Overview
Molly Swartz is a partner in the Global Fintech & Payments practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm's San Francisco office.
Recognized as a “Rising Star” by Law360 in 2023 and a “Next Generation Partner” by The Legal 500 in 2023, Molly advises fintech and financial services companies, internet marketplaces and commercial and consumer lenders regarding a broad spectrum of product, regulatory and transactional matters. As part of Paul Hastings’ Band 1-ranked Fintech and Payments practice, she is one of a few preeminent financial services attorneys in the U.S. that companies turn to as they seek to commercialize their product offerings further.
Molly has extensive experience with financial services and consumer protection laws, including the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, state money transmission and licensed lending laws, gift card laws, payment network rules such as the Nacha, Visa and Mastercard Rules, and other state and federal statutes related to money movement.
Molly advises household name companies regarding a host of product and regulatory issues. From ideation and strategy through launch and beyond, Molly assists in all aspects of product development. She frequently negotiates commercial agreements in the financial services space, including bank-fintech partnership agreements and commercial agreements between fintech companies. Molly drafts user-facing documentation for financial services clients including foundational contracts between clients and their customers, and advises on design elements of the user experience. Beyond product development, Molly supports clients through financing services licensing and registration, and assists clients in responding to regulatory inquiries.
Molly is one of the foremost experts in non-recourse liquidity and earned wage access (collectively, NRL/EWA). She was part of the original legal team that helped define the space and has engaged with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and numerous state agencies on a variety of EWA/NRL issues. Molly has helped numerous clients to develop no-fee, non-recourse forms of financing.
Accolades
- Recipient of the Leonard Janofsky Award for legal excellence in Corporate Law (2024)
- The Legal 500 USA, Next Generation Partner, Fintech (2023, 2024)
- Law360, Rising Star, Fintech (2023)
- The Legal 500 USA, Rising Star, Fintech (2022)
Engagement & Publications
- Panelist, “Fintech in Focus: Hot Topics and Trends” Paul Hastings Consumer Financial Services Webinar Series (May 30, 2024)
- Panelist, “Retail Banking Under Fire: Trends in Deposits and Payments” Paul Hastings Consumer Financial Services Webinar Series (February 14, 2024)
- Co-Author with Stephen L. Sepinuck, Finance Providers Need to Be Award of New Commercial Finance Disclosure Laws, 27 NY Bus. L. Journal 2 (2023)
- Client Alert: Seven Things to Know About California’s New Crypto Licensing Bill (October 2023)
- Client Alert: Finance Providers Need to Be Aware of New Commercial Finance Disclosure Laws (July 2023)
- Client Alert: There’s a New Sheriff in Town: CCFPL Empowers California’s Financial Services Regulator (Oct. 2020)
- Co-Author with Thomas P. Brown, Fair Lending and the Use of Alternative Underwriting, Law360 (June 9, 2020)
- Client Alert: California Deems Certain Deferred Payment Products Loans, Requiring a Lending License (Jan. 2020)
- Speaker, "To MSB or Not to MSB?" Paul Hastings ICO Teleconference Series (Dec. 14, 2017)
- Co-Author with Robert P. Silvers, Data Breach Preparedness and Response in a World of White Hat Hackers, The Privacy Advisor, IAPP (Nov. 28, 2017)
- Speaker, "Regulatory Developments in Prepaid," 2017 Prepaid Expo (August 22, 2017)
- Co-Author with Thomas P. Brown, Making America Great for FinTech, 20 FinTech L. Report 1 (March/April 2017)
- Co-Author with Thomas P. Brown, Competition Policy in Consumer Financial Services: The Disparate Regulation of Online Marketplace Lenders and Banks, 11 Competition Pol'y Int'l 1 (Mar. 2016)
- PH Privacy Blog: CFPB's First Foray into Data Security Makes $100,000 Splash (Mar. 2016)
- Client Alert: CFPB Releases its First Regulatory Proposals Under its UDAAP Authority - Proposing to Level the Playing Field for Payday Loans, Vehicle Title Loans, and Certain High-Cost Installment and Open-End Loans (Apr. 2015)