Kara M. Ward, a former attorney and advisor with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has joined Baker Donelson as a shareholder in its Washington, D.C., office.
With more than 15 years of experience in financial services, public policy, and regulatory law, Ms. Ward concentrates her practice on providing guidance to financial institutions, fintechs, consumer advocacy groups, non-profits, and trade associations on complex, inter-governmental matters that intersect financial services laws and public policy.
Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Ms. Ward was general counsel and managing director at Falcon Capital Advisors, LLC, where she advised clients on key financial services policy issues. Before entering private practice, she was an attorney and advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the Banking and Finance Division. She was recognized as one of the "40 Under 40" for her policy experience by the Women in Housing and Finance and was awarded the Secretary's Special Contribution Award by the Department of the Treasury for her work on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
"Given the highly regulated nature of the financial services industry, Kara's background in government and public policy is a real asset for our clients. She has the insights and skillset to execute sophisticated, multifaceted strategies toward advancing clients' objectives," said John McJunkin, managing shareholder of Baker Donelson's Washington, D.C. office.
Ms. Ward said, "Baker Donelson has an outstanding reputation as a go-to firm for financial services companies, and its attorneys have significant experience in guiding clients through the complexities of numerous federal and state regulators. In addition to those factors, I was drawn to the Firm's commitment to serving as trusted advisors to its clients as well as the scope of services that Baker Donelson enables me to offer. This truly felt like the right place for me to be, and I'm excited to be a part of this team."
Ms. Ward has broad experience in consumer financial services, with particular strength in the single-family mortgage market, payment systems, Community Development Financial Institutions, Minority Depository Institutions, small business lending, federal tax credit allocations, and federal grants and loan guarantee management. She frequently works on issues involving entities ranging from the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee to the Department of the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Federal Reserve. She also provides strategic advice addressing decentralized finance activities, including blockchain technology, payment systems, digital identity, anti-money laundering/Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) solutions, stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
A graduate of Georgetown University and George Washington University Law School, Ms. Ward is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland.