Cox Smith Expands Banking & Financial Institutions Team with Addition of Attorney Mandy Balch in Austin and Former FDIC Attorney Jerry Sanchez in Dallas

Austin, TX (PRWEB) May 19, 2011

Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated (“Cox Smith”) today announced that the firm has added two veteran practitioners to its highly regarded banking and financial institutions practice. Long-time Texas Capitol insider and attorney Mary Amanda “Mandy” Balch has joined its Austin office, while former FDIC senior regional attorney Jerry Sanchez will join the firm’s Dallas office.

With 80 years of experience serving financial institutions, Cox Smith's attorneys represent national banks, state banks and bank holding companies and their officers, directors and shareholders in corporate, securities and regulatory matters. The firm was recently ranked Tier 1 in Austin in Banking & Finance Law in the inaugural U.S. News-Best Lawyers ranking of the nation’s best law firms.

As senior counsel, Balch will continue assisting clients with their government relations needs, while also focusing on financial institutions law. She assists traditional and non-traditional banks and financial institutions with regulatory compliance counsel related to non-depository lending and non-traditional lending, and multi-state licensing. Her government relations services include managing and directing representation of clients before the Texas Legislature; monitoring legislation, research and analysis of proposed and filed legislation; developing, managing and directing legislative strategy; serving as liaison to various business groups and organizations; and managing and coordinating preparation of testimony before legislative committees. A member of the State Bar of Texas, Balch received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her J.D. (with distinction) from St. Mary’s University School of Law.

“Many national and Texas-based banks, and other financial services companies, rely on Cox Smith for guidance and we are committed to them and growing our team with the addition of experienced attorneys like Mandy and Jerry,” said Cary Kavy, leader of the firm’s banking and financial institutions practice.

During his tenure at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Jerry Sanchez provided legal advice to management and examiners in an eight state region regarding a wide variety of supervision and consumer compliance legal issues. He advised and represented the FDIC in proceedings involving the imposition of civil money penalties against state-supervised banks, and also advised and represented the FDIC in “outlier” and “non-outlier” actions involving the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B claims against state-supervised banks. Prior to joining the FDIC, Sanchez was a senior associate at Bracewell & Giuliani, L.L.P. where he provided legal and regulatory advice to banks and finance companies on a variety of consumer finance matters. A graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, Sanchez received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and his B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin. A member of the Dallas Bar Association and DFW Hispanic Bankers Association, he is a past president of the Financial Institutions Legal Counsel Network (FILCN).

About Cox Smith
Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated is based in San Antonio, Texas, with offices in Austin, Dallas and McAllen. With 19 practice areas and more than 130 attorneys, Cox Smith provides a full spectrum of legal services to regional, national, and international clients. The firm’s expertise ranges from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex litigation to personal estate planning. For more information, visit http://www.coxsmith.com.

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