Michael Held is general counsel and executive vice president of the Legal Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This post is based on Mr. Held’s recent remarks at Yale Law School’s Chirelstein Colloquium. The views expressed in this post are those of Mr. Held and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Open Market Committee or the Federal Reserve System.
My topic today is culture in financial services. Reform of culture has been a priority for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for several years. Many of the observations I will share today are based on that work. But, as always, what I have to say reflects my own views and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System.[1]
My thesis is that lawyers should play important roles at financial firms as advisors not just on law—what is legal or illegal—but also on culture. As I see it, culture is distinct from both public law and private rules. That doesn’t mean that culture is completely independent of either. Indeed, a group’s culture often informs and is informed by its rules. But culture is a powerful force in its own right.
