My approach is informed by a decade of in-house work as vice president and associate general counsel of a major national bank. I have been in my clients’ shoes and I understand their concerns and priorities. I pride myself on listening carefully, which equips me to present each client with a thorough, accurate, and useful recommendation, so that they can make fully-informed business decisions.
Michelle Trost is a Member in McGlinchey’s Consumer Financial Services Compliance practice group. Based in our Jacksonville office, Michelle has over fifteen years of experience with financial services issues ranging from federal and state regulatory matters to state licensing issues, litigation, contracting, and vendor management.
She advises the firm’s clients, particularly those involved in residential mortgage lending and in the Fintech space, on the full spectrum of regulatory compliance issues and general business topics. Michelle has particular experience in the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), construction-to-permanent residential mortgage lending, and flood insurance regulation, and her background includes considerable hands-on knowledge concerning the remediation of consumer issues.
As former in-house counsel, Michelle marries considerable technical expertise with her legal experience. She has an extensive background in negotiating major technology contracts for clients in mortgage operations, information technology and security, digital experience, and other enterprise-wide functions. This includes work in privacy law and information security concerns, as well as business continuity and disaster recovery.
Her client-side experience affords Michelle a unique working knowledge of the issues financial services companies face, particularly in the areas of vendor and contract management, as well as compliance, development and management of template agreements, and adherence to a host of regulatory and legal authorities.
An important part of Michelle’s value to clients is in counseling them with respect to product development and change management. In these scenarios, her full skill set comes into play, often simultaneously, including negotiation, implementation, assessment and execution of diligence requirements, and compliance. For a nationwide product rollout, this often demands state-by-state analysis and advice, assisting clients in reaching their strategic objectives as directly, inexpensively, and rapidly as possible, while carefully balancing both risks and opportunities.
Client communication is an essential aspect of this, and something at which Michelle excels. Whether it’s a quick, informal memo briefing a client on a new development, or ongoing dialogue concerning an issue she knows matters to them, she ensures her clients are up-to-date and making informed, strategic decisions. This is particularly essential in an industry in which regulation often lags behind technology, and the application of the law can be uncertain or evolving.