Perkins Coie Further Fortifies its Regulatory Depth with Addition of OCC Veteran Jim Vivenzio to Investment Management Practice and Fintech Industry Group

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 18, 2023)—Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Jim Vivenzio has joined the firm in Washington, D.C., as a senior counsel in the Investment Management practice and Fintech Industry Group. Jim joins from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and will focus his practice on providing financial regulatory counsel to fintechs, cryptocurrency companies, banks, and other financial institutions.

Over the course of his 32-year OCC career, Jim served as the director for Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering policy in the Bank Supervision Policy Division and as the Senior Counsel for Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering. He has significant experience advising on examination processes and regulatory, enforcement, and government policy matters related to bank secrecy, anti-money laundering, and cryptocurrency issues. Jim also served as the first co-chair to the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group Subcommittee on Innovation and Technology established by Congress under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, and as a member of the OCC's cryptocurrency working group focusing on the development of chartering strategies, licensing approvals for cryptocurrency trust companies, and cryptocurrency custody guidance among other matters.

"We're pleased to welcome a lawyer of Jim's caliber to the firm and our national practice. His deep regulatory experience with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will be of tremendous value to our clients," said Molly Moynihan, the firmwide co-chair of Perkins Coie's Investment Management practice. "Jim's experience and insight will further benefit our work for clients facing a fast-evolving financial service regulatory and compliance landscape."

"Jim joins our already strong and nationally ranked Fintech Industry Group and will provide us with increased financial sector regulatory capabilities, particularly on matters involving bank examination processes, corporate activities, and compliance with BSA/AML, OFAC, and CFT requirements," said firmwide co-chair of Perkins Coie's Fintech Industry Group . "His impressive government track record and firsthand experience with regulation and policy development and enforcement will only strengthen our ability to best serve our fintech clients."

In his roles at the OCC over the years, Jim acquired formidable knowledge of Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering policies, procedures, and processes, including the interagency Bank Secrecy Act enforcement guidelines. During his tenure in the OCC Law Department, Jim participated in every significant Bank Secrecy Act enforcement action taken by the OCC and served as the lead lawyer on several high-profile interagency anti-money laundering investigations and penalty actions. He also participated on U.S. government and international task forces charged with addressing issues related to stablecoins and cryptocurrency.

"Jim has long served on the front lines of driving banking sector regulation, policy and enforcement, and we're thrilled to add another amazing practitioner with vast public experience to our growing team of former regulators in Washington, D.C.," said Perkins Coie's Washington, D.C., office. "Jim is uniquely positioned to leverage our D.C. platform to continue shepherding the banking sector evolution forward."

"Perkins Coie is well-known as a leading law firm to fintech companies and innovators and I'm excited to join the firm's Investment Management practice and Fintech Industry Group," said Jim Vivenzio. "The OCC and other regulators are increasing their oversight of this dynamic and growing sector and I'm looking forward to helping the team bolster the effective and informed counsel we provide to our clients backed by Perkins Coie's impressive platform."

Jim received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and his B.S. from Fordham's College of Business Administration. Jim is also a clinical professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law (Arizona State University), master's degree program in financial integrity.