Overview
Thomas Brown is a special external advisor for Paul Hastings LLP’s Fintech and Antitrust Groups. Mr. Brown serves as the General Counsel of NYCA, a leading venture capital firm focused on connecting innovative companies to the global financial system. Mr. Brown is not a Paul Hastings attorney but works with the Firm and its clients on select projects. Mr. Brown can be reached at (415) 225-1277.
While previously with Paul Hastings, Mr. Brown’s practice was focused primarily on competition law and legal issues affecting the financial services industry. In addition to strategically advising payment systems and financial services clients across a broad spectrum of regulatory issues, he has litigated notable antitrust cases, including class actions, in the financial services industry for more than 15 years.
Prior to his joining Paul Hastings, Mr. Brown had served as Vice President, Senior Counsel at Visa U.S.A. Inc. There he was responsible for managing the aftermath of the settlement in In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation, including the dozens of consumer class actions that were filed following the settlement. He was also deeply involved in the company’s transformation from a co-op to a shareholder-owned company.
Recognitions
- Chambers Band 2, FinTech Legal (2019 & 2020)
- The Legal 500, Antitrust - Merger Control (2021)
- The Legal 500, Antitrust - Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Defense (2021)
- The Legal 500, Leading Lawyer for Media, Technology, and Telecoms - Fintech (2021)
Education
- University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1995
- Columbia University, A.B., 1992
Representations
- Upstart, in obtaining the first ever no action letter from the CFBP regarding the company’s underwriting model and the use of non-traditional signals of credit quality.
- eBay, in its defeat of a putative class action in which plaintiffs claimed that eBay’s acquisition of PayPal enabled the company to charge supra-competitive fees.
- Visa U.S.A. Inc., member of the trial team that handled the defense of the then largest civil antitrust class action in U.S. history, In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation.
news
- Payoneer to Go Public in $3.3 Billion Business Combination with FTAC Olympus Acquisition - February 5th, 2021
- Paul Hastings Secures Top Rankings in Chambers FinTech Guide 2021 - December 21st, 2020
- Paul Hastings Secures Top Rankings in Chambers’ FinTech Guide for 2019 - November 30th, 2018
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2017 - June 5th, 2017
- New Research by Paul Hastings Shows Non-Cash Payments Across U.S. and UK to Soar by 2026 - December 14th, 2016
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2016 - June 8th, 2016
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2015 - May 20th, 2015
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2014 - May 27th, 2014
- Paul Hastings Represents Childrens Hospital & Research Center Oakland in an Affiliation with the University of California - January 6th, 2014
- Financial Times Recognizes Paul Hastings as Third Top Innovative Law Firm of 2012 - November 29th, 2012
- Paul Hastings Payments Expert Testifies Before Senate Banking Committee - July 13th, 2012
- Paul Hastings Continues Antitrust and Competition Expansion with Former Department of Justice Executive in DC - June 1st, 2012
- Paul Hastings Continues Antitrust and Competition Expansion with Addition of Prominent Partner in San Francisco - January 5th, 2012
Recognitions
- 2021 Legal 500 United States Guide Ranks Paul Hastings' Fintech and Payments Practice - June 18th, 2021
- Paul Hastings Recognized for Legal Excellence in Legal 500 2021 - June 15th, 2021
- Recognized in the Chambers FinTech Guide - November 30th, 2018
- Recognized by Chambers USA 2017 - June 5th, 2017
- Recognized by Chambers USA 2016 - June 8th, 2016
- Global Competition Review’s California Survey - March 9th, 2015
- Daily Journal “Top 100 Lawyers in California” - September 10th, 2014
insights
- How the Antitrust Landscape May Change in 2021: Compliance Risks in a Democratic Washington - November 20th, 2020
- There’s a New Sheriff in Town: CCFPL Empowers California’s Financial Services Regulator - October 23rd, 2020
- Federal Reserve Seeks to Raise Interest by Issuing Revised FAQs for Its Main Street Lending Program - September 28th, 2020
- Breaking Down the Epic v. Apple Fight - September 25th, 2020
- Beware of COVID Relief Fraud - September 17th, 2020
- Federal Reserve Expands Main Street Lending Program to Nonprofit Organizations and Updates FAQs - July 20th, 2020
- Seila Law Decision Likely Has Major Implications for CFPB Actions - July 8th, 2020
- DOJ and State Attorneys General Antitrust Enforcement Activity—Competition or Collaboration? - June 29th, 2020
- Borrower’s Guide to PPP Loans - June 19th, 2020
- Federal Reserve Board Revises and Prepares to Open the Main Street Lending Program - June 11th, 2020
- Fueling Innovation in Times of Crisis: The Impact of COVID-19 on Fintech - May 29th, 2020
- In the Patent World, Humans Still Rule: USPTO Holds Artificial Intelligence Cannot Be an Inventor of a Patent - May 6th, 2020
- COVID-19: Federal Reserve Board Announces It Is Expanding the Scope and Eligibility for the Main Street Lending Program - May 1st, 2020
- Overview of the Credit Facilities Implemented by the Federal Reserve to Provide up to $2.3 Trillion Relying upon its Emergency Lending Powers - April 9th, 2020
- PH COVID-19 Client Alert Series: Treasury Department Releases Paycheck Protection Program Guidance - April 1st, 2020
- PH COVID-19 Client Alert Series: Consumer Protection Rules and Regulations Still Apply During COVID-19 - March 31st, 2020
- PH COVID-19 Client Alert Series: Availability of SBA Care Act Loans to Venture- and Private Equity-Backed Businesses - March 28th, 2020
- PH COVID-19 Client Alert Series: Overview of the Liquidity and Credit Support Programs of the CARES ACT and Implemented by the Federal Reserve (UPDATED) - March 27th, 2020
- California Deems Certain Deferred Payment Products Loans, Requiring a Lending License - January 13th, 2020
- Federal Regulators Propose Madden Fix - December 2nd, 2019
Engagement & Publications
- Thomas Brown and Dae Ho Lee, "Unfair" Practices in the Financial Services Industry: The New Boss is the same as the Old Boss, 81 Antitrust L. J. 981 (2017)
- Thomas Brown and Michael Wise, S. Merger Control in the High-Technology Sector, The Merger Control Review 8th (Sep. 2017)
- Author, PAEs and Antitrust—A Brief Introduction, 79 Antitrust L. J. 395 (2014)
- Co-Author with Sam Zun, Cascades Computer Innovation, LLC v. RPX Corporation—Can’t We At Least Agree that There’s No Per Se Claim Here? Antitrust Magazine 36 (Summer 2013)
- Author, Keeping Electronic Money Valuable: The Future of Payments and the Role of Public Authorities (2009)
Involvement
- Law Clerk, Honorable Diane P. Wood, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- Admitted to Practice, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh and Ninth Circuits; U.S. Supreme Court
- Professor, Adjunct Professor at Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, in the Law and Policy of Modern Consumer Payments
- Editorial Board, ABA’s Antitrust Law Developments (Seventh) and Antitrust Law Journal (Vol. 79-80)
- Member, American Bar Association, The American Law Institute
- Member, Working Group for the World Economic Forum Project on Disruptive Innovation in Financial Services