Jones Day adds two senior bank regulatory partners to Financial Markets Practice

Michael Dawson and Nicholas Podsiadly have joined Jones Day as partners in the Firm's Financial Markets Practice. Both lawyers will be based in the Washington Office.

"The financial regulatory environment, always complex and dynamic, is experiencing a rapid evolution across a number of dimensions," said Jay Tambe, leader of Jones Day's Financial Markets Practice. "This presents both challenges and opportunities to innovators in the banking, crypto, payments, and fintech space. Well-managed and well-capitalized banks have opportunities in the M&A space that they have not had in years, with current and incoming leadership of the financial regulators more open to transactions that allow innovative institutions to better serve consumers and businesses. At the same time, institutions that operate in multiple states and countries face competing, sometimes conflicting expectations from a wide range of authorities and private litigants. Nick and Michael will help our clients seize these opportunities and navigate these challenges, drawing on the broad and deep experience of Jones Day lawyers around the world."

At Jones Day, Messrs. Dawson and Podsiadly join a team of nearly 320 lawyers worldwide in the Financial Markets Practice who advise clients on the full range of complex cross-border financial transactions, regulatory matters, investigations, and litigation. The group represents a diverse client base of global financial institutions, issuers, borrowers, funds, asset managers, and fintech companies. Jones Day's Financial Markets Practice has helped clients close more than $1 trillion in financing transactions over the last five years, including many precedent-setting financings. The practice has also been at the forefront of many of the key regulatory and investigative issues facing global financial institutions in the current challenging environment: sanctions, trade wars, ESG, fair access, and many more.

Mr. Dawson has more than 20 years of experience in private practice, corporate management, and government agencies, advising financial institutions on regulatory compliance matters. He is particularly well-versed in legal and compliance issues surrounding sanctions, anti-money laundering, consumer protection, and the use of artificial intelligence in financial services. He also has an extensive background in designing compliance and remediation programs. Mr. Dawson served in the U.S. Department of Treasury as deputy assistant secretary and senior advisor from 2001-2004, where he helped set and implement policies overseeing financial institutions, and spent 16 years at Promontory Financial Group, a global financial services consulting firm, where he served in a number of leadership roles in the United States, Europe, and Asia and advised financial clients on regulatory compliance matters. He earned his law degree from Yale Law School, an M.Phil. degree in economics from Cambridge University, and an undergraduate degree from Williams College.

"Michael and Nick have worked here in Washington on behalf some of the most important financial institutions and regulatory agencies in the banking industry," said Noel Francisco, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's Washington Office. "Their combined skill sets and legal experience are an important addition to our team as we serve our clients' growing bank regulatory needs. I am pleased they have chosen to join Jones Day and look forward to working alongside them in Washington."

Mr. Podsiadly has more than 20 years of experience working on behalf of government legislators, regulatory agencies and large banking institutions to ensure compliance with relevant bank laws and regulations. He was most recently the chief government affairs officer and senior deputy general counsel for Fifth Third Bancorp, parent company of Fifth Third Bank, which has more than $200 billion in assets. Prior to that role, Mr. Podsiadly was general counsel and chief legal officer of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), where he managed a nationwide team of nearly 500 attorneys and other professionals responsible for all legal matters affecting the U.S. government corporation that insures deposits in the American banking system, examines and supervises financial institutions, and manages receiverships when banks fail. Previous experience included working in the private sector as senior vice president for regulatory policy at Regions Financial Corporation, working for a national trade association as vice president and senior counsel at the American Bankers Association, and working in government as counsel to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and Senate Committee on Finance. Mr. Podsiadly earned his law degree from Drake University Law School and his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University.

"Jones Day is renowned for its depth and breadth of experience on the full range of legal issues affecting financial institutions, and I am honored to join this global team with elite lawyers who have worked at the highest levels of government on key regulatory matters affecting the financial sector," said Mr. Dawson. "After more than two decades of working in corporate and government legal departments, I am excited to join Jones Day and for the opportunity to work on some of the most important legal challenges affecting financial institutions and fintech companies," added Mr. Podsiadly.