleef has worked closely with the Money Transmitter Regulators Association and the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors. She has served on the editorial board of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists’ “ACAMs Today,” as a member of National Automated Clearing House Association’s Council for Electronic Billing and Payment, as the vice chair of the Legislative Process and Lobbying Committee of the American Bar Association’s Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Federal Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee. She is a past president of Women in Housing and Finance.

Van Cleef earned a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.

About Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, is one of the nation's leading law and consulting firms, with offices strategically located in California (Los Angeles, Orange County, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Sacramento), New York (New York City and Albany) and Washington, D.C. The firm represents a sophisticated client base — including Fortune 500, middle-market and emerging companies — across a range of practice areas and industry sectors. For more information, visit www.manatt.com.