James Williams
Jim advises clients from early-stage fintechs to some of the largest banks in the country. His practice combines product counseling, transactional regulatory counsel, and supervisory and enforcement experience, allowing him to help clients design, launch, acquire, finance, and defend regulated financial products and partnerships.
Consumer Finance and Credit
Jim’s core focus is advising clients on matters related to consumer financial products and services. He has extensive experience counseling bank and non-bank lenders and servicers across all major asset classes, including personal, student, auto, mortgage, credit cards and other revolving credit, solar and home improvement finance, and small business lending. He has also worked on several alternative and emerging products, including buy now, pay later (BNPL), rent-to-own, and income share agreements. He frequently advises on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Housing Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Military Lending Act (MLA), Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), state licensing laws applicable to lenders, servicers, and collection agencies, Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and prohibitions against unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP).
Transactional Regulatory Counsel
Jim frequently serves as regulatory counsel on transactions involving financial services companies, fintech platforms, and consumer financial assets. He has advised loan purchasers, venture capital firms, investment banks, insurance companies, private credit funds, and other market participants on regulatory due diligence, licensing, compliance risk, bank partnership structures, transaction documentation, and disclosure issues. His transactional work includes financings, acquisitions, loan and receivables purchases, secondary-market transactions, and initial public offerings of fintech and consumer finance companies. Jim has also advised investment committees on the risks posed by new or unfamiliar asset classes and strategic partnerships.
Product Development and Counseling
Jim serves as product counsel from concept through launch, advising on product structure, licensing, consumer-facing documentation and disclosures, marketing review, and the development of product-specific compliance controls. His work spans lending and payment products and frequently includes advising on new and novel credit and payment products, as well as products that embed artificial intelligence (AI).
Payments and Money Movement
Jim advises payments companies and their bank partners on product development, money transmission licensing, and compliance with applicable laws and industry guidelines. He also frequently assists such companies with the development and ongoing negotiation of user and partnership agreements. His payments work includes P2P payments, prepaid products, remittances, digital wallets, money movement products, and emerging payment flows.
Regulatory Enforcement and Examinations
Jim represents clients in federal and state supervisory matters, investigations, and enforcement proceedings involving the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), among others. He also helps clients prepare for examinations, respond to supervisory findings, and manage regulatory issues arising from bank partnership programs.
Experience
Representative Matters
Prior to Joining Venable:
- Advised management, boards of directors, and in-house counsel of financial services companies on major regulatory, legislative, and market developments, providing an impact assessment and strategic advice on how to mitigate risk
- Counseled numerous financial services companies on the development and launch of AI/ML-powered underwriting models and products, including establishing model governance frameworks, fair lending testing protocols, and regulatory compliance programs for AI-driven underwriting, fraud detection, and customer service applications
- As both in-house and outside counsel, advised banks, fintech companies, and other financial services clients on the creation and launch of new consumer lending, payments, and deposit products, from initial feasibility analysis through documentation and compliance infrastructure
- Developed the legal and regulatory framework for a new, stablecoin-enabled flow of funds to counteract changes to applicable law that threatened the feasibility of a major payment company’s core product
- Created compliance management systems for multiple early-stage fintech companies, including policies and procedures, desktop guides, training programs, vendor management programs, internal audit and regulatory review programs, complaint management programs, and litigation management solutions
- Helped non-bank lenders establish and manage bank partnerships with industry-leading partner banks in compliance with true lender requirements
- Represented large investment banks, insurance companies, private credit funds, and loan investors in performing regulatory compliance reviews of more than 50 student, unsecured personal, mortgage, and indirect auto lenders, buy now, pay later (BNPL) companies, payments companies, and primary and backup servicers
- Performed 50-state reviews of applicable consumer credit (mortgage and non-mortgage), money transmission, loan servicer, and debt collection licensing laws
- Drafted and updated user agreements for a large global P2P payments company to incorporate new product and regulatory developments
- Provided regulatory support on credit agreements, merger agreements, S-1s, underwriting model licensing agreements, loan purchasing agreements, loan servicing agreements, and bank partnership agreements
- Assisted an established financial services company with the creation of a fintech subsidiary, including the development of its core product and regulatory compliance program
- Represented large national banks, regional banks, mortgage lenders, and other consumer financial services companies in U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and state regulatory investigations and enforcement actions involving fair lending, credit reporting, FHA loans, and unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices (UDAAPs)
- Provided strategic regulatory counsel to financial institutions in connection with class action litigation under applicable consumer finance laws
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. Georgetown University Law Center 2016
- Member, Journal of National Security Law & Policy
- B.A. magna cum laude Franklin & Marshall College 2013
- Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- New York
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Deposit Products and Payments Committee, American Bar Association
- Member, Exchequer Club