About Our Board of Expert Contributors

Henry J. Bailey, III, was Professor of Law Emeritus at Willamette University College of Law. He was a leading expert on banking-related commercial law. He served as an attorney for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the American Bankers Association and served as Assistant Vice President of Empire Trust Company.

Donald I. Baker, Esq., is a senior partner at the antitrust law firm of Baker & Miller, PLLC, in Washington, DC. His current practice covers a full range of antitrust law and enforcement, with special emphasis on appeals, joint ventures, mergers, takeovers, and the problems of regulated enterprises, including financial institutions.

Mr. Baker served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States from 1972 to 1976, responsible for international trade, regulated industries, economics and appeals, before being nominated Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Antitrust Division (1976 – 1977). Mr. Baker was a professor of law at Cornell Law School prior to becoming a partner at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue and later at Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan. Elected into the EFT Hall of Fame for his significant contribution to the growth of electronic funds transfer. Since leaving the government, Mr. Baker has actively participated in public debates and has also testified before congressional committees on various antitrust policies, budgets, and pending legislation. He is former chairman of the Federal Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee and the Corporate and Antitrust Law Committee of the ABA Section on Corporation, Banking, and Business Law.

Mr. Baker is co-author of the original and revised editions of the Law of Electronic Fund Transfer Systems. He is also a member of the bars of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mary Brookhart is the Chief Executive Officer of Southeast Consulting, Inc. Her key areas of expertise include bank asset/liability management, financial modeling, hardware and software selection, office automation, and human resource management systems. She has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Bank Asset/Liability Management newsletter since 1992, and is the author of several other books and newsletters for the financial services industry. Additionally, Ms. Brookhart has published numerous articles on software selection, asset/liability management, financial management, and fraud and forensics training in various national publications. Prior to launching Southeast Consulting, Mary was a management analyst for the federal government where, over a 15-year period, she held numerous positions in operations research, business analysis, and management systems optimization.

Nathan O. Botts, CPA, is a CPA with 30 years of experience consulting with financial institutions on accounting, auditing, tax, and risk management related issues. He currently spends much of his time consulting with clients on matters dealing with formation, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory issues. He is a Shareholder/Director with Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund located in Pensacola, Florida. Before joining SC&G, Mr. Botts worked with KPMG, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and Allstate Insurance Company. He holds a BA degree from the University of West Florida and a Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA) designation.

Roland E. Brandel, Esq., is a partner in the national law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP. He has specialized in consumer financial services law for nearly three decades, and has headed his firm’s national financial services practice group. Mr. Brandel was a charter member of the Consumer Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Board.

Mr. Brandel, as Chairman of the American Bar Association Ad Hoc Committee on Payment Systems, participated actively in the drafting of Article 4A and the substantial revisions of Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code. He has previously served as Chairman of the ABA’s Committee on Consumer Financial Services and its Subcommittee on Electronic Funds Transfers. He recently served as the Chair of the 11,000 member Business Law Section of the State Bar of California and has also served as the chair of that section’s Financial Institutions Committee.

Mr. Brandel is co-author of the original and revised editions of the Law of Electronic Fund Transfer Systems.

Robert E. Braun, Esq., is an attorney in private practice specializing in federal regulatory issues affecting financial institutions. Mr. Braun has more than 25 years' experience as a financial services attorney. Formerly, he served as in-house counsel to a major New York bank. In addition, he conducted training seminars for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) examiners for many years. Mr. Braun has also written various articles for financial institution trade publications and conducted numerous seminars for federal bank examiners, executive bank officers, attorneys, bank compliance officers, and others on various regulatory compliance topics.

Mr. Braun has prepared for Bank Compliance Expert: Internet Edition ongoing analysis of regulation-by-regulation compliance, operational compliance, and marketing and advertising regulatory compliance. An expert in credit union regulatory examinations, he has prepared the ongoing comprehensive marketing and advertising regulatory compliance analysis for NAFCU’s Compliance Expert for Credit Unions: Internet Edition.

Mark E. Budnitz is a Professor of Law at Georgia State University College of Law, where he teaches courses in electronic commerce, commercial law, consumer law, and bankruptcy. Previously, he taught at Emory School of Law. Professor Budnitz has also practiced law, served as Executive Director of the National Consumer Law Center, and was Chief of the Bankruptcy Reorganization Branch of the Atlanta office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has authored one book, co-authored three books, and published more than a dozen law review articles. Professor Budnitz is a member of the American Law Institute.

Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens, & Cannada, PLLC, is a law firm with a department specializing in financial institutions compliance. Representing banking institutions throughout the United States, Butler Snow's Banking and Financial Services group is led by attorneys with extensive experience as in-house counsel and with the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). They serve as counsel to the Mississippi Regulatory Compliance Group (a coalition of some forty banks) and as editor of one of the industry's leading compliance manuals.

Butler Snow’s lawyers actively participate in the Banking law and Consumer Financial Services Committees of the American Bar Association and regularly represents clients in a wide range of engagements including applications for bank charters, merger and acquisition transactions, other routine regulatory applications, matters related to capital planning, preparation of loan and deposit account documentation, and consumer law compliance issues. Butler Snow develops the evolving interpretive analysis of consumer lending laws in Bank Compliance Expert: Internet Edition and specific contributions are made by the following individuals:

• Ed Wilmesherr, Esq., is a member of the Financial Services group at Butler Snow. He concentrates his practice in the areas of banking and financial services law, banking regulation, and loan transactions. He also has experience in bankruptcy and creditors' rights, commercial transactions law, and arbitration. Prior to joining Butler Snow, Ed was a member of the legal department at Deposit Guaranty National Bank for 12 years where he served as Assistant General Counsel and Senior Vice President
• Patsy Parkin, Esq., is regulatory compliance consultant with the firm and a specialist in consumer banking law and regulation. Ms. Parkin advises hundreds of banks on lending regulations and trains many on complying with the myriad laws and regulatory compliance in consumer and real estate lending.

Helen Davis Chaitman, author of the first edition, is a partner with the law firm of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz. Ms. Chaitman practices in the areas of commercial litigation, bankruptcy, and lender liability. She was the chairman of the Commercial Financial Services Committee, ABA Section of Business Law, and is the author of numerous publications on banking and commercial law.

Anne J. Cheatham is a banker with more than 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. She has been a member of senior management of three de novo banks’ financial services, including Insurors Bank of Tennessee, where she is currently employed as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. There she has overall responsibility for bank administration, including regulatory reporting, accounting, auditing, retail services, compliance, human resources, asset liability management, bank investments, bank operations, and information technology. For more than 18 years, she has been involved in senior management, serving as a member of executive management in multiple banks, and as a member of one bank’s Board of Directors for more than three years.

Prior to joining Insurors Bank of Tennessee in 2000, Ms. Cheatham was employed by The Bank of Nashville as Senior Vice President, by Nashville Bank of Commerce as Senior Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors, and by Third National Bank (SunTrust Bank) as Vice President. Ms. Cheatham’s responsibilities with three de novo banks have included directing startup operations and overall responsibility for bank administration, including regulatory reporting and regulatory relations.

Barbara Clark is a former federal prosecutor and commercial litigator with over 25 years’ experience. She is a partner in the Commercial Law Institute, Greenwood, Virginia. Ms. Clark is a graduate of Hamilton College and the University of Maryland School of Law. She has been a partner in private practice specializing in commercial litigation and has represented financial institutions before federal and state regulators. One of Ms. Clark’s areas of special interest is financial fraud and risk management. She is a co-author (with Barkley Clark) of The Law of Bank Deposits, Collections and Credit Cards, The Law of Secured Transactions Under the UCC, and Clarks’ Guide to Electronic Check Collection. Ms. Clark has also co-authored (with Barkley Clark and Mark Hargrave) Truth in Savings: Legal Analysis and Compliance Strategies, and is a co-editor (with Mr. Clark) of two monthly newsletters—one on secured transactions and the other on bank deposits and payments. She serves on the Board of Editors of the Journal of Payment Systems Law.

Barkley Clark is well known as a national authority on commercial and financial services law. He is a partner in the law firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP. He advises financial institutions and businesses around the country on a variety of UCC and federal banking law issues, including payment systems, secured transactions, and sales. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Law School. During a teaching career spanning 35 years, he has taught commercial law at the University of Kansas School of Law, Georgetown Law Center, George Washington University, and the University of Virginia School of Law. His publications are relied on by practicing attorneys and bankers throughout the financial services industry and are frequently cited by federal and state courts. He has served as a special adviser to the Federal Reserve Board, the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and state legislatures around the country. He has also served as a director of a national bank. He has co-authored (with Barbara Clark) four major treatises in the banking law area—The Law of Bank Deposits, Collections and Credit Cards, The Law of Secured Transactions under the Uniform Commercial Code, and Clarks’ Guide to Electronic Check Collection. He co-edits (with Barbara Clark) two newsletters—Clarks’ Bank Deposits and Payments Monthly and Clarks’ Secured Transactions Monthly. He serves on the Board of Editors of the Journal of Payment Systems Law.

Patricia Middlebrook Covert is an operational and compliance consultant for the credit union market. She served as compliance officer with Marriott Employees’ Federal Credit Union (MEFCU) for seven years. Before this, Ms. Covert served as communications manager, acting marketing manager, and editor of MEFCU’s newsletter. Prior to joining the credit union movement, Ms. Covert was in commercial banking, retiring in 1985 from Suburban Bank of Maryland, now a part of NationsBank, where she developed a policy manual for the bank’s commercial cash management function.

A previous board member of the Metropolitan Washington Group of Financial Women International, she currently serves on NAFCU’s Compliance Standards and Practices Commission for the certification of credit union compliance officers. Ms. Covert was instrumental in the initial organization of a network of credit union compliance officers within the Metro Washington area who meet to share experiences and to discuss problems and regulatory changes. Ms. Covert has developed the hundreds of customizable policies and procedures in NAFCU’s Compliance Expert for Credit Unions: Internet Edition.

