Financial Services Litigation
We provide comprehensive and specialized litigation solutions to financial institutions nationwide, offering expertise in high-stakes litigation, risk mitigation strategies, and a deep understanding of the financial services industry.
Trusted Counsel for High-Stakes Litigation
Godfrey & Kahn represents banks and other financial institutions nationwide in high-stakes litigation, including defense of multi-million and multi-billion dollar claims.
We understand that the outcome of litigation targeting financial institutions can be vital to our client’s reputation and future. We are uniquely positioned with an interdisciplinary team of litigation attorneys that works closely with our banking, investment management, government & white collar investigations, and bankruptcy practices. Together, our substantive knowledge provides clients with the highest-quality representation in an efficient manner, whether defending litigation or developing risk mitigation strategies.
We also possess a deep knowledge of the various financial products, practices and businesses that make up the financial services industry.
Intentional Wrongdoing
Plaintiffs victimized by a bank customer often look to the bank for relief rather than the true wrongdoer, which may be insolvent, facing criminal charge, or no longer accessible. We have vast experience defending financial institutions targeted solely because money flowed through their customer’s account, including claims involving fraud, Ponzi schemes, theft, and other intentional wrongdoing.
Employee Departure, Broker Dealer & Securities Litigation
We handle industry claims, including regular enforcement of non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, raiding claims, data theft claims, and expungements, as well as defense of customer claims. We defend and prosecute financial advisor departure claims on a nationwide basis and handle an array of securities litigation matters, including public company M&A class actions, breach of fiduciary duty, derivative claims, white collar criminal defense, and securities fraud. We also defend SEC and FINRA investigations and enforcement actions, and have negotiated FINRA Acceptance, Wavier and Consent agreements and SEC Consent Orders.
Class Actions
We represent financial services clients in a wide array of putative class action claims, including fraud claims, ERISA claims, shareholder suits, debit card transaction claims, interest calculation claims and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
Commercial Borrower Litigation
Changes in the real estate market can spur foreclosures and suits related to a bank’s disbursement or withholding of construction loan proceeds. Defending and pursuing these claims efficiently is particularly key, as the focus is often asset recovery and loss mitigation, as well as avoiding liability for circumstances leading to a borrower’s default.
Consumer Claims
We regularly defend a wide array of consumer claims under federal, state and common laws, including claims under the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), Home Owners Equity Protection Act (HOEPA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), as well as claims for violation of other state and federal consumer statutes, predatory lending, consumer fraud, false advertising, usury violations, and loan servicing and unfair deceptive trade practices.
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