Orrick Makes Another Fintech Hire with Leading Payments and Lending Advisor

• Obrea Poindexter joins Orrick's Chambers USA Band 1 Financial Services & Fintech Advisory practice as a partner in Washington, D.C. Her hire follows the recent addition of a team of six led by new Head of Fintech Licensing Lisa Lanham in Miami.
• Recommended by Chambers USA and Chambers Fintech, and president of the American College of Consumer Financial Services, Obrea advises large and emerging financial institutions, fintechs, and retailers on financial services regulation, privacy and payments systems. She counsels clients on complex regulatory issues related to credit, debit and prepaid cards, electronic banking systems, and emerging payments systems, such as mobile payment systems and person-to-person payments.
• Obrea helps clients navigate the landscape of federal and state payments and lending laws, including state licensing and registration, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the CARD Act, the Truth in Lending Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the E-Sign Act.
• Obrea joins from Cooley. Before private practice, she served as a staff lawyer for five years at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs.

"Payments and lending regulatory advice is in high demand as the convergence of tech, AI and financial products - and the divergence of federal and state regulation - create unprecedented opportunity and risk for our clients," said Amanda Lawrence, who leads Orrick's Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement Business Unit. "Obrea is one of the most highly regarded and sought-after payments and lending lawyers in the financial services industry. We're thrilled to join forces to help our clients see around corners and make the most of this inflection point."

"Orrick has built a destination Financial & Fintech Advisory practice that has the scale and platform to support fintech and traditional financial institution clients facing increasingly complex and fast-moving regulatory issues. I'm looking forward to collaborating with this world-class team to help clients continue to innovate on tech-forward payment and lending solutions," said Obrea.

Her addition marks the latest growth of Orrick's 60-lawyer financial services and fintech regulatory practice, following the team's expansion through a 2023 combination with Buckley. The team advises clients at the federal and state levels as they address novel issues around consumer and commercial finance, including AI and crypto adoption, at every stage of the product lifecycle - from product counseling, to policy and compliance, to investigations, enforcement actions and litigation.