Gary M. Deutsch, CPA, has worked extensively with financial institutions in audit, lending, financial, and operational areas. He has served in senior positions for regional banks as VP of Finance, Real Estate Loan Officer and Senior Audit Manager. Mr. Deutsch served as a consultant to financial institutions in strategic planning, profit improvement, financial management, and merger and acquisition-related studies while working at KPMG. He was the CFO at a start-up bank, where he organized the accounting, finance, and investment functions to manage significant growth.

Mr. Deutsch is the President of BRT Publications LLC, a professional authoring company serving the financial industry. Some of his published works for AlexInformation include ALM Management Manual, Fraud Detection and Prevention Alert, and Information Security & Privacy Advisor.

J. Benjamin Dolan, Esq., is an attorney with the Michigan law firm of Dickinson Wright PLLC. At the firm, Mr. Dolan practices commercial litigation and corporate law. Mr. Dolan received his juris doctor from Boston College Law School and his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan. Mr. Dolan contributed to the archives of Letters of Credit Web Report, which are included on Pratt’s Commercial Lending Library.

John F. Dolan, Esq., is Distinguished Professor of Law at the Wayne State University Law School, where he teaches Commercial Law subjects. A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Professor Dolan practiced commercial law for more than ten years. In addition to his numerous publications in the area of commercial law, Professor Dolan has lectured nationally for ALI-ABA, the Practicing Law Institute, and the Banking Law Institute. He has held the chair of the American Bar Association Letter of Credit Subcommittee, and was a member of the U.S. State Department Advisory Committee on International Documentation, was involved in the redrafting of the UCC Article 5 and was an Advisor to the American Law Institute Restatement of Suretyship Project. Professor Dolan is a member of the Board of Editors of the Banking Law Journal and is Foreign Advisory Editor of the Banking & Finance Law Review.

L. Richard Fischer is one of the foremost authorities on financial privacy in the United States. A partner in the national law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP, for over 30 years Mr. Fischer has advised a wide variety of banks and other financial service providers across the United States on the full range of banking law issues, with a special emphasis on privacy, data security, e-commerce, technology, and joint venture issues. He has written and lectured extensively on many aspects of financial services law. Mr. Fischer received his BA degree from the University of San Francisco and his JD degree from Hastings College of Law, University of California.

Karen Gelernt, a Harvard law graduate, is a partner with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Her principal practice involves the representation of domestic and foreign banks, investment banks, and other financial institutions in an extensive variety of mortgage banking and financing transactions.

Clayton P. Gillette is a co-author of Check Fraud Protection Manual published by Sheshunoff Information Services, Inc., Payment Systems and Credit Instruments, a leading casebook on the subject, and the author of multiple articles concerning payments law and other areas of commercial transactions. He is the Max E. Greenberg Professor of Contract Law at New York University School of Law, where he teaches commercial law. Professor Gillette has also served as an expert witness and consultant in matters involving the use of fraudulent negotiable instruments. After graduating from the University of Michigan School of Law, Professor Gillette served as a clerk to the Honorable J. Edward Lumbard of the United States Court of Appeals and was associated with the Manhattan office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton. He has served on the faculty of the University of Virginia, and prior to that was Associate Dean, Professor of Law, and Warren Scholar in Municipal Law at Boston University School of Law. He has also served as a visiting professor of law at New York University School of Law and the University of Michigan School of Law.

Julia W. Gorman is vice president and director of compliance and licensing for Acoustic Home Loans, LLC, where she directs compliance policy and procedures, compliance audits, licensing administration, and document testing. She has more than 28 years of experience in all areas of financial services, focusing on underwriting, funding, quality control, internal auditing, compliance, and training. Ms. Gorman also has led professional workshops on state and lending laws and regulations. Ms. Gorman has held numerous senior positions at successful organizations throughout Southern California, including American Mortgage Network (AMNET) The IMPAC Companies, Western Financial Savings Bank, Far Western Bank, Irvine City Savings Bank, The Hammond Company, First Interstate Bank, and California First Bank.

Nena E. Groskind is a freelance editor and writer who specializes in finance, real estate, and banking issues. A professional journalist for more than 25 years, Ms. Groskind currently is the author of “Realty Q&A,” a popular real estate question-and-answer column that has appeared weekly in the Boston Sunday Globe since 1978. She is the former editor of Banker & Tradesman, a Boston-based trade newspaper covering the real estate and banking industries. She is the co-author of two books (Community Reinvestment Act: How to Implement Your Bank’s Program and Community Reinvestment Act: How to Implement Your Bank’s Small Business Lending Program), and was a contributing editor to Bob Vila’s Guide to Buying Your Dream House.

Gregory L. Haslam is the president of Alpha Financial Consulting, Inc., which provides financial training, accounting software election/implementation, establishment of accounting systems for new businesses, business plan/budget development, and other financial consulting to businesses of all sizes. In addition to being a frequent presenter of training in the areas of finance, financial statement analysis, and business planning and budgeting, he has written numerous seminars and training programs. Mr. Haslam is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. He is the author of the Credit Analysis component of Commercial Loan Officer’s Resource. He is also the author of Sheshunoff’s Financial Statement Analysis training courses.

