Claude Goetz helps financial institutions, card issuers, and fintechs get challenging deals done. He provides practical, client-focused advice informed by his time spent working as in-house counsel in the payments industry and by his decades of counseling market-leading financial services companies.
Claude advises clients on business transactions, finance, and commercial legal issues, as well as mergers and acquisitions, primarily in the consumer financial-services space. He counsels parties on credit card-related matters, represents buyers and sellers in private asset and equity acquisitions, and assists licensors and licensees of intellectual property. Increasingly, these matters involve emerging-technology platforms. In addition, Claude has extensive experience with joint ventures, governance, corporate counseling, and commercial contracts.
Claude served as the partner-in-charge of the New York office from 2010-2014, as the chair of our Financial Services practice group from 2015-2021, and as a member of the firm's executive committee from 2019-2025.
Practice Highlights
Card transactions
IP portfolio sales
Outsourcing agreements
Credit card programs, network branding, processing agreements and affinity programs for U.S. credit card issuers, processors, acquirers and retailers
Co-branded partnership agreements
Network branding arrangement
Sale of music publisher and licensor
Sale of iconic performance art and live entertainment brand
Admitted to Practice
- New York, 1986
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1989
Education
- J.D., New York University School of Law, 1985
- B.A., German, Psychology, Wesleyan University, 1982, with high honors
Memberships & Affiliations
- Executive Committee, Davis Wright Tremaine
Background
- Partner, Kay & Boose LLP, New York, N.Y.
- General Counsel, Deluxe Electronic Payments Systems, Inc., Milwaukee
- Associate, Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, Philadelphia