Alan S. Kaplinsky

Alan S. Kaplinsky is Co-Practice Leader of the firm's Consumer Financial Services Group, which has more than 115 lawyers. Alan devotes his practice exclusively to counseling financial institutions on bank regulatory and transactional matters, particularly consumer financial services law, and defending financial institutions that have been sued by consumers in individual and class action lawsuits and by government enforcement agencies. Visit Alan's profile in Wikipedia.

Alan is heavily involved in counseling and representing clients in a wide variety of matters (regulatory, supervisory and enforcement) involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He was instrumental in launching a blog, CFPBMonitor.com, focused on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Alan pioneered the use of pre-dispute arbitration provisions in consumer contracts, has counseled numerous consumer financial services companies on this subject, and has defended in court numerous companies that have sought to enforce consumer arbitration agreements.

Alan is included in the 2006 through 2015 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of financial services regulation. Chambers calls him "a guru of consumer financial services on both the regulatory and litigation sides [who has] earned his well-deserved national reputation when successfully defending the very first class actions brought against financial institutions." Clients are highly complimentary of his abilities, declaring him to be "one of if not the top consumer expert in the United States" and "the dean of consumer regulatory compliance."

Professional Activities

American Bar Association, past Chair, Committee on Consumer Financial Services

Adviser to the American Law Institute (ALI) Restatement of the Law Third, Consumer Contracts

University of Pennsylvania Law School and Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, past Adjunct Professor

Recognition & Accomplishments

Lifetime Achievement Award, American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, 2016

Named a Litigation Trailblazer by The National Law Journal, 2015 

First President, American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, leading lawyer in banking and finance: financial services regulation: consumer finance (compliance) (national ranking band one); and banking and finance: mainly regulatory (Pennsylvania band one), 2006-2018

The Best Lawyers in America, financial services regulation law, banking and finance litigation, and corporate law, 2007-2018

Named Best Lawyers' 2012 Philadelphia Litigation, Banking & Finance Lawyer of the Year

The Legal 500 United States, listed in 2011-2018 editions, Financial Services: Regulatory

American Law Institute, elected member since May 2006

Publications

Member, Financial Services Advisors, Consumer Financial Services Law Report

Co-author, "DOJ Announces New Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud," Ballard Spahr alert, July 13, 2018

Co-author, "Ninth Circuit Rules California 'No Credit Card Surcharge' Law Violates First Amendment," Ballard Spahr alert, January 8, 2018

Co-author, "FFIEC Provides Concrete Guidance on Setting Up Information Security Programs," Ballard Spahr alert, September 14, 2016

Co-author, "Fact Sheet Clarifies AML/BSA Enforcement Priorities," Ballard Spahr alert, September 2, 2016

Speaking Engagements

Co-Chair for 22 years of the Practising Law Institute's Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute

Frequent presenter to numerous organizations on banking and consumer financial services law and quoted frequently in national publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and American Banker

Board Memberships

Bloomberg BNA Banking Report Advisory Board

Boston College Law School (J.D. 1970, cum laude)
Editor, Boston College Industrial and Commercial Law Review; Member, Order of the Coif

University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business (B.S. 1967, cum laude)

New York

Pennsylvania