Pamela S. Gotcher, Esq., serves as counsel for Bank One Corporation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In this capacity, she provides legal advice and counsel to Bank One International Corporation, as well as the commercial lending areas for Bank One. During her 14 years in banking law, her expertise has covered a wide variety of legal banking matters.

Ms. Gotcher is a preeminent commentator of practical problems in commercial banking law. She has written extensively on dealing with problem loans and bankruptcy, and she is the current author of Pratt’s Commercial Lending Question & Answers Book. She is also a regular contributor to Sheshunoff’s High Performance Banking newsletter. Ms. Gotcher is a member of the American, Federal, Texas, Oklahoma, Dallas, and Tulsa Bar Associations; the Texas-Mexico Bar Association; Tulsa Banking Lawyers Group; and the Tulsa Women Lawyers Association.

Ms. Gotcher is the author of Pratt’s Commercial Law: A Banker’s Handbook, which is featured in Pratt’s Commercial Lending Library.

Richard B. Hagedorn is the Rosalind Van Winkle Melton Professor of Law at Willamette University College of Law. He is a widely respected authority on negotiable instrument law and the law of promissory notes. In addition to teaching at Willamette University, Professor Hagedorn has also taught commercial law at the University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Law, Gonzaga University, and the University of Oregon.

Lorraine Hyde is a certified bank compliance officer and is certified as a fraud examiner by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Ms. Hyde was employed for six years as a department head of investigation for the Division of Liquidation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Ms. Hyde was also employed as the compliance officer, consumer loan training coordinator, and manager of consumer lending for a major Twin City thrift. Ms. Hyde’s expertise is in consumer, home equity, and small business lending, loan review and analysis, and bank fraud investigations for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). She currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jonathan D. Jaffe is a California-based attorney whose national law practice involves advising clients in real estate, mortgage finance, consumer finance, financial institutions, corporate and e-commerce law. Currently a partner in the law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP, he previously served as in-house counsel with a national mortgage banking firm, two savings and loan companies and an online financial services aggregator. Mr. Jaffe is an active member of the California Mortgage Bankers Association and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, and has previously chaired the Legal Issues Committee of both associations. He is also an active member of the Consumer Financial Services Committee of the American Bar Association. He has written extensively in trade publications on real estate finance and mortgage banking.

Lorraine M. Knapp, Esq., practiced civil litigation for five years in a Michigan law firm before becoming a litigation manager at First Mercury Financial Corporation. Ms. Knapp received her juris doctor degree from Wayne State University Law School and earned a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Michigan. Ms. Knapp contributed to the archives of Letters of Credit Web Report, which are included on Pratt’s Commercial Lending Library.

Buckley Kolar, LLP, one of the nation’s premier law firms for the financial services industry, specializes in regulatory compliance for residential lending, state licensing, and e-commerce. The lead author for Buckley Kolar, LLP, is Andrea Lee Negroni, Esq. Ms. Negroni is one of the nation's leading experts on mortgage origination law. She regularly conducts due diligence reviews of several independent mortgage companies prior to their acquisitions or IPOs. She has conducted 50-state surveys of virtually every substantive area of regulatory compliance of interest to residential mortgage lenders. Under a USAID contract, Ms. Negroni advised the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Slovakia on the implementation of a private mortgage banking system in that country.

Kurt Kormann, CPA, is the internal auditor for Calvin B. Taylor Banking Company in Berlin, Maryland. In addition to serving as Taylor Bank’s internal auditor for the past three years, Mr. Kormann has performed attestation services for several small credit unions. He also served as an Information Systems Director for Wheaton Pharmatech in Salisbury, Maryland for nearly ten years. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and received a Professional Accounting Program Certification from the Perdue School of Business from Salisbury University in Maryland.

John P. Kromer is a partner in the law firm of Buckley Kolar, LLP, where his practice focuses on state and federal regulatory compliance for the consumer credit and mortgage finance industries. He has experience in the legislative process, having served as a policy advisor to a member of Congress and as a legislative aide to a member of the Virginia Legislature. Mr. Kromer is the author of several books concerning the regulation of the mortgage industry, and numerous articles on state regulation of mortgage loans and on the licensing of mortgage companies. He has lectured at meetings of the Mortgage Bankers Association of American and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.

John Mancuso, Esq.,is general counsel and chief compliance officer of KeyCorp, one of the nation’s largest regional bank holding companies. Mr. Mancuso is a nationally respected expert on compliance performance, going both to consumer regulation and also beyond regulatory compliance. Mr. Mancuso is one of the leading commentators on consumer finance law in the nation.

Mr. Mancuso authored the original edition of Compliance Examinations Update for Financial Institutions, which is in the worktools section of Bank Compliance Expert: Internet Edition.

Leonard Matz is a consultant, bank trainer, and licensed investment advisor. He was a federal bank examiner for five years, and spent more than 15 years in the banking industry as a senior manager. He was chairman in 1999 and 2002 of the Risk Conference on Liquidity, has lectured at the Graduate School of Banking at Madison, Wisconsin, and has been a member of the National Asset/Liability Association since 1989. Mr. Matz is the author of the Documentation component of Commercial Loan Officer’s Resource. He is also the author of several other Sheshunoff publications, including Managing Bank Investment Portfolios, Interest Rate Risk Management for Banks, and Liquidity Risk Management.

