Dodd-Frank architect goes to law firm

An Obama Administration alum joined the government controversies and public policy litigation practice at the law firm Jenner & Block.

Timothy A. Karpoff spent five years with the administration, most recently serving as the head Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Institutions Policy, where he led the rollout of the Dodd-Frank financial reform. 

Before his tenure at the Treasury Department, Karpoff spent more than two years as counsel to the former head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Gary Gensler. 

In that role, he created “what would become Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act,” which gave the CFTC authority over financial products called “swaps.” He also helped to implement the rules and oversee the regulator’s enforcement actions under the provisions.

Jenner & Block, in announcing Karpoff’s hire, said it is a great “value-add” for the firm.

“Tim’s experience in the Obama administration will offer clients the counsel they seek in cutting-edge areas such as regulatory reform of [over-the-counter] OTC derivatives markets, banks and bank holding companies, asset managers, and high-frequency and algorithmic trading,” said David W. DeBruin, managing partner of the firm’s Washington office, in a statement.

Thomas J. Perrelli, the chair of the firm’s government controversies and public policy litigation practice, said clients are requesting ways to comply with the increase in financial regulations.

“There is a large—and growing—demand for regulatory advice,” he said in a statement. “Tim’s arrival allows us to offer hedge funds, private equity funds, and futures and commodity market participants counseling and representation in regulatory/compliance matters and enforcement actions.”

Perrelli, himself a veteran from the Obama administration, returned to the firm in 2012 after serving at the top of the Justice Department. 

As the associate attorney general of the United States, he “led the Government’s efforts to negotiate a $25 billion settlement to resolve claims against financial institutions for servicing of mortgages and negotiated the creation of a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” according to his biography on the firm’s website.