Overview
Locke Lord attorneys have represented financial institutions and banks in a wide variety of legal controversies and have won pioneering victories in usury, lender liability and bank powers cases. We aggressively defend banks and financial institutions in lender-liability actions brought in both commercial and consumer contexts and in both individual and class actions. Our attorneys are recognized authorities in this field, and frequently publish and speak on topics related to the defense of lender liability and class action claims.
Financial services companies have been the target of numerous consumer class action cases, and our attorneys continue to be at the forefront in defending these cases. We routinely defend banks, mortgage companies, retail credit card issuers, insurance companies, financial information providers, credit bureaus, investment banks, securities brokers, auto dealer associations and other creditors in consumer finance class actions involving allegations of consumer fraud, RICO claims and violations of truth-in-lending laws. We are experienced in defending cases brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), state consumer protection and deceptive trade practices acts, or alleging discriminatory lending practices. Our attorneys are also experienced defending claims based on allegations of actuarial impropriety, churning, unsuitability, and securities fraud.
We have a national reputation for representing our clients in “bet the company” cases. Our experience permits us to quickly identify and grasp the salient legal and factual issues and develop a successful defensive strategy. Our creative preliminary motion practice has led to early dismissal or nuisance-value settlements of many cases. Our banking and financial institution litigation teams have won a host of class-action dismissals and summary judgments on behalf of title insurers, lenders, retailers, automobile credit financing companies, insurance companies and others.
Intellectual property is at the core of a financial institution’s operations, and our attorneys also have vast experience representing our clients’ technology needs. We have handled trademark disputes, infringement claims, disputes involving technology and software development and licensing, and disputes arising from online banking and payments systems. Our experience includes computer services contracts, data processing outsourcing, system integration agreements and hardware purchase and lease agreements.
Locke Lord attorneys also represent our banking and financial institution clients in bankruptcy courts throughout the United States as secured and unsecured creditors. We serve as counsel for committees of secured and unsecured creditors, which often include banks and other financial institutions. Our bankruptcy and financial services attorneys work together to represent lenders with loan workouts, debtors in possession, financing, bankruptcy protection planning and debtor bankruptcies.
Locke Lord attorneys also represent institutions serving as trustees for bonds and other debt instruments when the users or borrowers have defaulted and sought protection under bankruptcy laws.
Our attorneys also represent our banking and lending clients in a wide range of collection cases involving real estate developers, apartment owners and managers, airlines, oil and gas companies, drilling contractors, manufacturers, retailers, automobile dealerships and others.