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Law Offices of Paul Soter |
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149 San Felipe Avenue
San Francisco CA 94127 Email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Person: Paul Soter Phone: (415) 333-3193 The Law Offices of Paul Soter were founded in 1997. Paul Soter has significant experience gained in government service, at major law firms, and as in-house counsel to a major bank. Mr. Soter’s philosophy is to function as in-house counsel for hire, either for discrete projects or for ongoing advice and representation. Utilizing this meaningful prior in-house experience, he seeks to work closely with clients to provide high-quality legal services at reasonable costs in a responsive manner.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS REGULATORY PRACTICE
Mr. Soter advises various types of financial services providers who wish to engage in regulated and unregulated activities as well as the general corporate issues relating to these matters. Those have included the following types of institutions: national and state-chartered banks; savings and loan associations; industrial loan companies; California Finance Lenders; Residential Mortgage Lenders; California Deferred Deposit lenders; real estate brokers; and various Money Service Businesses, including check cashers; bill payers; check sellers, and money transmitters. This representation has included application and licensing matters; regulatory matters involving compliance with applicable statutes and regulations; development and marketing of credit, deposit, and funds management products; and responses to examination reports and specific regulatory actions. He has represented clients, formally or informally, in matters involving the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the Federal Reserve Board; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation the California Departments of Financial Institutions, Corporations, and Real Estate; and state agencies in Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Texas.
RETAIL FINANCIAL SERVICES
Mr. Soter has extensive experience advising on matters relating to all aspects of the providing of financial services to consumers. This includes particular expertise in regulatory compliance matters relating to retail banking, including deposit matters and branch operations, consumer credit and marketing programs, new product development, and the offering of innovative credit, deposit, and funds management products by non-traditional entities.
Consumer Credit: Mr. Soter advises lenders concerning requirements applicable to a full range of consumer credit products such as fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage lending; secured and unsecured installment lending; open-end secured and unsecured credit lines; credit cards, including merchant services, enhancement service programs, fraud and security issues, and processing matters; dealer paper and merchant account programs; loans to employees; and payday lending and overdraft protection programs.
Money Service Business Products: Mr. Soter has developed extensive expertise in the area of the services offered by various state-licensed Money Service Businesses, including check cashing, deferred presentment lending, money transmittal, prepaid debit cards, gift cards, overdraft protection, negotiable instrument sales, bill payment, and money transmittal. This work has included assisting Money Service Businesses in developing new products and in partnering with other types of financial service providers and in negotiating with state and federal regulators. This work has included drafting consumer agreements and disclosures, negotiating and drafting joint operating agreements, and advising on and obtaining regulators’ interpretations of laws and regulations on a nationwide basis.
Marketing: Mr. Soter has extensive experience in providing legal review and support for financial service providers’ marketing efforts. He advises clients on the development of promotional campaigns, review of advertisement copy, and drafting required disclosures.
Deposit and Funds Storage and Transmission Operations: Mr. Soter works with clients on a broad scope of operational compliance and legal issues including the establishment of new types of deposit and funds storage and transmittal products; the drafting of account and other agreements; and advising on negotiable instruments problems, Truth-in-Savings Act and funds availability issues, anti-money laundering issues, account disputes, and legal process. He also has extensive background in dealing with electronic banking product development such as shared ATM and point-of-sale networks and Internet banking. This experience also includes work on premises matters and branch purchases and sales. He has been active in the development of non-traditional deposit products and services, including shared ATM networks, prepaid debit cards, innovative money transmission methods, and innovative bill payment and money transfer programs.
Real Estate Lending: Mr. Soter has particular expertise in residential lending. In this regard, he works with clients on the establishment of new types of real estate-secured loan products and the drafting of the corresponding loan documents, disclosures, and security instruments.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Mr. Soter has extensive experience in advising clients on the structuring, licensing, and operation of sales of goods and services in California and in interstate commerce using telemarketing and Internet solicitations to contact consumer purchasers. To a great extent, the current legal issues involved in this area are strikingly similar to those faced by Mr. Soter’s financial institution clients as they have expanded their geographical markets and product offerings over the past 25 years. Specific programs for which Mr. Soter has provided advice have included sales of automobiles and other consumer goods; solicitations of mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, and secured and unsecured credit cards; lead generation; solicitations of both insured and uninsured deposit products; sales of consumer goods ranging from automobiles to sports memorabilia; Internet-accessed consumer lending of all types; and electronic and biometric customer identification and check cashing programs.
LITIGATION SUPPORT
Mr. Soter has provided litigation support to other outside and in-house counsel representing financial intermediaries in litigation matters. This support includes assessing litigation risk and settlement alternatives; providing background education on technical compliance and regulatory issues; assisting in drafting pleadings, particularly Memoranda of Points and Authorities; negotiating with adverse parties and regulators, primarily in pre-litigation situations; and serving as expert witnesses for depositions, trials, and administrative hearings. He has performed these functions both as associated counsel and as an advisor retained directly by other law firms.
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R. Paul Soter, Jr. earned his B.A. from the University of California in 1973 and his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law in 1977. He spent five years in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps in Germany working in international law, claims, administrative law, and criminal law before joining California First Bank (now Union Bank of California) where he was the sole consumer credit attorney for several years. He was a member of the inter-institution task force that established the Star System shared ATM network, and was the primary counsel to the Bank’s Credit Card, Installment Lending, Electronic Banking, and Residential Loan departments. He was active in the California Bankers Association as a member of its State Government Relations Committee and as Chair of its Regulatory Compliance Committee. He practiced with two major San Francisco law firms and a boutique firm specializing in consumer financial services before founding the Law Offices of Paul Soter. He serves on the Board of Director of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of San Rafael, of which he is also General Counsel. He is Counsel to the California Financial Services Providers and is Of Counsel to Severson & Werson.
Mr. Soter has spoken on numerous retail banking and consumer financial service subjects to various industry groups and trade associations, including the California Bankers Association, the U.S. League of Savings Associations, the California Financial Service Providers, the Financial Service Centers of America, the Internet Lenders Association, and the Payday Loan Bar Association. He has participated actively in assisting clients and the industry prepare for the implementation of the new California Deferred Transactions Law. He is a regular speaker at trade association conferences, including those hosted by Financial Services Centers of America and the California Financial Services Providers. |
| Date added: 2008-02-10 12:30:43 |
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