Charles D. Mecimore is a professor of accounting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a CPA and holds a CMA from the National Association of Accountants. His doctorate is from the University of Alabama. Professor Mecimore has developed a continuing education course on cost accounting sponsored by the Bank Administration Institute and a managerial accounting course sponsored by the National Association of Accountants. He consults with banks in the areas of accounting and the use of accounting data in pricing bank products and services. Also, he is coauthor of Bank Accounting, published by the American Bankers Association, and author or coauthor of numerous other publications in the areas of cost and managerial accounting.

Steven A. Meyerowitz, the Editor-in-Chief of The Banking Law Journal and author of Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law, is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Mr. Meyerowitz was an attorney for a prominent Wall Street law firm for nearly five years before founding Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company that works with some of the largest and most successful law firms in the country. Mr. Meyerowitz specializes in helping lawyers write, produce, and place their bylined articles, newsletters, brochures, and other marketing materials, and in integrating publications into a firm’s overall marketing program. He has written scores of articles on law firm marketing and management for publications including The New York Times and the ABA Journal, and is a columnist for the New York Law Journal, a contributing writer for The Pennsylvania Lawyer Magazine (published by the Pennsylvania Bar Association), Marketing Law Editor of Marketing Management Magazine (published by the American Marketing Association) and managing editor of the Federal Bar Council News. In addition, he is the author of a book on marketing, sales and advertising law. Based in Northport, New York, Mr. Meyerowitz is a member of the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association, a Trustee of the Harvard Law School Club of Long Island, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Northport-East Northport School District.

Peter Mihaltian is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Southeast Consulting, Inc. His key consulting expertise includes strategic financial management, risk management, asset/liability management, financial modeling, strategic systems planning, and systems development. Mr. Mihaltian has been the technical editor of the Bank Asset/Liability Management newsletter since its inception in 1982. Additionally, he has published numerous articles on managerial automation, cost control, and financial management in national technical journals. Prior to joining Southeast Consulting, Peter held key positions as Executive Vice President of Information Technology and Operations, Executive VP & CIO, and Chief Information Officer at several Fortune 500 companies. He also served as the Partner in Charge of KPMG’s Charlotte, NC-based Finance and Technology Practice where, over a 15-year period, he coordinated KPMG’s financial management and information technology consulting services throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Florida.

National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) is the national trade association that exclusively represents the interests of federal credit unions before the federal government and the public. It was founded in 1967 with one specific, overriding purpose: to directly shape the laws and regulations under which federal credit unions operate.

NAFCU’s Regulatory Compliance Division assists credit unions with their compliance responsibilities. Its staff of attorneys addresses credit union compliance concerns, edits compliance manuals, writes articles for NAFCU publications, and speaks before credit union groups on regulatory matters. Specific contributors from the Regulatory Compliance Division include:

• Linda K. Dent, Esq., is Director of Regulatory Compliance and Senior Compliance Counsel to NAFCU. Ms. Dent has been in the financial institutions industry since 1982 with a short hiatus to work for a general litigation office. She has worked in both the federal credit union and commercial bank sectors of the industry, primarily in the area of financial analysis. Ms. Dent is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the American Bar Association, and Women in Housing and Finance.
• Robert Byrer, Esq., is formerly a regulatory compliance counsel at NAFCU. Before joining NAFCU, Mr. Byrer was Corporate Editor at Airline Tariff Publishing Company. He previously had his own law practice where he focused on employment and disability issues. Mr. Byrer is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and the American Bar Association.
• Melane Conyers-Ausbrooks, Esq., is a regulatory compliance counsel at NAFCU. Mrs. Ausbrooks joined NAFCU after working as a law clerk for the Fairfax County Attorney’s Office. Before attending law school, she worked as a system’s trainer for SallieMae’s collections and federal compliance software. Mrs. Ausbrooks is member of the Maryland State Bar Association, American Bar Association, and National Bar Association.
• Eric Envall, Esq., is formerly a regulatory compliance counsel at NAFCU. Prior to joining NAFCU, Mr. Envall was a legislative analyst for MultiState Associates, Inc. of Alexandria, VA where he conducted legislative and regulatory tracking and analysis on several national issues. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar.
• Bill Hall is formerly Associate Director of Taxation and Accounting at NAFCU. Mr. Hall concentrates on credit union accounting standards and the extremely important area of tax compliance, which is imperative for credit unions that wish to maintain their charters. Mr. Hall updates the interpretive analysis on IRS reporting and compliance.
• Jane Pannier, former NAFCU Director of Regulatory Compliance Programs and Senior Compliance Counsel, and Tim Pryor, former NAFCU Vice President of Regulation and Compliance and Associate General Counsel, contributed heavily to the development of NAFCU’s regulation-by-regulation analysis. Darren Binder, former Associate Director of Regulatory Compliance with NAFCU, assisted in developing the original analysis.

