Consumer Financial Services Attorneys Lisa Lanham, Rinaldo Martinez Join Ballard Spahr

Lisa Lanham—a consumer financial services and mortgage banking lawyer who focuses on compliance and licensing—and Rinaldo Martinez, who focuses on consumer financial services regulation and compliance, have joined Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, firm Chair Mark Stewart announced today.

Ms. Lanham is a Partner in the firm’s Business and Transactions Department and is a member of its Fintech and Payments and Mortgage Banking groups. She is resident in its Philadelphia and New York offices. Mr. Martinez is Of Counsel in the Business and Transactions Department and is a member of its Mortgage Banking group. He is resident in its Washington, D.C. office.

Ms. Lanham handles state licensing and regulatory compliance matters for a wide range of asset classes and market participants, including, but not limited to, residential and commercial mortgage brokers, lenders, servicers, and loan fulfilment providers; student, consumer, and solar loan lenders and servicers; entities offering retail installment contracts for the purchase of consumer goods; marketplace lenders; and investors who engage in secondary market activities related to these business lines. She also works with early-stage Fintech companies in all of these business lines to help develop products around state licensing and regulatory compliance requirements and obtain and maintain any required state licenses and approvals.

Mr. Martinez focuses his practice generally on consumer credit regulation. He counsels national mortgage lenders, brokers, and servicers on all aspects of federal and state mortgage laws, for both residential and commercial real property. Additionally, Mr. Martinez represents financial institutions that originate, broker, and/or collect non-mortgage assets, including, but not limited to, secured and unsecured personal loans. He also advises diligence companies on a number of issues arising under federal and state law, such as compliance with prepayment penalty restrictions, state usury limitations, and predatory lending laws. On the secondary market front, Mr. Martinez represents institutional investors that take assignment of and/or sell the foregoing asset classes, and is often tasked with regulatory compliance reviews in connection with securitizations and other secondary market transactions.

“The arrival of this team strengthens our already strong consumer financial services licensing practice. In addition, they have superb knowledge of the mortgage regulatory landscape, and that will be a boon to our mortgage and settlement service industry clients” said Richard J. Andreano, Jr., a Consumer Financial Services Partner and Practice Leader of Ballard Spahr's Mortgage Banking Group. “Together, Lisa and Rinaldo will help us build from a position of strength.”

The 70-plus attorneys of Ballard Spahr’s top-ranked Consumer Financial Services Group advise on regulatory matters, assist in the design and documentation of credit products, and represent clients in class actions, government regulatory enforcement proceedings, and other lawsuits nationwide. The group has been recognized as one of the nation’s preeminent consumer finance practices by leading legal industry publications, including Chambers USA and The Legal 500.

“Ballard Spahr has the best-regarded consumer financial services group in the legal industry,” Ms. Lanham said. “With its national resources and strong, across-the-board bench, it is the ideal place to expand our practice and the services that we can provide to clients. We are beyond excited to begin the next phase of our careers at Ballard Spahr.”

For media inquiries, please contact Will Ashenmacher at 612.371.5792.