Experienced Banking Regulator Joins Vorys’ Financial Services Team
Vorys announced today that Matt Walker has joined the firm’s Columbus office as of counsel. Walker has over a decade of experience in financial institutions law and regulation.
Immediately prior to joining Vorys, Walker served in various roles for the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Financial Institutions, including most recently as division counsel. In this role, he directed the Division’s legal program, which included the licensing and regulation of state-chartered banks, credit unions, non-depository consumer finance lenders and money services businesses. Walker also served as the primary legal liaison between other state and federal regulators, industry legal counsel and other stakeholders. Prior to the Division, Matt served as a legal counsel for the Ohio Auditor of State’s office where he worked with a variety of matters, including those pertaining to public funds.
“Matt’s highly respected in the community banking world,” said Jeff Smith, a partner in the Vorys banking group with more than 40 years of experience working with financial institutions. “His hands-on industry experience, combined with his depth of knowledge and understanding of the industry and the constantly changing regulatory space, make him a vital addition to our team.”
In his legal practice at Vorys, Walker will assist community banks and other financial institutions with a diverse variety of regulatory and corporate matters, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, bank formation, regulatory compliance, securities matters and corporate governance matters.
“I’ve worked closely with the banking lawyers at Vorys over the years and have always respected their professionalism, industry presence and reputation, and collegiality,” said Walker. “While I have enjoyed my time working for the state, when the opportunity presented itself to join Vorys, I couldn’t pass it up. I am looking forward to working with the team to help our banking clients succeed.”
Walker received his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law, where he was a member of the Toledo Law Review. He received his B.A. from Ohio University.
About Vorys: Vorys was established in 1909 and currently has nearly 375 attorneys in eight offices in Ohio, Washington, D.C., Texas, Pennsylvania and California. Vorys currently ranks as one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States according to American Lawyer magazine.