Andrea Lee Negroni is a consumer finance and mortgage banking attorney with a special expertise in the area of state regulatory compliance for mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers and consumer creditors. Of Counsel in the law firm of Buckley Kolar, LLP, Ms. Negroni is a nationally-known expert in the field of licensing of financial institutions, including lenders, brokers, debt collectors, sales finance companies, and others. She is the author of the definitive manual of state mortgage banking laws, regulations and judicial decisions, and of numerous articles for trade publications, such as Servicing Management, Secondary Marketing Executive, Real Estate Finance Today, and Mortgage Banking. She is a regular lecturer at meetings of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.

Raymond T. Nimmer is the Leonard Childs professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center, where he also codirects the Intellectual Property and Information Law Institute. One of the foremost national and international experts on electronic commerce, Professor Nimmer is the author of more than 10 books, including The Law of Computer Technology and Information Law. Professor Nimmer served as Reporter to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws for the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act, an act that for the first time in commerce blends the multiple and disparate legal disciplines of commercial law, licensing, information, intellectual property, sales laws, and financing. Professor Nimmer also serves as an expert witness and consultant in litigation concerning those areas as well as for bankruptcy matters. He is included in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and in the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers.

Edmund Pace has spent many years in banking, as a lender, senior manager, consultant, financial writer, and teacher. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico, as well as a faculty member of the Pacific Coast Banking School and the New Mexico School of Banking. For the past 20 years, Mr. Pace has written extensively for Sheshunoff. He is the author of the Planning Guidance component of Commercial Loan Officer’s Resource. His other publications include Community Bank Loan Management, Bank CEO's Operating and Management Desk Reference, and Strategic Planning Manual.

James H. Pannabecker, Esq., practices law from Natural Bridge Station, Virginia, and focuses on banking law and regulatory compliance. Mr. Pannabecker formerly was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Citicorp Mortgage, Inc., where he managed the provision of legal services for the nationwide origination of mortgage loans through Citicorp's affiliated first mortgage lenders. Before joining Citicorp, Mr. Pannabecker served as in-house counsel to Maryland National Bank, First American Mortgage, and First Virginia Banks, Inc. He is the author of the Regulatory Forms component of Commercial Loan Officer’s Resource. He is also the author of Pratt’s RESPA Manual, Truth-in-Lending Manual, and The Law of Electronic Fund Transfer Systems.

Aksel G. Pedersen has been vice president, Internal Audit/Compliance, for Los Angeles Federal Credit Union since 1994 and has served in internal auditing positions for financial institutions since 1978. Mr. Pedersen is also a certified fraud examiner, a certified financial services auditor, and a graduate, with high honors, of the National Credit Union Institute.

Mr. Pedersen is a frequent lecturer regarding internal auditing and is often called upon to assist other credit unions in developing, updating, and refining their internal audit programs. He has developed the extensive internal auditing programs and guidance in NAFCU’s Compliance Expert for Credit Unions: Internet Edition.

Earl Phillips, editor of Consumer Credit and Truth-in-Lending Compliance Report, is Professor of Law Emeritus, Fordham Law School. Professor Phillips is a graduate of Georgetown University and was admitted to the bar in Texas, the District of Columbia, and New York.

Jacob W. Reby, Esq., is a partner of Lewis, Rice, & Fingersh in St. Louis. He is a frequent lecturer on Uniform Commercial Code, acquisitions, real estate, and banking matters. He specializes in lending, corporate acquisitions, real estate, and debt restructuring transactions. He is the editor of the Model Forms and Checklists component of Commercial Loan Officer’s Resource.

In 1988, Jerry Miller founded Regulatory Compliance Associates, Inc. (REGCOM) for the purpose of providing proactive regulatory compliance products and services to financial institutions. Mr. Miller was formerly with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) as a field examiner and member of the OCC Chicago Regional/District management team. He also served as Midwest practice leader for KPMG Peat Marwick’s Financial Institutions Regulatory Compliance Consulting Practice Group.

With a wide range of regulatory examination and financial institution experience, REGCOM’s staff has experience in assisting management and directorates of complying with regulations, design and development of individual regulatory compliance programs for financial institution clients of all sizes, training, and regulatory agencies, REGCOM is positioned to maintain the reputation earned as a valued resource for financial institutions’ regulatory risk needs. As author of numerous publications covering a variety of management and regulatory focus areas, REGCOM offers proactive information and solutions to all levels of staffing within the financial services industry.

Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck PLC, founded in 1916, is a Memphis-based CPA and advisory firm dedicated to providing insight, direction, and solutions to its clients through informed opinion and real-world experience. Serving leading financial institutions throughout the South and across the nation, Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck PLC is committed to the success of their clients.

Alan Rice has devoted his career to reporting and interpreting Washington policy and regulatory developments for the financial services industry. Based in Arlington, Virginia, he is the long-time author/editor of Pratt’s Letter as well as the author of Pratt’s Directors Newsletter, Pratt’s Bank Employment Law Report, and Bank Wage-Hour and Personnel Report.

