Counsel to Counsel - November 2008 - (Page 5) partnership at a glance identity theft and privacy concerns since sensitive consumer data is often involved in transactions. Among the federal laws that impact TeleCheck’s businesses, he points to the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which includes provisions to protect consumers’ personal financial information held by financial institutions, among many others. we capitalize on this experience across the country.” “In West Virginia, the regulatory climate is take-no-prisoners,” agrees Williams. TeleCheck and Spilman have been working together for nearly a decade. In 2000, when TeleCheck had litigation in West Virginia, a colleague of Williams’ recommended Jacobs and his team. Based on the success of that case, and the partnering approach of the firm, Spilman and TeleCheck have worked regularly together since then. Much of the TeleCheck companies’ legal and regulatory work involves federal legislation, so a national expertise is important. TeleCheck’s services focus on check acceptance and risk-related analytics, electronic check processing and collection services. According to Jacobs, “The products and services provided by TeleCheck are cuttingedge, involving emerging technology and payment systems.” Jacobs notes that the industry is heavily regulated and requires a knowledge of a cross-web of numerous laws and issues, including federal and state consumer protection laws, the Uniform Commercial Code, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, automated clearing house rules, procedures and warranties, and Williams points to matters that come under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as another example of the federal regulations that impact a great deal of TeleCheck’s legal work. “Bruce is a guru on the statute, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act is not userfriendly,” she says of the regulation that is designed to promote the accuracy, fairness and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. When the FCRA was amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, the Spilman attorneys worked with TeleCheck to ensure that the company was TeleCheck Services, Inc. For more than 40 years, TeleCheck has provided paper and electronic check services. TeleCheck works with more than 350,000 retail, financial institution, grocery and other industry outlets to increase profitability, reduce risk and streamline operations. TeleCheck is a division of First Data Corp., an international financial services corporation headquartered in Greenwood, Colo. Jane Williams is senior counsel with First Data managing litigation within the TeleCheck companies as well as overseeing certain business units of First Data. She has been with First Data for nine years. Jane can be reached at jane.williams@ firstdata.com. Curtis Kantor is lead counsel for TeleCheck and has general legal oversight responsibilities for the TeleCheck business. He has been with First Data for 10 years. Curtis can be reached at curtis.kantor@ telecheck.com. aware of the changes and able to proactively plan for them, says Jacobs. And that counseling role is a two-way street between Spilman and TeleCheck. “Jane has educated me when issues come up in the industry on the legislative and regulatory side,” he says. Curtis Kantor, First Data Corp. As the relationship between Williams and her team and Jacobs and his colleagues has www.martindale.com/c2c November 2008 05 http://www.martindale.com/c2c
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