Ross Benson
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By providing an overview of the state of the laws or regulations in all fifty states, I help clients navigate a complex and rapidly developing business environment.

Ross Benson is an Associate in McGlinchey’s Consumer Financial Services Compliance practice group. Based in our Birmingham, Alabama office, Ross advises banks, finance companies, online lenders, and private companies in a range of industries on regulatory compliance and general business issues. He also counsels clients on matters related to vendor contracting, payment systems, privacy, and data security.

A significant component of Ross’s work involves the preparation of nationwide surveys of compliance requirements for different technologies, business models, and activities. Combining primary and secondary research, Ross will prepare a comprehensive comparative analysis of the applicable regulations in all fifty state jurisdictions. The goal is both to permit the preparation of documents that are effective in every jurisdiction, and to provide the client with an unbiased, clear-eyed basis for analyzing the validity of their planned strategy, product or market entry methodology. By investing time and effort upfront, Ross can often help his clients modify their plans to maximize opportunity and minimize risk.

With respect to vendor management, Ross works with clients to help them develop standardized documents for contracting with vendors that address terms of service, representations, and warranties around issues like privacy, data security, and cybersecurity. With the implementation of broad new data privacy regulatory regimes, these topics have taken on new importance.

The hallmark of Ross’s approach to his work is care and thoroughness, or as he puts it “taking the clients issues as seriously as I take my own.” No stone is left unturned. By constantly thinking through different scenarios, and conceptualizing what could go wrong, he helps make sure nothing does.

Industries

Services

Insights

  • Identifying and preventing synthetic identity fraud

    While preventing fraud has always been a key challenge for businesses in any industry, the task has been made even more difficult by the prevalence of online sales and the increasing sophistication of fraudsters. As states and localities have imposed restrictions on businesses and consumers have dramatically altered their shopping habits in response to COVID-19,More

  • Reducing risk in the vendor due diligence process

    Lenders increasingly contract with third-party vendors to outsource a wide variety of essential services. While outsourcing has many benefits, it generally does not relieve the lender of the liability or regulatory risk associated with a given activity. As a result, a lender should take care to assess a vendor’s suitability and capability to perform givenMore

  • McGlinchey Stafford grows Financial Services capabilities with Birmingham new hires

    McGlinchey Stafford PLLC is pleased to announce that Ross Benson and Lacy Triplett have joined the firm’s national Commercial Litigation and Financial Services Compliance and Litigation practice groups in Birmingham.

Education

  • The University of Alabama School of Law (J.D., 2018)
    Dean’s List, CALI Award Recipient for Excellence in Unincorporated Business Entities and Agency Law, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review, Editor
  • University of Alabama (B.A., Political Science, 2014)

Admissions

Bar Admissions
  • Alabama

Affiliations

Professional

  • Alabama State Bar Young Lawyers' Section
  • Birmingham Bar Association

Outside the Office

When he’s not worrying on behalf of his clients, Ross enjoys trying new food and drinks, seeing live music, watching sports, and playing golf.