Melissa L. Richards is a Shareholder in the Orange County, California, office of Buchalter Nemer Fields & Younger, where she is a member of the Bank and Finance Group and Co-Chair of the Mortgage Banking Practice Group. Ms. Richards also serves as outside General Counsel for the California Mortgage Bankers Association. She has over 15 years of legal experience and expertise in all areas of residential mortgage finance, including regulatory compliance and licensing. She is a member of the California State Bar and the American Bar Association. Ms. Richards is a frequent speaker at national, state, and local mortgage banking industry events. Ms. Richards received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

William L. Saffici is a Vice President of Product Management for the Fiserv Item Processing Division and participates in Payment Systems Industry Relations activities. Mr. Saffici is directly responsible for product initiatives related to improving check clearing capability through paper, electronic, and image exchange, as well as Check 21-related initiatives. He is also the division liaison with other Fiserv divisions in the coordination of a cohesive strategy and solution for clients, as the company moves forward to electronic item processing. Mr. Saffici’s prior assignments within Fiserv included directing projects and technology assessments related to check remittance and image processing in both Canada and the United States.

Since 1966, Mr. Saffici has held various responsibilities in the financial services industry, including positions with Philadelphia National Bank/CoreStates Bank, Unisys Corporation, and AFS (formerly Littlewood, Shain & Co.). He joined Fiserv in 1997. Mr. Saffici earned his certification as an Information Capture Professional from the Association for Work Process Improvement and completed studies in Business Management at Drexel University and the BAI School of Bank Operations.

Jimmy Sawyers is Director of Consulting at Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck PLC, a Memphis-based CPA and advisory firm founded in 1916. Mr. Sawyers works with financial institutions in the areas of strategic technology planning, Internet banking, system selection, information systems security, business continuity planning, IT audits, and telecommunications. His twenty years of experience in the field include directing the operations and technology division of a progressive community bank. Mr. Sawyers is a graduate of Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee with a B.S. in Business with a concentration in IT Management and Telecommunications.

Mr. Sawyers is on the faculty of the Barret School of Banking (formerly Mid South School of Banking) and the Southeastern School of Banking. He is a member of the Southern Financial Exchange conference planning committee. Mr. Sawyers also serves on the Technical Advisory Board for the publication, Banking Technology Strategies, and the Commercial Lenders Committee of Polaris International, an association of independent CPA and consulting firms with affiliates world-wide. Mr. Sawyers is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the publication, Financial Lending Notes, and a frequent speaker and author regarding information technology issues.

Paul H. Schieber is a partner resident in the Philadelphia office of the law firm of Blank Rome LLP., where he is chairman of that firm's consumer financial services group. His practice focuses on consumer loan and credit sale transactions, including mortgage loan transactions and second mortgage and home equity loan programs, credit cards, and revolving credit loans. His clients include banks, thrift institutions, mortgage and consumer finance companies, and others involved in residential and consumer lending. Mr. Schieber is the author of several publications on second mortgage lending and other consumer lending topics, and has written numerous articles on mortgage lending, RESPA, fair lending and related topics. He is a frequent lecturer at meetings of the Pennsylvania Association of Mortgage Bankers, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the National Home Equity Mortgage Association, and numerous other regional and national organizations.

Milton R. Schroeder, Esq., is one of the nation’s foremost experts and commentators on federal banking law and regulation. As author of The Law and Regulation of Financial Institutions, published by A.S. Pratt & Sons, Professor Schroeder has for more than a decade tracked legislation, regulations, proposed regulations, and case law in the most comprehensive single publication on the financial services industry, one that is used by hundreds of banking professionals as their first-look resource on legal compliance. A professor of law at the Arizona State University College of Law in Tempe, where he teaches courses in banking law, payments and credit systems, and commercial transactions, Professor Schroeder has taught these subjects and published extensively about them for more than 20 years.

Professor Schroeder prepared the analysis of Gramm-Leach-Bliley in the special reports section of Bank Compliance Expert: Internet Edition.

Warren A. Seeley, after 31 years in banking, joined the financial consulting firm of Cornelia Matthews and Associates as a senior consultant. Prior to that affiliation, he was vice president and director of compensation, benefits, and employee relations for the regional bank holding company, Third National Corporation in Nashville, which was acquired by the Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, Inc.

Margaret L. (Marge) Simmons, AAP, CCM, is a Managing Partner of Electronic Payments Advisory Services. Her 25 years of experience in the area of electronic payments includes management and development of ACH software at Brinkman Technologies in Carrollton, Texas, President of The Payments Authority, Michigan’s regional payments association, and 12 years in Treasury Management at Comerica Bank in Detroit, Michigan.

David McF. Stemler, Esq., is an attorney and member of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania Bars. He is an expert regulatory editor for A.S. Pratt & Sons, and author of several highly respected and circulated newsletters for bank compliance professionals.

Sandra S. Stern, Esq., is a partner in the New York law firm of Nordquist & Stern PLLC. Ms. Stern is one of the leading experts of commercial lending law, having served on the drafting committees to revise both UCC Article 9 (Secured Transactions) and Article 5 (Letters of Credit). Ms. Stern was appointed by the Commissioner of Uniform State Laws in 1992.

Prior to her current practice, Ms. Stern served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Banco Santander from 1993 through 1995 after leaving Republic National Bank of New York, where she was Deputy General Counsel. She is a fellow at the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers, and Secretary of the Business Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She is the author of the Perfection component of Commercial Loan Officer’s Resource.

