A little over 10 years ago, at the wise encouragement of Walt Moeling, we launched this blog.  From day one, the response from clients, referral sources, regulators and competitors has been amazing.

All in, we’ve published over 1,000 blog posts, authored by almost 100 different attorneys with the firm.  From BankPogo.com to BankBryanCave.com to BankBCLP.com, the site has evolved with the evolution of the firm, but has always been focused on providing usable advice to financial institutions across the country.

I’m thrilled with what we were able to build, but also refuse to just rest on our past accomplishments.  We are always on the lookout for areas of interest to our client, where we can partner with the financial institution industry to create value for all.  I think we all hope that such assistance will never again involve assistance with government investments in our depository institutions, but if it does, we look forward to building upon the expertise gained in the great recession.

Jonathan and I discuss two major deals for our us: the formation of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) and the return or Barry Hester in this latest episode of The Bank Account.

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is the result of the mergers of historically U.S.-based Bryan Cave LLP and historically U.K.-based Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP.  As a truly global firm with over 1,600 lawyers operating literally around the clock, we believe Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner is well positioned to serve clients around the globe.  Our blog is still available at BankBryanCave.com, but is also now available at BankBCLP.com.  We’ll figure out over time what our branding looks like.

Barry Hester re-joins our financial institutions practice after serving for many years as an assistant general counsel for EverBank and TIAA FSB.  In this episode of The Bank Account, we talk with Barry about his experience with the “good guy” and “bad guy” banking compliance laws.  The “good guy” laws include the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and the Military Lending Act, while the “bad guy” laws include the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering laws.  As noted in the podcast, Barry has already been busy contributing good content for our blog, with a post last week about FinCEN’s new FAQ on the Customer Due Diligence rules.

As discussed previously, we are sponsoring two teams, one of lawyers and one of bankers, for the Atlanta Ragnar Trail Run on April 13th and 14th.  Sixteen of us will be taking turns running five mile legs at the Georgia International Horse Park over a 24-hour (or so) period.  Team BSA (or Bankers Speed Ahead) will generally consist of our friendly bankers, while Team AML (or Awkwardly Moving Lawyers) will consist of our compatriots from the firm.  I expect our next podcast will relay some interesting stories from the trails.