JOEL FEINBERG is a co-leader of Sidley’s Banking and Financial Services practice, head of the firm’s Financial Institutions group in Washington, D.C., and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Joel advises operating companies and investors in the financial services and fintech space in regulatory counseling, public policy, licensing, M&A and transactional matters. Joel represents banks and their holding companies, investment funds, payment networks, platform companies, money transmitters, prepaid program managers, payment processors, e-commerce firms and others in the fintech space. Joel works extensively on payments-related matters, including as relates to blockchain/crypto, funds transmission products, mobile payment products and debit and prepaid products. In the counseling aspect of Joel’s practice, he works closely with clients on their most important compliance issues, including in the areas of anti-money laundering and economic sanctions.
Joel is ranked Band 1 in the 2025 Chambers FinTech guide in the USA Legal: Payments & Lending category, where he has been noted for his work “around regulatory compliance, licensing and transactional matters in payments…and for open banking platform businesses.“ In the 2024 editions of the FinTech guide and Chambers USA, clients described Joel as “a trusted advisor [who] understands our business and provides guidance that is comprehensive and practical" and “exactly what I look for in an external counsel. He is knowledgeable about the law and our internal requirements, exceedingly accessible and responsive, and creative.” The 2023 edition of Chambers USA recognized Joel for “his high-quality regulatory practice, which sees him counseling credit card providers and other lenders on significant compliance issues such as payments law, sanctions and AML.”
Awards
- Chambers FinTech, FinTech Legal: Payments & Lending, USA – Nationwide (2018–2025) (Band 1)
- Chambers USA, Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance), Nationwide (2021–2024)
- Recommended for financial services regulation, Legal 500 (2016–2017)
- Who’s Who Legal, Banking (2015)
- IFLR1000, “Rising Star,” Financial Services Regulatory, United States (2014–2021)
- Co-leader of the practice that was named 2019 “Financial Services Regulation Law Firm of the Year” by Chambers USA
- International Law Office (ILO), “Client Choice Award,” Banking (U.S.) (2012)