Barbara Mendelson is a partner in the Financial Services Group in the New York office. Her practice involves advising foreign and U.S. banks in a variety of complex regulatory matters, including sales and acquisitions of U.S. banking and nonbanking firms, Dodd-Frank Act issues, applications to federal and state bank regulators for expansion of activities and new products, Bank Secrecy Act and OFAC matters and over-the-counter and exchange-based trading of various instruments and derivatives. She has represented foreign banks in their U.S. operations for more than 25 years. Ms. Mendelson has also been instrumental in forming a number of commercial banks and other subsidiaries of foreign banks. In addition to her bank regulatory practice, Ms. Mendelson works with sovereign entities and multilateral organizations with respect to the investment of their foreign currency reserves and other assets.
In 2019, Ms. Mendelson was the winner of the “Best in Financial Regulation” award at the Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards. She was also awarded this honor in 2017, and has been named to the shortlist for the award every year since 2012. Ms. Mendelson was also awarded the "Lawyer of the Year" designation by Best Lawyers in America (2019 and 2013) in the category of Financial Services Regulation Law (New York City). In addition, she has been recommended by Chambers Global 2019, Chambers USA 2018, Legal 500 US 2018, IFLR1000 2019, Best Lawyers in America 2019, and Who's Who Legal: Banking 2019. In 2019, Crain’s New York Business named Barbara Mendelson a “Notable Woman in Law”.
Ms. Mendelson is a contributing author of Regulation of Foreign Banks & Affiliates in the United States (West 2012) and a co-author of Considerations for Foreign Banks Financing in the US, published by International Financial Law Review (2012, updated 2014).
She is a member of the New York City Bar Association, and its Banking Law Committee, and the American Bar Association. She is also a trustee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.
