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Joann Needleman

Member
Senior Director, Clark Hill Public Strategies
fax +1 215.640.8501

Joann Needleman leads the firm’s financial services regulatory and compliance practice and advises banks, financial institutions, and financial services entities on regulatory compliance matters.

Joann prepares and represents these same financial institutions during state and federal supervisory examinations and regulatory investigations before agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) as well as state financial services regulators and attorneys general.

A former member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Consumer Advisory Board, Joann provides her clients with useful strategies and common-sense solutions in order to prepare for areas of regulatory scrutiny.

Joann is the host of the podcast “Credit Ecosystem to Go: Curbside Thought Leadership for Financial Services.” Listen to recent episodes here.

Education

J.D., Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware, 1994
B.A., Temple University, Beasley School of Law, Philadelphia, 1986

Recognitions

2021 Professional Excellence Award – Law Firm Innovator

2004-2006, 2010-2011, 2013-2019: Super Lawyers – Selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers & Rising Stars list.*

*This award is conferred by Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found at: https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process_detail.html. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. 

Named to Collection Advisor Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Women in Collections

2019: National Creditors Bar Association (NCBA)’s Annual Donald Kramer Award

Law Firm Innovator 2021: Power Player

Legal Intelligencer Professional Excellence Awards, Named Most Innovative (2021)

Memberships

National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys

(President, 2013-2015, President Elect, 2012-2013, Secretary, 2006-2012, Board Member, 2006-present)

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Consumer Advisory Board

American Bar Association, Business Law Section

Pennsylvania Creditors Bar Association (Past President)

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Debt Buyers Association

Forum for Executive Women

Member, Legal Advisory Board, Consumer Relations Consortium, January 2020 – present

Member, Emerging Markets Coalition Advisory Board, January 2020 – present

Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors of the National Creditors Bar Association (NARCA)

State Bar Licenses

Pennsylvania, New Jersey

Court Admissions

U.S. District Ct., District of New Jersey
U.S. District Ct., E.D. of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Ct., M.D. of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Ct., W.D. of Pennsylvania
U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court

Articles

Presentations
  • Presenter, Your Compliance Management Plan: Understanding the Impact of the CFPB’s 2022 Enforcement and Supervision Priorities for Consumer Finance, Credit and Collections
  • Presenter, “Regulation F Implementation Challenges: Ask the Regulatory and Compliance Experts” PDCflow, September 22, 2021
  • Panelist, “iA Round Robin: Email Communications,” September 9, 2020
  • Panelist, “COVID, Cash Cannabis and Contactless,” July 2020
  • Panelist, “ARM for the Future: A Compliant, Brand-Focused Digital Strategy for Tomorrow Webinar.” PDCflow, June 18, 2020
  • Panelist, “Understanding the OCC’s ‘Valid When Made” Rule, June 11, 2020
  • Panelist, “The Pros and Cons of Collectors Working from Home Permanently”, June 3, 2020
  • “Your Website, Your New Normal – Building a Compliant and Effective Website for the ARM Industry in a Post-Pandemic World,” Co-sponsored Webinar with Clark Hill, Parity, and Rhetorica, April 8, 2020
  • “The Future of the ARM Industry – What Will Be the New Normal in the Post-Pandemic World,” Co-Sponsored Webinar with Clark Hill and Corporate Advisory Solutions, April 8, 2020
  • Speaker, “Why It Matters When You’re 90 Days Late on A Payment,” NPR Marketplace, February 12, 2020
  • Looking Ahead to the Final Rules: What the Comments Tell Us,” Co-Sponsored Webinar with Clark Hill and Corporate Advisory Solutions, November 1, 2019
  • Presenter, “Elephant in the Room: Breaking the Mold,” Women Empowering Women Leadership Retreat, September 16, 2019
  • “Start Planning Now: Costs to Implement and Operate Under the CFPB Proposed Rulemaking” Webinar, July 2019
  • Speaker, “Technology Outpacing the Law? How State Regulators in Arizona use a ‘Sandbox’ to Encourage and Oversee Innovation,” First Party Summit, June 2019
  • Speaker, “CFPB Debt Collection Rules Update,” National Creditor’s Bar Association, May 2019
  • Speaker, “The Importance of a General Counsel”, Vertican Technologies vCon, November 2018
  • “Insights From Capitol Hill: What’s Next for the TCPA and CFPB,” Webinar, November 2018.
  • Presenter, “The New Regulatory Challenges Facing Small Business Lending: Navigating the New Frontier”, The Alternative Finance Bar Association, August 2017
  • Presenter, “2017 Regulatory and Legal Update – Recent Cases (including ACA International v FCC), Impact of Change in Administration to Makeup and Policies of the FCC, CFPB Debt Collection Rulemaking, FTC,” First Party Summit, Frisco, Texas, June 2017
  • Presenter, “Don’t Pull That Credit Report So Fast – The New Pitfalls of Employee Background Checks,” Delaware Valley Labor and Employment Law Conference, April 2017
  • Speaker, “Consumer Regulation Regime for 2017,” Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Governmental Affairs Conference, Washington, DC, February 2017
  • DON’T PULL THAT CREDIT REPORT SO FAST: The New Pitfalls of Employee Background Checks, Webinar, January 2018
  • Alternative Lending: Regulatory Challenges Front and Center
  • Presenter, “The Impact of the CFPB on Small and Regional Banks from Lending to Recovery,” Michigan Bankers Association 2016 Annual Convention, Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, June 2016
  • Presenter, “Evolving Issues in Fair Debt Collection: FDCPA, TCPA and Beyond,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute CLE, June 2016
  • Presenter, “Breakout: SBREFA, Its Impact on Rulemaking, and How You Should Be Involved,” 4th Annual Inside ARM Larger Market Participant Summit, Washington, DC, April 2016
  • New Year – New CFPB Targets
  • What You Need to Know About the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Why You Should Care
  • Is the CFPB Targeting You?

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