Judy Mok

Judy Mok has extensive experience negotiating complex payments transactions for some of the world's largest retailers, financial institutions and businesses. Her practice is in the payments space, with a focus on strategic partnership arrangements. In particular, she has significant experience negotiating and drafting co-branded and private-label credit card agreements, payment network agreements, merchant agreements, servicing agreements, processing agreements, and portfolio purchase and sale agreements.

Judy also has advised clients in launching and marketing various business initiatives, including loyalty and rewards programs, e-commerce platforms, online lending programs, consumer payment systems, and mobile payment solutions.

Judy is actively involved with the American Bar Association and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Deposit Products and Payment Systems Subcommittee, as well as the Chair of Membership for the ABA’s Business Law Section, Consumer Financial Services Committee.

Judy is consistently recognized for her work in the payments space. Recently, she was named to Electronic Transactions Association’s 2020 Forty Under 40 List and was named a 2019 Rising Star by the New York Law Journal. Judy was also elected as a Governing Committee Member of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law in 2020.

Judy is Co-Leader of the firm’s Asian American Business Resource Group and is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. She was nominated as a 2020 Fellow to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Program.

Representative Matters

Co-Branded and Private Label Credit Card Program Agreements

• Represented a major international retailer in connection with the renegotiation of its private label and co-branded credit card agreements with a large issuing bank and its alliance agreement with a payment card network
• Represented an international airline in the negotiation of its co-branded card agreement with a major issuing bank
• Represented a major home improvement retailer in its private label agreement with a large issuing bank
• Represented a major US airline in the negotiation of its co-branded card agreements with two different issuing banks
• Represented two airlines jointly in merger planning activities, including negotiation between the two airlines and their respective credit card issuers with respect to the airlines’ co-branded credit card agreements
• Represented a national outdoor sporting goods retailer in its negotiation of its co-branded card agreement with a major issuing bank
• Represented an e-commerce fashion retailer and its affiliated company in the negotiation of its private label agreement with a large issuing bank
• Represented a major credit card issuer in the structuring of a co-branded and private label agreement with a major international retailer
• Represented a major financial institution in its negotiation of a co-branded card agreement and corporate card agreement with an affiliate of the seller of the credit card portfolio

Purchase and Sale Agreements

• Represented major financial institutions (on both the purchaser and seller side) in connection with the purchase and sales of credit card portfolios from other financial institutions

Payment Processing Agreements/Merchant Acquiring Agreements

• Represented a leading international lodging establishment in its negotiation of its worldwide merchant acceptance agreement with a payment network
• Represented a luxury goods retailer in a merchant processing agreement for the acceptance of various payment methods

Network Agreements

• Represented a number of major financial institutions in the negotiation of their enterprise issuing and merchant network agreements with both Visa and Mastercard
• Represented a major financial institution in connection with renegotiation of its respective master service agreements and acceptance agreements with various payment card networks
• Represented major retailers and merchants in the negotiation of their payment network incentive agreements in connection with their co-brand credit card programs

Prepaid/Gift Card Agreements

• Represented a major international retailer in its gift card program agreements with Blackhawk Network, InComm and ePay

Loyalty/Rewards

• Advised a major financial institution in structuring and drafting various template agreements in connection with a proprietary rewards program
• Represented a fintech/payment processor in connection with the template agreement drafting and subsequent negotiation with merchant partners participating in its corporate card rewards program

Mobile Wallets

• Represented a leading mobile wallet provider in its enterprise agreements with merchants relating to the provisioning of merchant loyalty passes and ticketing functionality on the wallet

Professional Activities

Vice-Chair of Deposit Products and Payment Systems Subcommittee, American Bar Association Business Law Section, Consumer Financial Services Committee

Chair of Membership, American Bar Association Business Law Section, Consumer Financial Services Committee

Former Co-Editor, ABA Consumer Financial Services Committee Newsletter

Recognitions & Accomplishments

Named to Electronic Transactions Association’s 2020 Forty Under 40 List

Elected as a Governing Committee Member of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2020

Nominated as 2020 LCLD Fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Program

The Legal 500, Fintech, 2020

Selected as one of 10 participants nationwide for the 2019 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Prospective Partners Program

Named a 2019 Rising Star by the New York Law Journal

Nominee, 2017 ABA "On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers" Award 

Finalist, Chambers Diversity Awards USA 2016, "Future Leader – Minority Lawyers"

Publications

Co-author, "Will COVID-19 Fraud Issues Impact the Use of Real-Time Payments," ABA Consumer Financial Services Committee Newsletter, July 13, 2020

Co-author, "Fed's Real-Time Payments Idea Presents Risks, Challenges," Law360, January 15, 2020

“Hot Topic: The Fed’s Proposed Entry into Real-Time Payments Through the FedNow Service” American Bar Association Consumer Financial Services Committee Newsletter, December 5, 2019

Co-author, "The Federal Reserve's Entry into Real-Time Payments," Ballard Spahr Insights article, August 27, 2019

Co-author, "2013 OCC Guidance on Third Party Service Providers," ABA Consumer Financial Services Committee Newsletter, February 25, 2015

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, "An Introduction to Real-Time Payments," Ballard Spahr Consumer Financial Services Group Podcast, December 10, 2020

Speaker, "Consumer Financial Services in Turbulent Times: Credit Cards and Payment Cards," A CLE webcast series by Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, December 8, 2020

Speaker, "Impact of COVID-19 on the Payments Ecosystem," Ballard Spahr webinar, June 26, 2020

Speaker, “How Digital Disruption Is Reshaping Antitrust in the Financial Sector: (Anti)trust in Payments,” NERA Economic Consulting seminar, December 4, 2019

Speaker, "Alternative Payment Methods: Changing the Retail of Tomorrow and What You Should Know About It," Ballard Spahr webinar, October 3, 2019

Speaker, "Fed's Entry into Real-Time Payments," American Bar Association Business Law Section Annual Meeting, Consumer Financial Services Committee, September 15, 2019

Speaker, "AI & Big Data in the Financial Services Industry," Ballard Spahr webinar, June 18, 2019

Speaker, "Card Issuers Workshop," Ballard Spahr workshop, Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, May 14-15, 2019

Panelist, "Importance of Vendor Management in Bank Partnership Arrangements," ABA Consumer Financial Services Committee Winter Meeting, January 9, 2016

Community Activities

Co-Vice President of Strategic Development and Marketing, Don H. Liu Scholars Program

Past volunteer, Metropolitan Museum of Art Guided Tour Program

Fordham University School of Law (J.D. 2007)

New York University (B.A., magna cum laude, 2004)