Best Lawyers in California, United States for Financial Services Regulation Law
With nearly 200,000 licensed attorneys across a state known for its massive industries, progressive laws and regional differences, finding the right legal help in California can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re facing a business dispute in Silicon Valley or a custody battle in San Diego, it’s critical to find a lawyer in California who not only understands the law but understands how it works where you live.
That’s where Best Lawyers comes in. Our platform is more than just a directory. Every lawyer listed has been thoroughly vetted through a rigorous peer-review process, so you can search with confidence no matter what practice area you need.
Using the Best Lawyers Directory in California
The Best Lawyers directory makes it easy to find top-rated legal talent across California’s many regions and industries. You can search by:
- Practice area (e.g., environmental law, immigration, tech and IP, family law)
- Location (city or county)
- Lawyer name (if you’re researching someone specifically)
Each listed attorney has been recognized in the most recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, a distinction earned through extensive peer feedback and professional evaluation. That means every name you see has already earned the respect of their colleagues—and likely their adversaries, too.
If you need to find a lawyer in California without wasting time on unverified referrals or endless Google results, start here. Our listings provide clear, up-to-date profiles that help you narrow down your options quickly.
California-Specific Legal Needs and Practice Areas
California law can be tricky. You need someone who knows the ropes. The state is a national leader in tech innovation, environmental regulation and entertainment law—and its legal landscape reflects that. Attorneys here must stay up to date not only with federal law but with fast-evolving state statutes, administrative rulings and court precedents.
Some of the most common practice areas where Californians seek legal help include:
- Real estate law, especially in high-cost markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orange County
- Family law, including divorce, child custody and support disputes, all governed by California’s unique family code
- Tech and IP law, a major concern for startups and established firms alike in the Bay Area and beyond
- Entertainment and media law, vital for clients in Los Angeles and surrounding creative hubs
- Environmental and land use law, which is especially important in light of California’s extensive regulations on development, conservation and climate compliance
California also has strict state bar licensing rules, making it essential to choose an attorney who is not just experienced in the area of law you need, but also well-versed in local procedures and precedent. That’s why using a trusted directory like Best Lawyers—where every listing has local context and professional vetting—can make the difference.
How to Find a Good Lawyer in California
Finding a good lawyer in California feels daunting. With so many billboards and online ads, don’t feel bad if you don’t know where to turn. The best results come from approaching your search with intention. Here are key things to consider:
- Know your legal issue. Attorneys often specialize. Make sure you’re looking within the right practice area.
- Check credentials. Always confirm that a lawyer is licensed and in good standing with the State Bar of California.
- Evaluate experience. Ask about similar cases the attorney has handled, especially in your city or county.
- Ask the right questions. When interviewing lawyers, consider asking:
- What is your experience with this specific type of case?
- How do you communicate with clients during the process?
- What outcomes have you achieved in similar matters?
- Read peer and client feedback. While reviews can be helpful, peer recognition carries additional weight. Lawyers know the strengths—and weaknesses—of their colleagues better than anyone else.
Choosing the right legal partner isn’t just about skill. It’s about trust, communication and shared expectations. That’s why using a curated directory that highlights attorneys recommended by their peers can help you filter out guesswork.
Why Peer Recognition Matters in Your Search
The Best Lawyers selection process is rooted in peer recognition—a factor that sets us apart from other platforms. Here’s how it works:
- Nominations come from fellow lawyers, clients and others familiar with a nominee’s work.
- Peer review follows, in which top attorneys confidentially assess the legal skill and professionalism of their peers.
- Analysis and vetting ensure lawyers meet strict ethical and professional standards before being listed.
This isn’t pay-to-play. Lawyers cannot buy their way into the directory and inclusion is never guaranteed. That’s why so many legal professionals and clients trust Best Lawyers as a reliable source of information.
In a field where reputation is everything, recognition from fellow attorneys carries exceptional value. It tells you a lawyer is respected not just by clients, but by those who face them in court or collaborate with them on deals.
Start Your Search with Confidence
Whether you’re seeking representation for a business dispute, criminal matter, estate plan or high-asset divorce, California’s legal market offers no shortage of options. But knowing how to find a lawyer in California—one who brings both credibility and local expertise—is the key to moving forward with clarity.
