Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced today that Keith Noreika, a leading bank regulatory attorney, has joined the Firm’s Financial Institutions Practice as a Partner in the Washington, D.C. office.

Keith focuses his practice on banking regulation and related litigation. He advises a wide range of domestic and international financial institutions on regulatory issues relating to mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, capital issuances, structuring and compliance activities, and litigation matters, particularly in the area of federal preemption. He works extensively with all the federal bank regulatory agencies.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Keith to the Firm,” said Bill Dougherty, Chairman of Simpson Thacher’s Executive Committee. “He is a leader in his field and is joining a practice that is widely recognized as one of the best in the industry, with a team of talented lawyers serving financial institutions around the world.”

Lee Meyerson, Head of the Financial Institutions Practice, added, “The global financial services industry is in a period of complex change and transformation, which creates both legal challenges as well as business opportunities. Keith’s broad-based experience will be a significant asset to our clients as they manage through these issues and expand their operations through mergers, capital markets activities and restructurings. His experience with litigation and investigations will also be very valuable to our clients.”

Keith’s extensive experience includes advising regional, multinational and other banks on the structuring of their U.S. operations, including compliance with the Volcker Rule and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations, Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering rules, as well as transactional matters and related regulatory applications. He has counseled numerous private equity funds with respect to investments in banking organizations. In addition, Keith has represented large national banks before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts in connection with federal preemption challenges to states’ assertions of regulatory and supervisory authority over the activities of operating subsidiaries.

Keith has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a co-author of the treatise Regulation of Foreign Banks & Affiliates in the United States. Keith has been recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA in “Financial Services Regulation: Banking Compliance” since 2014. He received his J.D. in 1997 from Harvard Law School, where he was editor of the Harvard Law Review. He earned his B.S. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.

Simpson Thacher’s Financial Institutions Practice advises a broad range of financial institutions, private investors and government agencies on transactional and regulatory matters. The Firm has represented clients in many of the largest and most complex mergers of the past decades, as well as important and innovative capital-raising transactions and regulatory matters, ranging from compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act to chartering new institutions and obtaining regulatory approvals for expanded banking powers. Simpson Thacher’s Financial Institution Practice lawyers provide integrated regulatory and transactional advice, giving them the perspective to offer strategic insight and commercial solutions.