Pratin Vallabhaneni

Partner, New York

Biography

Overview

Pratin Vallabhaneni is a partner in the Firm's Mergers & Acquisitions and Financial Services Regulatory practice groups. He represents both US and non-US fintech, banking, broker-dealer, exchange, insurance, asset management and specialty finance companies, as well as their directors, senior officers and investors, on transactional, enforcement and regulatory matters. Clients often call upon Prat to strategically navigate cutting-edge fintech issues that are complex, rapidly evolving and multijurisdictional in nature.

Prat's transactional practice focuses on public and private M&A, capital raising, debt finance, commercial agreements and activism matters. Prior to joining the firm, Prat was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, where he advised clients on valuation and execution of M&A, capital markets, debt finance, securitization, activism defence and restructuring mandates.

Prat's financial regulatory and enforcement practice focuses on advising financial services clients on matters before the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, SEC, CFTC, CFPB, FTC, Treasury Department, FinCEN, OFAC and state banking and securities agencies. Earlier in his career, Prat served as an attorney at the FDIC during the global financial crisis where he worked on numerous crisis-related, private equity-backed bank M&A transactions, bank receiverships and enforcement actions against banks, consumer finance firms, and directors and officers. He was also actively involved in the interagency implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Bars and Courts
New York
District of Columbia Bar
Education
JD
University of Minnesota Law School
MS
Johns Hopkins University
MBA
University of Colorado
BS
University of Colorado
BA
University of Colorado
Law in Japan Program
Meiji University
School of Law (Tokyo, Japan)
Institute in International Law Program
Sungkyunkwan University
College of Law (Seoul, Korea)
Languages
English

Experience

Speaking Engagements

"Legal Perspective on Token Launches," New York Blockchain & Digital Assets Summit, 2018

Publications

"How Banks Can Succeed with Cryptocurrency," Boston Consulting Group Publications, November 2020

"The costs and benefits of strategic bank capital," Financier Worldwide Magazine, November 2020

"Hemp Businesses and Financial Institution Due Diligence," Bloomberg Law, August 2020

"Regulators' Preemption Scuffle Offers Opportunities for Financial Services," Bloomberg Law, August 2020

"Les régulateurs américain et français collaborent pour soutenir les fintech", L'Agefi Hebdo, July 2020

"Banks look to FinTechs to grow deposit base," Financier Worldwide Magazine, July 2020

"Fake online reviews and considerations for FinTech," Data Guidance, July 2020

"Key Regulatory Developments Impacting the California Lending and Payments Space," Banking Law Journal, April 2020

"Bank Regulators' Proposals Won't Erase Madden Uncertainty," Law360, December 2019

"What Challenges To OCC Charter Mean For Fintech Cos.," Law360, November 2019

"White & Case Discusses Cannabis Banking Bill’s Implications for Financial Services," Columbia Law School’s CLS Blue Sky Blog, October 2019

"The Reemergence of De Novo Bank Charters," The Financial Revolutionist, October 2017

"Observations on the FDIC's Examination Guidance for Third-Party Lending," Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, September 2016

"A Primer on Prudential Regulation for Virtual Currency Businesses," FinTech Law Report, September/October 2015

Awards and Recognition

Band 2: FinTech Legal: Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies, Chambers USA 2024

Client Choice Award for Fintech USA, Lexology 2022 and 2024

Recommended Lawyer for Fintech and Blockchain, Who's Who Legal 2021 – 2024

Thought Leader for Blockchain USA, Who's Who Legal 2023 – 2024

The Best Lawyers in America, FinTech 2023 – 2024

Recommended Lawyer for Banking - Regulatory, Who's Who Legal 2023

M&A Lawyer of the Year in Washington, D.C., IAE Awards 2022

Client Choice Award for United States Banking, Lexology 2021

Recommended Lawyer for Banking - Fintech, Who's Who Legal 2021 

Rising Star for FinTech, Law360 2020