Keith R. Fisher

Business and Finance, Bank Regulation and Supervision, Consumer Financial Services, Mortgage Banking

Keith R. Fisher is of counsel in the Business and Finance Department and a member of the Consumer Financial Services, Bank Regulatory and Supervision, and Mortgage Banking Groups. His practice focuses on financial regulatory work, mergers and acquisitions, and appellate work, especially Supreme Court practice.

Mr. Fisher recently worked as a consultant advising on a variety of ethics, business, and regulatory projects, including federal banking law compliance. He has taught law school courses in banking law, payment systems, anti-money laundering, international banking and finance, and legal ethics.

Mr. Fisher has substantial experience in U.S. Supreme Court practice arising from his work with former colleagues E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., and John Roberts, now Chief Justice. He was the principal author of the American Bar Association's two amicus briefs in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., Inc. (2009). He also served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland in order to represent the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation in filing an amicus brief in Watters v. Wachovia Bank (2007).

Pro Bono Experience

Mr. Fisher has done extensive pro bono legal work for the International Human Rights Law Group and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Judicial Clerkships

Hon. Herbert F. Murray, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 1980-1981

Professional Activities

American Bar Association
Member, Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, International Law, and Business Law Sections
Member, Center for Professional Responsibility
Chief Reporter on ABA's Commission on Ethics 20/20 
Reporter for the Judicial Disqualification Project (within the Standing Committee on Judicial Independence)

Federal Bar Association, Banking Law Committee, Executive Council

American Inns of Court Foundation, Charter Member

Recent Publications

Mr. Fisher's numerous articles on banking regulation, legal ethics, and mergers and acquisitions have appeared in various law reviews and other publications. His published writings include: 

A treatise titled "Mergers and Acquisitions of Banks and Savings Institutions," published by Little Brown & Co.

"The Great Lakes / St. Lawrence River Basin Compact and Agreement: International Law & Policy Crossroads," 2006 Mich. St. L. Rev. 1085, 2007 

"Transnational Competition Law and the WTO," 2 Business Law & Technology: Present And Emerging Trends 273, 2006

"Transparency in Global Merger Review: A Limited Role for the WTO?" 11 Stanford J. Law, Bus. & Fin. 327, 2006

"Toward a Basal Tenth Amendment: A Riposte to National Bank Preemption of State Consumer Protection Laws," 29 Harv. J. L. & Pub. Pol'y 981, 2006 (article was a prizewinner in the Peterson Prize National Writing Competition)

"The Higher Calling: Regulation of Lawyers Post-Enron," 37 Univ. Of Mich. 1. L. Reform 1017, 2004

Recent Speaking Engagements

Mr. Fisher is a frequent speaker on programs both in the United States and abroad, including presentations on: 

Issues in judicial disqualification reform and legal ethics, Conference of Chief Justices, Summer Meeting, July 24-27, 2010

Ethical issues in transnational law practice, Center for International Legal Studies, Program on Lawyering in the International Market, March 28-April 2, 2010

Legal ethics surrounding globalization and rapidly evolving technology and problems in the law of judicial disqualification, Conference of Chief Justices, Midwinter Meeting, January 30-February 3, 2010

Legal ethics surrounding globalization and rapidly evolving technology, American Bar Association, Section of Business Law, Leadership Retreat,
January 15-18, 2010

Substantive and enforcement preemption of state bank regulators and other law enforcement officials, Brooklyn Law School, Program on Future of State Regulation of Financial Services, September 30, 2009

Amicus brief writing and current issues in judicial disqualification and recusal, Lincoln Institute for Land Policy/National State Tax Judges Conference, Annual Meeting, September 24-25, 2009

Board Memberships

U.S. Chess Center (1993-1998)

Chair, City of Rockville (Maryland) Cultural Arts Commission (1983-1985)

Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., cum laude)

Princeton University (A.B., cum laude)

Languages

Fluent in French and Italian

Proficient in German, Spanish, and Greek

District of Columbia

District of Columbia Court of Appeals

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Supreme Court