Lisa J. Tate, Esq., is a tax attorney specializing in taxation of financial institutions. Ms. Tate previously served as the associate director for taxation and accounting/tax counsel for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU). Prior to her position at NAFCU, Ms. Tate worked as an attorney at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in the government relations office at the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), and as an attorney in private practice. For nearly a decade, Ms. Tate revised and has substantially updated material with NAFCU from original content developed by Ernst & Young.

Jeffrey Torp is a consultant in the area of regulatory risk for financial institutions.  He specializes in the financial institution industry and has more than 20 years of experience serving financial institution clients in matters relating to bank regulation. Mr. Torp is an attorney and has previously served as a consultant with KPMG and with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, and as legal counsel to the Independent Bankers of Minnesota. He received his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Torp has worked with financial institutions throughout the country on regulatory issues and given numerous presentations on regulatory topics to groups of bankers, bank examiners, trade associations, and attorneys. He has also served as an instructor for the Independent Bankers Association of America’s compliance school and certification program, and authored several publications.

Holly K. Towle chairs the Electronic Commerce Practice Group of K&L Gates, a full-service law firm providing legal services from locations in the United States and abroad. One of the world’s most respected authorities on Internet-based transactions and banking law, Ms. Towle is included in An International Who’s Who of E-Commerce Lawyers and in the Cyberspace and Banking law sections of The Best Lawyers in America. She speaks and is published nationally and internationally on electronic commerce, licensing, and online services. For almost a decade, she has commented on behalf of trade organizations or other clients on proposed legislation regarding computer information transactions, electronic commerce, software licensing, proposed revisions to UCC Article 2, and consumer protection rules; she continues to assess new legislative proposals for clients and to identify and analyze “new economy” issues for use in defending or maintaining litigation.

Theodore E. Umhoefer, Jr. In his role as Senior Vice President Industry Relations and Product Management for Fiserv, Inc., Mr. Umhoefer works with industry leaders, software and hardware developers, and other providers within the item processing industry to align Fiserv strategies with the emerging technologies used in the check processing industry. Mr. Umhoefer serves on several national committees that focus on the item processing services industry. His responsibilities include support of Fiserv’s Item Processing sales professionals in the development and maintenance of item processing products and services to Fiserv’s client base.

Prior to joining Fiserv, Mr. Umhoefer was Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, where he was responsible for the bank’s financial services, including Business Development, Check, Electronic Payments, Customer Services, and Network Services, as well as overseeing management of the Helena, Montana Branch. Mr. Umhoefer’s twenty-six year career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis included Planning Analyst, Assistant Vice President of Planning and Control, Vice President of Personnel, and Senior Vice President for Payments Operations.

Robert Volk is Associate Director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law at Boston University School of Law where he also serves as Director of the First-Year Writing Program, Associate Professor of Legal Writing, and faculty advisor to the Annual Review of Banking Law. He has taught courses in banking law, law and morality, and the American legal system. Professor Volk received his J.D. (cum laude) from Boston University School of Law.

Melissa Richards Wallace, contributor, is also an attorney with extensive mortgage banking expertise. She is a member of Severson & Werson, and focuses her practice on advising residential mortgage loan originators, servicers, brokers, and due diligence providers regarding compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.

Marsha L. Williams is an attorney with Middleberg, Riddle & Gianna, a law firm with offices in Dallas and New Orleans. Ms. Williams serves on the National Advisory Council of the Federal National Mortgage Association. She is a past president of the Dallas Mortgage Bankers Association and a member of the board of directors of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. She chairs the Mortgage Bankers Association's education committee, and has held other leadership roles in that and other mortgage banker associations. She has written for numerous publications in legal and trade journals, in addition to regional publications.

Geoffrey Wold is Managing Director of LBL Technology Partners, a Division of Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP.

Mr. Wold holds a BA degree in mathematics and an MBA in accounting and information systems. Mr. Locketz holds a BS degree in accounting, computer science, and business administration. Together they have received the following certifications: Certified Public Accountant from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Certified Management Accountant from the National Association of Accountants, Certified Information Systems Auditor from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, Certified Systems Professional from the Association of Systems Management, Certified Computer Professional from the Institute for Certification of Computer Professionals, Certified Management Consultant from the Institute of Management Consultants, Certified NetWare Engineer, and Certified Financial Services Auditor as awarded by the National Association of Financial Services Auditors.

Mr. Wold has written and published several articles that address a wide range of planning, operational, and computer and technology topics. He has also written eight books on disaster recovery planning, eight books on technology planning and management, and has been a frequent speaker at industry seminars.

About Sheshunoff / A.S. Pratt

A.S. Pratt & Sons has been providing information and analysis to the financial services industry since 1867. Our products include such industry standards as Brady on Bank Checks, The Law and Regulation of Financial Institutions, The Law of Secured Transactions, and The Law of Bank Deposits, Collections, and Credit Cards. Pratt is part of Sheshunoff Information Services, the leader in legal and regulatory compliance products for financial institutions and the practitioners who represent them.

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