NEW YORK & WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced today that Keith Noreika has returned to the Firm as a Partner in the Financial Institutions Practice in Washington, D.C. Keith most recently served as Acting Comptroller of the Currency, heading a 4,000-person agency responsible for chartering, regulating and supervising all national banks and federal savings associations as well as federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States.

Keith joined the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in May 2017. The OCC supervises approximately 1,400 national banks and federal savings associations and about 50 federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States. The Comptroller also is a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

At Simpson Thacher, Keith will focus his practice on banking regulation and related litigation. He will advise 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.

“We are delighted to welcome Keith back to the Firm,” said Bill Dougherty, Chairman of Simpson Thacher’s Executive Committee. “Our Financial Institutions Practice has long been recognized as one of the best in the industry. Keith’s return to the Firm will enhance our ability to serve our financial institution clients around the world.”

Lee Meyerson, Head of the Financial Institutions Practice, added, “Keith will provide our clients a unique perspective on the rapidly changing world of financial services regulation. His knowledge and insights will assist our clients in managing complex regulatory issues and expanding their operations through mergers, capital markets activities and business line investments, including FinTech. His years of valuable litigation and investigations experience will continue to be an added asset.”

“I am extremely pleased to return to Simpson Thacher,” Keith Noreika said. “While I was proud to have had the opportunity to serve our country as the Acting Comptroller of the Currency over the past year, I am now eager to help clients with the spectrum of issues they face as they explore opportunities for their organizations, employees and shareholders and ultimately benefit the economy more broadly.”

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.” 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 Institutions Practice lawyers provide integrated regulatory and transactional advice, giving them the perspective to offer strategic insight and commercial solutions.

ABOUT SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (www.simpsonthacher.com) is one of the world’s leading international law firms. The Firm was established in 1884 and has more than 900 lawyers. Headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., the Firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability to clients around the globe.