7/24/2011
The Dodd-Frank Act, which was passed by Congress in July, is highly acclaimed to be the most sweeping financial reform in a couple of decades.
It was dubbed by the then chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission as the “Lawyers’ and Consultants’ Full Employment Act of 2010,” and predicted a torrent of new job opportunities for consultants and attorneys charged with assisting financial institutions wade through new regulations.
This fearless forecast has indeed proved true among Washington law firms that have their focus on the financial services sector. During the first year of the Act’s adoption, some of the biggest firms in the District are raking in new business such as advising banks, hedge funds, as well as investment advisers and trade associations on the process of rulemaking.
Many more are signing new clients, which are facing a deeper examination that ever before as a consequence of the legislation. Among these new clients are providers of consumer products and insurance companies.
For those firms that reinforced their offices in D.C. with regulatory specialists, their investment in additional manpower and resources is paying off.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ushered in a stricter regulatory climate for nearly all financial institutions, regardless on whether they are derivatives traders or banks.
It allowed government to have a say on executive compensation and it also established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Many of the provision 2,300 Dodd-Frank Act are yet to be implemented.
