Press Release
Former Deputy Chief Counsel for Office of the Comptroller Joins BuckleySandler
WASHINGTON, DC (January 3, 2017) – BuckleySandler LLP, a premier financial services, government enforcement and litigation law firm, announced today that former Deputy Chief Counsel for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Daniel P. Stipano has joined the firm as a Partner in its Washington, DC office, effective January 3, 2017. Stipano, who has been involved in virtually every significant enforcement case brought by the OCC for the past 20 years, will be a valuable addition to BuckleySandler’s Banking practice, as well related practices, including Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML). Having served three decades with the OCC, he has been a key participant in numerous BSA/AML milestones, notably the PATRIOT Act; regulations addressing Suspicious Activity Report confidentiality; and customer due diligence and beneficial ownership.
“By expanding our team with lawyers who have extensive government regulatory and enforcement experience, we are able to provide our clients with the insight and guidance needed to stay abreast of vital issues affecting their business operations,” said Andrew L. Sandler, BuckleySandler Chairman and Executive Partner. “Over his 30 years at the OCC, Dan developed the well-earned respect from colleagues in law enforcement and other regulatory agencies for his significant role in the world of financial services regulation. Our clients will benefit greatly from Dan’s enforcement and compliance experience.”
“This is a great new chapter in my life as I move into private practice with such a renowned financial services and litigation law firm,” noted Stipano. “I am looking forward to joining this team of nationally recognized lawyers and applying my OCC experience to further expand its leading regulatory, enforcement and litigation practices.”
During the course of his career at the OCC, Stipano oversaw three Supreme Court cases that resulted in victories for the agency and banking industry; supervised more than a dozen successful appeals of lower court decisions; and was instrumental in bringing the first Fair Lending action taken against a bank by a federal banking agency, as well as the first Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices action taken against a bank.
As Deputy Chief Counsel (2000 - 2016), Stipano supervised the OCC’s Enforcement and Compliance, Litigation, Community and Consumer Law and Administrative and Internal Law Divisions; he also supervised the OCC district counsel staff in the OCC’s Southern and Western Districts. In recent years, he was involved in some of the most significant OCC enforcement cases, including major BSA matters. Stipano has testified before Congress numerous times on enforcement and BSA/AML matters, and prepared dozens of OCC witnesses to do the same. Stipano served as the Director of the OCC’s Enforcement and Compliance Division (1995-2000), where he oversaw administrative enforcement actions against national banks and their institution-affiliated parties. He was an assistant director in the Enforcement and Compliance Division (1989-1995), after joining the OCC in 1985 as a staff attorney in the division.
Stipano received his J.D. from Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William & Mary, and B.A., summa cum laude, from Union College.
ABOUT BUCKLEYSANDLER: BuckleySandler LLP provides premier legal counsel to protect and support the nation’s leading financial services institutions, corporations and individual clients. With more than 150 lawyers in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and London, it offers a full range of litigation, transactional, compliance and regulatory services. "The best at what they do in the country." (Chambers USA). Online: buckleyfirm.com | Twitter: twitter.com/buckleysandler.