At Best Lawyers, we make it easier to connect with attorneys who have already earned the respect of their peers. You can explore by practice area, browse by city or search for a specific lawyer using our intuitive filters. No matter where you are in the Golden State, trusted legal help is just a click away.
Find a lawyer in California today and move forward with confidence—backed by a directory built on excellence and trust.
Practice Area Overview
Financial regulatory practices vary from firm to firm. Some law firms are limited to providing financial regulatory advice to a particular type of financial institution, such as a bank or insurance company. Others focus on bank mergers and acquisitions. Only a few have a full-scope practice consisting of financial regulatory and legislative advice; mergers and acquisitions when the target is a financial institution; capital markets transactions when the issuer is a financial institution; enforcement and other litigation when the defendant is a financial institution; and insolvency and restructuring when the insolvent party is a financial institution.
Financial regulatory and legislative advice consists of advising financial institutions on regulatory limitations and requirements related to their operations and strategy, including chartering and licensing, capital or liquidity requirements, restrictions on investments or activities, financial reporting, business conduct requirements, investor protection, consumer protection, transactions with affiliates, privacy, trading, hedging, and reporting financial crimes by customers or counterparties. It includes difficult statutory or regulatory interpretation where gaps or ambiguities in the law exist, commenting on proposed legislation or regulation, seeking clarification or regulatory changes, and advocating positions before regulatory agencies.
Mergers and acquisitions transactions consist of structuring and executing the purchase or sale of a financial institution, including obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals.
Capital markets transactions consist of structuring and executing the offer and sale of debt, equity, or hybrid securities, including compliance with any special disclosure requirements for financial institutions.
Enforcement and other litigation involve defending against an enforcement action by financial regulators, white-collar criminal defense, or otherwise defending financial institutions in litigation.
Insolvency and restructuring involves advising a financial institution, its creditors or a potential purchaser when the financial institution is in a troubled or failed condition and a regulatory agency is in charge of its reorganization or liquidation.
Corporate Law & Commercial Litigation Legal Guide 2025
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Gordon Bava is a senior partner of the firm after serving for a decade as its Chief Executive and Managing Partner. Gordon’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, special committee representation, private and underwritten securities offerings and general corporate representation of clients in a variety of industries. Gordon has conducted these services for public entertainment, utility and healthcare companies, local, regional and multinational financial institutions and holding...
Roland E. Brandel is a Senior Counsel in the San Francisco office of the international law firm of Morrison & Foerster. He is a member of, and served as the first chair of, the firm’s financial services practice group. He has written several books, including The Law of Electronic Fund Transfer Systems , The Community Reinvestment Act , Policies and Compliance , and Truth in Lending: A Comprehensive Guide and numerous articles on financial service topics. He has served as Chair of th...
Henry Fields has represented domestic and international financial institutions for more than 40 years. Mr. Fields advises banks in mergers and acquisitions and capital market activities, as well as private equity firms and other investors in the financial institutions sector. Mr. Fields has also represented numerous international banks on the establishment of branches, agencies, and representative offices in the United States. Mr. Fields provides financial services regulatory advice on a broa...
Tom Phelps is a renowned banking attorney who has worked with scores of financial institutions throughout the country. As a founding partner in the firm, he boasts a long and distinguished career serving banking, thrift and nonbank financial institutions. He is active in banking industry groups, including the California Bankers Association, where he previously served on the State Government Relations Committee and the Federal Government Relations Committee. Tom has been a featured speaker at ...
Erwin Shustak is the founder and Managing Partner of the Firm. He heads the Litigation and Arbitration Department, with over 40 years of extensive experience in a wide variety of complex disputes and transactions, across the country and overseas. Mr. Shustak specializes in litigations, trials, arbitrations and appeals of complex securities, financial and business disputes, with a particular emphasis in the areas of securities and financial services and regulation law. Few attorneys have the d...
As co-chair of the firm’s national consumer financial services practice , Chuck Washburn navigates the complex web of laws governing consumer financial services. Much of his work revolves around rules issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by the Dodd-Frank Act. In addition to proactively helping clients comply with laws, Chuck negotiates with CFPB staff attorneys and other representatives on behalf of clients who allegedly have violated compliance laws. He also int...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.