WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Nov 1, 2012) - BuckleySandler LLP, a leading financial services and criminal and civil enforcement defense law firm, is pleased to announce that R. David Whitaker, former Senior Company Counsel in the Strategy & Operational Risk Group at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., has joined the firm as Counsel in its Washington, DC office. A 28-year veteran of the banking industry specializing in electronic commerce and financial services law, Whitaker will provide legal counsel to the firm's clients on payment systems, privacy and data security, electronic financial services, electronic signatures and records and mobile commerce.

Named a "2009 Mortgage Banking Technology All-Star" by Mortgage Banking Magazine for his role in transforming electronic mortgage loans from merely an idea into a functioning product, Whitaker has been a pioneer in affecting change with electronic banking. As team leader for the enterprise-wide group of lawyers at Wells Fargo who focus on electronic commerce initiatives, Whitaker played an integral role in the development of new electronic financial services capabilities for numerous product lines, including mortgage, retail banking, commercial leasing and insurance. He provided strategic guidance and direction for the Wells Fargo project and technology teams to ensure new technology products complied with the legal, privacy and regulatory disclosure requirements.

"David's extensive experience with the practical application of laws governing electronic commerce in retail banking and other financial services verticals, letters of credit, payment systems and commercial and consumer financing, will provide our clients with added guidance in navigating the increasingly complex regulatory laws governing electronic commerce," explained BuckleySandler Chairman and Executive Partner, Andrew L. Sandler. "We are very fortunate to have someone with David's intricate knowledge and renowned expertise in electronic transactions and technology issues join our growing electronic commerce practice."

Previously, Whitaker was Assistant General Counsel at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and also served as a Vice President at Star Bank, N.A. (now U.S. Bancorp), where he acted as chief counsel to the retail and electronic banking division. Prior to that time, Whitaker was Vice President and Assistant Director of Legal Services at Bank of Oklahoma, N.A., where his practice was focused on payment systems, letters of credit and consumer and commercial lending. He has also previously been in private practice, where he advised on the design and development of the first integrated document and workflow management system intended to create, manage and transfer ownership of electronic mortgage loans.

Whitaker is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Bar Association's Committees on the Uniform Commercial Code and the Law of Commerce in Cyberspace. He co-authored the book, "The Law of Electronic Signatures," with BuckleySandler partners, Margo H.K. Tank, Jeremiah S. Buckley and John P. Kromer; served as an advisor to the financial services industry during the drafting of the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN); was the co-reporter with Tank for the Standards and Procedures for electronic Records and Signatures (SPeRS); and chaired the Online Lending Subcommittee of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Whitaker graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois, and holds a B.A. with High Honor in International Relations, from James Madison College at Michigan State University. He has also studied international business law and British constitutional law at Queen's College, Oxford University, England.

About BuckleySandler LLP: With over 150 lawyers in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles and Orange County, CA, BuckleySandler provides best-in-class legal counsel to meet the challenges of its financial services industry and other corporate and individual clients across the full-range of government enforcement actions, complex and class action litigation, and transactional, regulatory, and public policy issues. The Firm represents many of the nation's leading financial services institutions. "The best at what they do in the country." (Chambers USA). Online: www.buckleysandler.com / Twitter: https://twitter.com/BuckleySandler.