In this episode, Steve Fretzin, Robert Armstrong, and Sandy Fisch discuss:

  • Legal expertise without systems limits growth
  • Focus outperforms expansion without infrastructure
  • Value-based models outperform time-based billing in an AI-driven future
  • Future-proof firms are systemized, collaborative, and diversified

Key Takeaways:

  • Most firms are built by technicians who understand legal work but not business operations. Sustainable

In this special crossover episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Regulatory Oversight, Chris Willis is joined by colleagues Lori Sommerfield and Matthew Berns to discuss New Jersey’s sweeping new disparate impact regulations under the Law Against Discrimination. They break down one of the most comprehensive state-level disparate impact rules in the U.S., the contrasts with traditional federal standards, and implications for enforcement in financial services. The discussion dives into credit scores, underwriting models, AI and automated decision-making tools, and the difference between New Jersey’s approach and the Trump administration’s effort to scale back disparate impact at the federal level, offering practical takeaways for lenders and other covered entities navigating this shifting landscape.