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Judith Rinearson is used to being on stage. The prepaid veteran and partner at inter- national law firm Bryan Cave LLP has been on or moderated count- less panels. She also has per- formed theatre and has even sung backup with friends in a local rock band.
“You have to make time for the things you love,” says Rinearson, who also lends her voice to her church choir and serves as chair- man of the board of New York City’s professional National Cho- rale. Although she’s always loved singing, Rinearson didn’t get involved in the local music scene until after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, which she viewed personally from across the street at American Express headquarters.
“It made me step back and ask, ‘What am I forgoing because I’m too busy?’” She went out and joined the choir the next day.
Rinearson gets similarly passion- ate when talking about prepaid— an industry she helped forge into being as a preeminent lawyer in the space. A founding member
of the NBPCA, Rinearson served as the association’s regulatory counsel for eight years and rep- resented the group on FinCEN’s Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group for six years. Prior to joining Bryan Cave, she was group counsel for American Express and is proud of her contributions to launching the first open-loop prepaid incentive card in the ’90s.
“There’s something so energiz-
ing about helping to launch new payment products,” says Rinearson. “I love my clients—while they may range from startups to banks—all are involved in innovating payments. To help them succeed despite the regulatory hurdles is so satisfying.” In addition to prepaid, she works with mobile payments and digital currency providers on everything from money transmitter licensing and abandoned property issues to anti-money laundering compliance.
London Calling
Since September she and her husband—empty nesters—have been living in London. The tem- porary move will help Rinearson expand the firm’s European pay- ments practice. But Rinearson is no novice on EU regulation. She’s going into her fourth year on the board of the London-based Prepaid Interna- tional Forum. “I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can,” she
Best Advice
“Know yourself. There are some things you’re good at—some things you’re lousy at—find people to complement your needs with their strengths.”
—from her mentor, Bryan Cave Senior Counsel Walt Moeling
says of her new home base. And, her three children—27, 22 and 19—will be flying over for a “Dickensian” Christmas.
“I’m a huge believer in working hard and playing hard,” says Rinearson, whose clients can still reach her through her New York number. While her job requires her to focus on the details of law and compliance, she says you can’t lose sight of what’s important. “It can be so easy to waste your time spinning your wheels. Sometimes, you just have to step back and look at the big picture.”
volume 8 • fall 2015
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JuDiTh rinearson
Bryan Cave LLP