Laurel Loomis Rimon is a former federal prosecutor with deep experience in the financial regulatory and enforcement sector. An unrelenting and pragmatic problem solver, Laurel offers clients practical advice when facing compliance or enforcement challenges involving anti-money laundering, consumer protection, federal or state oversight, fintech, and payments. Laurel is also a leading practitioner and thought leader in the emerging blockchain ecosystem. She serves as a Co-Chair of the firm’s Fintech and Crypto Assets Practice.
Recognized as a Chambers-ranked Leading Individual in 2022 and 2023, Laurel’s "communication style is very direct and she is an excellent writer," clients say. And, "[i]n addition to her deep substantive knowledge, she is able to draw on her extensive government experience to provide nuanced risk assessments and, when necessary, to be a highly credible and effective advocate for us with regulators at both the leadership and staff levels."
A veteran investigator and trial lawyer, Laurel brings an efficiency in gathering facts and delivering strong responses to government enforcement agencies, correcting the record where necessary, and obtaining favorable resolutions. Through years of front-line experience, she is uniquely positioned to provide clients with a realistic and common-sense approach to regulatory risks and to help them design compliance plans aimed at avoiding and reducing the risk of an enforcement action. Laurel is highly effective at navigating difficult conversations with the government, witnesses, and client teams when necessary.
Prior to private practice, she served for more than 15 years as an Assistant United States Attorney and DOJ Trial Attorney, including as head of Litigation for DOJ’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, supervising and litigating cases involving criminal and civil money laundering and other financial crimes, domestically and internationally. Laurel also served as an Assistant Deputy Enforcement Director for the Office of Enforcement at the CFPB, leading complex and sensitive investigations and litigation involving bank and non-bank subjects. Through a senior executive service appointment, she served as General Counsel to the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, where she oversaw sensitive investigations into program misconduct and department-wide whistleblower retaliations.
Laurel leverages this deep regulatory and enforcement experience to represent clients in responding to DOJ, FinCEN, OFAC, OIG, NY DFS, CFPB, state AG inquiries and enforcement actions, and related compliance matters. Many of Laurel’s clients are forward-leaning fintech companies in the payment and cryptocurrency spaces, as she has been on the cutting edge of financial technology enforcement since leading DOJ’s first digital assets litigation more than 15 years ago.