Author: Micah Schwalb

Micah Schwalb is a founding partner of Roenbaugh Schwalb, a Boulder-based legal boutique focused on highly-regulated companies. You know, like those in FinTech.

Introduction to FinTechLawIO

An overview of our authors and what they hope to write about, if they can get around to it.

In the first post that Dan Harris wrote for the excellent ChinaLawBlog, he asked a version of the following questions:

Who are we?

Why are we doing this?

What exactly will we be doing?

Given Dan’s success in blogging and other things, I thought I would borrow from the best and put forth a bit of a mission statement for this blog, as well as an introduction to its authors.

Who We Are

The initial authors of this blog will include Benjamin Metzger, Micah Schwalb, and Will Madden.

benBenjamin is a CAMS-certified financial services attorney and compliance professional working in-house at a Colorado-based credit union.  Before joining Public Service Credit Union, Benjamin spent time with Citi and Schwab, as well as with the Colorado Division of Banking as a money transmitter examiner.  Benjamin has described himself as a fintech enthusiast “with a strong interest in Bitcoin, blockchain, emerging payment systems, and inclusion strategies for unbanked populations.”

micahMicah focuses on deals and compliance at Roenbaugh Schwalb, a Boulder-based legal and compliance boutique, and teaches anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism finance to students enrolled in the MSL in Ethics and Compliance Program at Colorado Law.  Earlier in his career, Micah worked for Greenberg Traurig, where he advised clients on deals, the Bank Secrecy Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and SEC-administered statutes.  Though not CAMS-certified like Benjamin, Micah serves on the board of directors for the Colorado chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, has delivered a few finserv-related lectures here and there (6.2 MB PDF), and likes to write about technology law (PDF) on occasion.

willRounding out our trio, Will is a payments and virtual currency guru with years of experience in the financial services industry accumulated at places like Western Union and First Data.  Will is not a lawyer, but as the founder and CEO of Bridge21, he knows enough about the rules and regulations affecting fintech to get his company accepted into TechStars.  Videotaped proof of Will’s brilliance is available here.

Why We are Doing This

We hope this blog will generate meaningful discussions between authors and commentators alike.  We want to see more discussion about how rules and regulations affect businesses in fintech, as well as how those businesses can respond effectively to disrupt the existing players.  There are more than a few fintech-focused blogs and tweeters out there, even one website that has a regulation-focused news section, but we haven’t seen anything that addresses how fintech businesses deal with “the law” that is offered without a corresponding dose of self-promotion, heavy-handed marketing, or a narrow focus on technology.  Granted, we’re not exactly starting this blog out of a sense of charity, but we would like to see more substantive discussion and less hype/buzzword bingo in the space.  Ultimately, if FinTechLawIO can borrow (read: blatantly rip off) elements of the now-shuttered Becker-Posner Blog,  the Volokh Conspiracy, and ChinaLawBlog to create something interesting, so much the better.

What Exactly We Will Be Doing

We will be running a group blog that (where possible) does not pull its punches.  We are experts in our respective fields, and we will apply that expertise to writing about how financial innovators must dance with the regulators in the pale moonlight.  Like the Volokh Conspiracy, we will sometimes disagree with each other and we will have sole editorial control over this blog.  (It goes without saying that the views expressed on this blog do not reflect the views of our employers or clients.)  We may even let some folks guest blog from time to time, especially when we are particularly busy or facing some serious writers’ block.

But we will not overtly promote conferences or specific businesses, as much as we love attending conferences and getting paid for blatant self-promotion. We will not permit name-calling among each other or in the comments on posts.  Above all else, though, we hope that this blog will be a forum for respectful dialogue and interesting discoveries.