Christopher R. Rahl, Member

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  • Chris is courteous, professional, timely and meticulous...I can think of no other attorney I'd want in my corner.

    -Keith R.

    Chris finds legal solutions for financial, health care and emerging businesses.

Contact

crahl@gfrlaw.com
410-576-4222

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Chris is Chair of the firm's Financial Services practice group and a member of the following teams: Financial Services, Health Care and EMERGE.

He is a trusted advisor who serves as outside general counsel to several highly regulated enterprises. To that end, Chris helps clients manage risk and identify and implement proactive solutions to complex problems.

Chris has extensive in-house counsel experience that includes having served as general counsel for an enterprise holding company and its subsidiaries and as corporate counsel in the financial services industry. His familiarity with the challenges and demands of the in-house counsel role uniquely positions him to help companies develop and implement creative strategies to reach their business goals efficiently and effectively.

Chris helps clients with:

  • Federal and state deposit and lending regulatory compliance
  • Licensing requirements and applications
  • Negotiation of vendor agreements
  • Marketing compliance
  • New product structure and documentation
  • Development of online policies (terms of use and privacy policies) and online application portals
  • Business entity choice, entity formation and preparation of corporate documents
  • Physician employment/independent contractor arrangements
  • Federal and state health care self-referral and anti-kickback compliance
  • Development of health care management structures
  • HIPAA compliance
  • Data breach responses
  • Negotiation of lease agreements
  • E-signature disclosures/compliance
  • Negotiation of software licensing, SaaS, and similar agreements

After graduating from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1996, Chris served as a Clerk for the Hon. Joseph F. Murphy, Jr., then-Chief Judge of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

Chris is the co-author of an ongoing series covering activities identified as unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAPs) by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, state attorneys general and consumer financial services regulators using federal UDAAP powers created by the Dodd-Frank Act. He also authored, "A Survey of Maryland Laws Relating to Extending Credit and Consumer Financial Services, Sixth Edition."

Representative Matters

  • Merger of Nava Health and 99 Acquisition Group

Honors

AV® Preeminent™ Rating in Martindale-Hubbell

Named to Maryland Super Lawyers® list for Banking since 2023

Named to Best Lawyers in America® for Banking and Finance Law and Financial Services Regulation Law since 2021

Recipient, Leadership in Law Award, The Daily Record, 2018

Recipient, Lexology Client Choice Award, 2016

News

Professional and Civic Involvement

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS)
    - Past Board Member
    - Past Board Chair
    - Co-Chair Advisory Board
    - Mentor of the Year
    - Volunteer of the Month

University of Baltimore School of Law
    - Adjunct Professor

St. Ignatius Loyola Academy
    - Board Member

Maryland State Bar Association
    - Member
    - Co-Chair, Consumer Credit/Financial Institutions Committee

American Bar Association
    - Member

Publications and Lectures

Presenter, MARC Bank Compliance Officers, Maryland legislative changes and potential impacts on the financial services industry, May 2023

Presenter, Mid Atlantic Regulatory Committee Quarterly Meeting, May 20, 2022

Co-author, "Reading the Tea Leaves: UDAAP Data, Trends, and Predictions," American Bar Association (ABA), Consumer Financial Services Committee Newsletter, September 2021

Webinar co-presenter, “Spotting UDAAP Trends: Reading the Tea Leaves of Recent CFPB Enforcement Activity,” ABA, August 2021

Presenter, Mid Atlantic Regulatory Committee Lunch Meeting, May 15, 2020

Practical Law Finance Thomson ReutersConsumer Financial Regulation: Maryland

Contact

crahl@gfrlaw.com
410-576-4222

Links

Maryland Legal Alert
FinTech

Teams

Digital Assets
EMERGE
Financial Services
Health Care
Mergers & Acquisitions
Technology & Intellectual Property

Education

J.D., University of Baltimore School of Law, 1996
B.A., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1991

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Court of Appeals of Maryland

Bar Admissions

Maryland, 1996