We aggressively represent a wide range of financial institutions in New Hampshire and the surrounding states. We do so accurately and pragmatically, based upon our understanding of the demands of federal and regional regulators and the specific compliance/regulatory challenges faced by our individual clients. We provide comprehensive representation that includes state and federal laws, as well as regulatory, corporate, transactional, and government relations solutions.

Our team has decades of experience representing various types of financial institution throughout New England. We are pragmatic, and we realize that the substantive goals of insurance, banking, and securities regulators are essentially the same. We are strong advocates for our clients, including as to existing situations and new products in this rapidly evolving economic space. We always put our clients first, and we use our skills to communicate fully; to develop innovative, effective solutions; and to advocate these solutions successfully to various regulators. To accomplish this, we place heavy reliance upon listening to our clients’ goals and timeline. We then honestly share obstacles that we think exist, and we practically work with our clients to develop and then advocate solutions. We seek to understand each of our client’s business in sufficient detail to provide them our best legal advice. And, we truly enjoy working with our clients in this fascinating space. We would be happy to entertain any questions or inquiries.

• Represent coalition to seek enactment of the Trust Modernization and Competitiveness Act of 2006, the most sweeping reform of New Hampshire’s banking laws in a decade.
• Represent the first Family Fiduciary Services Company to be chartered under special authority enacted in the 2006 Trust Modernization and Competition Act.
• Represent League of NH Credit Unions on legislative matter.

We represent a wide range of property/casualty, life, and health insurance companies, as well as agents and third-party administrators on matters involving the application of insurance law and regulation. Our professionals bring a deep and broad experience, both in the public and private sector, to our work on insurance law matters.

Steve Lauwers, who heads the Financial Institutions Law Practice Group, has practiced insurance and corporate law for the past 25 years in Connecticut and New Hampshire. Steve is former New Hampshire Assistant Insurance Commissioner, and he is the only New Hampshire member of the Federation of Regulatory Counsel, the leading insurance regulatory legal group in the United States. He is also a member of the International Association of Insurance Receivers.

We understand how the insurance and reinsurance business works and how it is regulated.

We regularly represent clients on corporate, regulatory and enforcement matters under the jurisdiction of the New Hampshire Banking Department. We represent a range of banking institutions, including credit unions, trust companies, and commercial and retail lenders. Our professionals bring a combination of experience, attention to detail, and good working relationships with regulators to our work on behalf of banking clients.

We led the lobbying effort on behalf of client Trust New Hampshire First, LLC to enact the most significant reform of New Hampshire’s banking laws in a decade. We then represented the first Family Fiduciary Services Company (a private trust company chartered to provide fiduciary and management services to a single family) to obtain a New Hampshire charter. Since that time, we have been actively involved in forming several non-depository private trust companies in New Hampshire.

Bill Ardinger, the head of our Tax Practice, has taken a leading role on these developments. Bill is well respected regionally for his tax and financial acumen, and he is a regular advisor to government regarding tax and financial policy.

We represent a number of other financial institutions before the Banking Department, the Securities Bureau, the Department of Revenue Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the New Hampshire legislature. Our clients include investment managers, investment advisors, third-party administrators, broker dealers, and other regulated entities and individuals.

A substantial portion of our practice in the last several years has involved impaired financial institutions. During that period, we have:

• Served as lead counsel to the New Hampshire Insurance Department in the rehabilitation of a life insurance company.
• Represented the substantial claims of reinsurers in a property/casualty insurance company liquidation.
• Handled the dissolution of a trust company.
• Represented substantial financial institution claimants in the liquidation of a trust company.
• Served as lead counsel in ancillary proceedings.

We have extensive experience securing financial institutions law objectives for clients before state legislature. Rath, Young and Pignatelli offers one of New Hampshire’s leading government relations practices, and our Financial Institutions practice group can bring this advocacy to bear on complex banking and insurance law matters. We are active members of the International Association of Insurance Receivers.