WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the past few years, Davis Wright Tremaine has been building scope, scale and depth in the industry groups central to its strategic plan. Today, the firm announced a new lateral partner who will add significant strength and depth to two such groups, Financial Services and Technology.
Chris Ford, who joins the firm’s Washington, D.C., office from Ballard Spahr LLP, has a multi-pronged transactional practice that plugs perfectly into the DWT platform. He handles large, intricate financial services transactions, including processing, merchant servicing, sponsorship and network incentive programs. He negotiates complex technology agreements, including some of the industry’s most involved outsourcing deals. And he combines his financial services and technology expertise in a thriving fintech practice, an area that is growing rapidly at DWT.
“With Chris, we check a lot of boxes,” said Claude Goetz, co-chair of the Banking and Financial Services Practice. “He brings great depth to our very strong transactions and fintech teams and also ‘ups our game’ in outsourcing, a capability that is very important to many of our financial services and technology clients. As important, he embodies the most important attributes of a successful DWT lawyer: technical excellence, an entrepreneurial spirit, a collaborative nature, and a growth mindset based on exemplary client service.”
“DWT’s industry strength and culture of teamwork provide a great opportunity for me to thrive and to help my new colleagues thrive,” said Ford. “I know DWT lawyers who came here from other firms and found this an unbeatable place to practice. I’m looking forward to helping our financial services and technology teams continue their great run of growth.”
Ford received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and his law degree from Emory University in 1993. He is the tenth lateral partner to join DWT in 2020, all of whom practice in the firm’s targeted industries: financial services, technology, healthcare, media/entertainment, energy and restaurants/food and beverage. He is the second addition to the firm’s Banking and Financial Service practice in recent weeks, following partner Chava Brandriss who joined the D.C. office in March from Hogan Lovells to lead the group’s mortgage practice.
About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national law firm with more than 550 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.dwt.com.
