John Culhane Jr

John L. Culhane, Jr.

Partner
Philadelphia

John L. Culhane, Jr., is known for his work advising on interstate direct and indirect consumer and residential mortgage loan and leasing programs, through both traditional brick-and-mortar facilities and e-commerce. Before joining Ballard Spahr, John was associate counsel with Mellon Bank, N.A.; associate counsel with Bank of America NT&SA; and senior attorney (section chief) with the National Credit Union Administration, the federal agency regulating federal credit unions.

John addresses issues involving licensing, advertising and marketing, application processing, privacy, disclosure, pricing, substantive terms, servicing, collection, portfolio sales, and securitization. His regulatory practice includes preparing clients for banking agency and CFPB compliance examinations and assisting in the defense of attorney general investigations and banking agency and CFPB enforcement actions. His clients have ranged from a multibillion-dollar bank holding company, to one of the nation's largest residential mortgage lenders, to a leading provider of financial institution forms and documentation. John is a member of the firm's Fair Lending Team.

Experience 

Representative Matters

  • Counseled several regional banks on their suite of online deposit services
  • Counseled various secured credit card issuers on their credit card programs, their online services, and the soliciting of deposits online
  • Advised a major student lender on issues related to their student consumer financial services offerings, the online solicitation of deposits, and issues related to a sophisticated rewards program tied to the deposit accounts

Professional Highlights

Professional Activities

American Bar Association, member, Credit Union Committee and Consumer Financial Services Committee; former Chair, Subcommittee on Fair Access to Services; former Chair, Task Force on Lender Liability Limitation Amendments to State Statutes of Fraud; former Editor, Annual Survey of Consumer Financial Services Law

Pennsylvania Bar Association

American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, charter member

Conference on Consumer Finance Law

Recognition & Accomplishments

JD Supra Readers' Choice Award, Top Author in Finance and Banking, 2023, 2024

The Legal 500 US, Finance - financial services: regulatory, 2019-2021, 2023; Fintech, 2020

Chambers USA, financial services regulation: consumer finance, compliance (nationwide), 2015-2023; banking & finance: mainly regulatory (Pennsylvania), 2019-2023; financial services regulation: consumer finance, enforcement & investigations (nationwide), 2021-2023

John is one of only two Pennsylvania lawyers elected as a charter member of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers.

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, "Innovations in Education Finance: Should Income Share Agreements Be a Part of the Mix for Community Colleges?" The League for Innovation in the Community College's Innovations Conference, Seattle, WA, March 1, 2020

Recently, John spoke on diversity and inclusion standards. In addition, he has spoken at seminars sponsored by:

American Banker
American Bar Association
American Conference Institute

Publications

John has published articles in ABA Bank Compliance, BNA Lender Liability Report, The Business Lawyer, CFI Compliance News, CCFL Quarterly Report, Commercial Lending Review, HOUSELAW and Law360. He recently updated the chapters "Open-End and Home Equity Line of Credit Disclosures" and "Billing Error Resolution" for the American Bar Association's publication The Law of Truth in Lending.

Co-author, "The Problem with the DOJ's Case against GFI Mortgage," Law360, April 10, 2012

Credentials 

Education

University of Virginia School of Law (J.D. 1978)

University of Notre Dame (B.A., magna cum laude, 1973)

Admissions

California

Pennsylvania

Virginia