Morrison and Foerster snatch fintech leader from Reed Smith

(Reuters) – Morrison & Foerster said Monday it enlisted Jeff Silberman, who recently co-chaired Reed Smith’s global fintech practice, to help expand its fintech and financial services offerings.

Silberman joins Morrison & Foerster’s New York office as an associate, specializing in banking and fintech partnerships, app-based financial services, cryptocurrencies and other matters. He said part of what attracted him to the San Francisco-based company was the opportunity to partner again with his former colleague Maria Earley, a former lawyer with the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, who joined Morrison & Foerster’s Washington, DC office in July.

Because his fintech and financial services clients “operate in a highly regulated environment,” Silberman said Earley and others at Morrison & Foerster provide “a great regulatory complement” to the transactional work he manages. for these customers.

“I see us working seamlessly from New York with the DC office and all other offices on MoFo’s global platform, to be able to provide this comprehensive suite of transactional, regulatory, enforcement and of litigation to those customers when they need it, “he added.

Prior to joining Reed Smith in 2018, Silberman held a number of internal roles for financial services companies, including as an advisor, head of structured finance and business development for financial technology firm LendKey Technologies Inc, and legal counsel for the broker JVB Financial Group LLC, according to its LinkedIn profile. Prior to that he was a lawyer with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

With the arrival of Silberman, Morrison & Foerster added eight lawyers to its financial services group this year, the firm said. Crystal Kaldjob, who co-leads the company’s fintech practice, added in an interview that the company is always on the lookout for additional talent in the fintech field, especially those with experience in the field of fintech. cryptocurrency and digital assets.

Kaldjob took over as head of Morrison & Foerster’s fintech group after former Co-Chairs Obrea Poindexter and Sean Ruff left the company for Cooley in January. The company also lost two executives from its blockchain and smart contracts group, Susan Gault-Brown and Dario de Martino, this month to Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young and Allen & Overy, respectively.

A spokesperson for Reed Smith said the company thanks Silberman for his contributions and wishes him well.

Norton Rose Fulbright in June chose another former partner of Reed Smith, Stephen Aschettino, as the new head of US fintech.

Read more:

MoFo blockchain co-chairs depart for Stradley Ronon, Allen & Overy

Morrison & Foerster adds CFPB alum, Reed Smith’s pro fintech

Cooley Takes Over MoFo’s FinTech Executives, Building on ‘Massive’ East Coast Growth

Reporting by Xiumei Dong