Profile

As a partner in the Maryland office, Latif helps cutting edge financial services providers and investors navigate a constantly evolving regulatory landscape through guidance specifically tailored to each client's unique needs and vision. Latif works closely with financial services providers at various stages of development, including sales finance companies, FinTech platforms, legal funding companies and small business funding providers, to build and strategically grow their operations in compliance with state and federal standards. Latif also advises investors in financial services and financial services providers, across all asset classes, leveraging his regulatory compliance experience to both identify potential regulatory risk and provide recommendations for mitigating it.

Latif helps clients to:

• Develop customer-facing documentation, for consumer or business financing programs, that comply with state and federal law, as well as applicable industry best practices.
• Assess or develop compliance management systems to conform to state and federal standards.
• Develop and sustain nationwide sales finance programs and online sales platforms.
• Identify licensing requirements and other regulatory requirements applicable to loan and credit programs, money transmitter and money services businesses, bank partnerships, servicing and collection operations, and legal funding.
• Provide regulatory guidance to plaintiff and attorney funding companies.
• Provide regulatory guidance to merchant cash advance companies and small business lenders.
• Conduct regulatory due diligence on financial services providers on behalf investors.
• Assessing risks related to operating pursuant to a choice-of-law provision.

Latif earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Skidmore College, receiving the 2003 English Department Award for Creative Writing.

He is Business Law Today's Executive Editor for Banking Law, Consumer Finance Law, Labor & Employment Law, and Tax Law, as well as part of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section since September 2020. He is also a member of the Alternative Finance Bar Association and the ABA Business Law Section. Previously, Latif served as the Young Lawyer Liaison for the Federal and State Trade Practices Sub-committee of the ABA's Consumer Financial Services Committee from 2018 - 2020. Latif is licensed to practice in New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts.