Morrison Foerster is an international law firm with lawyers practicing throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Click to discover more.

mofo_share_image.jpg

Morrison Foerster

common-default.jpeg

Terms / Notices

Cookies

Privacy Policy

Reporting Hotline

Attorney Advertising

Alumni

  Linkedin

MoFo LinkedIN

  Facebook

MoFo Facebook

YouTube

MoFo Youtube

Morrison Foerster - Footer

Understanding California’s New Business & Consumer Services Agency: What Fintechs Need to Know

You have not solved the recaptcha challenge yet or session expired, try again.

Email Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Morrison Foerster will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others pursuant to our <a href="https://www.mofo.com/about/privacy-policy.html">Privacy Policy</a>, may not receive a response, and do not create an attorney-client relationship with Morrison Foerster. If you are not already a client of Morrison Foerster, do not include any confidential information in this message. Also, please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so.

Feedback

mofo-logo-2022.svg

People

Capabilities

Resources

About

Community

Offices

Careers

Stay Connected

Morrison Foerster partners Avy Mallik and Leif Dautch presented a webinar for the Innovative Payments Association (IPA) titled...

<h3>Sorry, we weren’t able to find the terms you entered.</h3>Please try a different term or keyword.

People

Capabilities

Resources

Not Found Cards

Morrison Foerster partners Avy Mallik and Leif Dautch presented a webinar for the Innovative Payments Association (IPA) titled "Understanding California’s New Business & Consumer Services Agency: What Fintechs Need to Know," on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. The presentation explored California's newly created Business & Consumer Services Agency (BCSA) and its implications for fintech companies, including the state's evolving regulatory and enforcement landscape. Avy and Leif discussed the BCSA's role alongside the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), enforcement trends involving the California Attorney General and state financial regulators, key areas of regulatory focus, including AI, digital assets, buy now, pay later (BNPL), earned wage access (EWA), cybersecurity, and consumer protection, and practical strategies for engaging with California regulators.If you have any questions, please contact <a href="mailto:AMallik@mofo.com" target="_blank">Avy Mallik</a> or <a href="mailto:LDautch@mofo.com" target="_blank">Leif Dautch</a>.<hr>

Sign Up

Avy Mallik is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Financial Services Group. His practice focuses on financial services regulation and enforcement, with a particular emphasis on emerging technologies, including fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital assets.Avy advises banks, fintechs, and other financial institutions on a broad range of financial regulatory issues, including consumer protection, investor protection, payments, money transmission, banking law, BSA/AML compliance, financial privacy, and the use of emerging technologies in financial services.Before joining Morrison Foerster, Avy served as General Counsel to the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), appointed by California Governor Newsom, and oversaw the office’s Legal Division, Securities Regulation Division, Broker Dealer and Investment Advisor Division, and Digital Financial Assets Law Division. In his time as General Counsel, Avy has overseen landmark legislative and regulatory initiatives, including the drafting and implementation of California’s Digital Financial Assets Law, and he has managed high profile enforcement and policy responses to major bank failures and emerging fintech issues. Previously, he served as Director of Fintech Policy for the Financial Services Committee at the U.S. House of Representatives, leading the task forces on AI in the Financial Services, Fintech, and the Digital Assets Working Group. He has also served as Assistant Attorney General for the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Maryland Attorney General and Director of the Foreclosure Prevention Program and Foreclosure Prevention Staff Attorney at Civil Justice.Avy is regularly invited to speak on legal and policy issues related to financial innovation and has testified before legislatures and briefed state, federal, and international policymakers on emerging regulatory challenges related to fintech products, digital assets, and AI.Avy earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in English Literature from Reed College.

Avy Mallik

Partner

Leif Dautch is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense practice group. Leif draws on nearly 15 years of experience as a federal and state prosecutor advising clients on government investigations and enforcement matters. His experience spans all phases of criminal matters, from investigation through trial and appeal. Leif focuses his practice on guiding clients through complex investigations, enforcement actions, and strategic advice, informed by his experience overseeing wide-ranging investigations and prosecutions. He advises companies and individuals on white-collar, financial, and cybersecurity-related matters, with particular strength in navigating parallel proceedings, responding to government scrutiny, and addressing evolving regulatory and enforcement challenges. Most recently, Leif served as chief of the Organized Crime Strike Force in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, where he led a team of prosecutors and staff handling racketeering and complex conspiracy cases. As an assistant U.S. attorney, he worked closely with federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute more than 200 federal criminal cases involving fraud, cyber intrusion, cryptocurrency, money laundering, RICO, import/export controls, and drug and firearms trafficking. Leif handled a wide array of jury and bench trials, receiving the U.S. Attorney Award for Outstanding Trial Achievement and being nominated for the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Criminal Investigation following a three-month racketeering jury trial. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Leif was a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, where he litigated more than 400 cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts, including the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also served in a supervisory role and worked closely with the Attorney General’s policy and legislative teams on initiatives pertaining to cybercrime, data transparency, and money laundering. Leif began his legal career as a litigation associate at an international law firm. He earned his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School and his B.A. magna cum laude in ethics, politics, and economics from Yale University.

Leif Dautch

Fintech

Understanding California’s New Business & Consumer Services Agency: What Fintechs Need to Know

15 Jul 2026