Stefan L. Jouret

Stefan's practice is focused on civil litigation and appeals in the two principal industry areas: financial services and construction. In connection with the financial services industry, he represents clients on the states' rights/consumer protection side of the debate over the proper breadth of federal preemption. He has served as counsel of record for the Conference of State Banking Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators in amicus curiae briefs filed in the recent 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court victory in Cuomo v. Clearing House Ass'n and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He previously represented CSBS in State Farm Bank v. Reardon, an OTS preemption case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and served as a legal consultant on appellate matters to the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General in connection with a Petition for Certiorari filed in the Supreme Court seeking review of the preemption case SPGGC, LLC v. Ayotte, 488 F.3d 525 (1st Cir. 2007). Stefan complements this consumer-oriented litigation practice by representing consumer debtors in connection with seeking the protections offered by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Earlier in his career, Stefan litigated "Winstar" claims in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on behalf of financial institutions suing the federal government for breach of contract in connection with the 1989 S&L "bailout" legislation, the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 ("FIRREA"). The legal theories supporting these claims were validated by the efforts of a Washington, DC firm with which Stefan was associated - in particular, that firm's successful representation of one of three lead appellees before the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark government contracts case United States v. Winstar, 518 U.S. 839 (1996), which has been cited in more than 800 subsequent state and federal court decisions.

Stefan previously served as Majority Counsel to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC. As a Committee staff member, Stefan was involved in the development and passage of several significant pieces of financial services legislation, including the "Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act" ("GLBA") and the Credit Union Membership Access Act of 1998, which legislatively overturned the holding in National Credit Union Admin. v. First Nat'l Bank & Trust Co., 522 U.S. 479 (1998).

Stefan also has broad construction litigation experience. He has, for example, represented the design team of an NFL stadium in a professional negligence and breach of contract action; defended an engineering firm in a professional negligence matter in connection with the design of a cogeneration power plant; represented designers in disputes between owners, designers, and contractors involved in the construction of high-end custom homes; and defended design professionals facing disciplinary action by the Board of Professional Licensure.

• National Law Journal, March 23, 2009, "Former Detroit Mayor's Suit Raises Novel Issues"
• Boston Globe, Nov. 30, 2007, "Banks denied class status against TJX"
• Boston Business Journal, May 4, 2007, "Banks and credit unions: Partners in the M&A dance?

• American Banker, July 10, 2009, "Ruling in Cuomo Can be Pro-Industry"
• American Banker, Oct. 10, 2008, "Provision May Spark Preemption Fight"
• American Banker, June 22, 2007, "Where Watters Decision May Lead Us" (with Kevin Handly)
• American Banker, April 27, 2007, "Supreme Court Unwisely Backed OCC in Watters"
• Banker & Tradesman, Dec. 18, 2006, "Even Small Banks Should Note Changes to Rules of Civil Procedure"

• "Update on Federal Financial Regulatory Reform," Jan. 19, 2010 Boston Bar Association Continuing Legal Education panel.
• American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators 20th Annual Conference, Savannah, Georgia, Aug. 14, 2009 (discussion of the impact of Cuomo v. Clearing House Ass'n on state mortgage regulation).
• "Federal Preemption and the Future of the Dual Banking System," Nov. 13, 2007 Boston Bar Association panel.
• "E-Discovery and Electronic Document Retention Issues Affecting Financial Institutions," Nov. 20, 2006 Boston Bar Association panel.