Kendall Howell is counsel and a member of the firm's Data Strategy & Security and Banking Groups. His practice focuses on advising banks, broker-dealers, money services businesses, fintech companies and other financial institutions on artificial intelligence governance, BSA/AML and sanctions compliance, bank regulatory matters, risk management and regulatory enforcement.
Mr. Howell advises clients on the legal, regulatory and commercial issues arising from the deployment of artificial intelligence in highly regulated environments. His experience includes developing AI governance and risk management frameworks, advising on enterprise technology and AI vendor arrangements, supporting financial institutions' use of AI within compliance functions and counseling clients on complex regulatory matters involving bank regulation, BSA/AML and sanctions.
He also represents financial institutions in federal and state regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, including responding to supervisory inquiries, negotiating consent orders and advising on remediation efforts. In addition, Mr. Howell regularly advises on regulatory issues in domestic and cross-border transactions, including matters involving BSA/AML, sanctions and CFIUS considerations.
Mr. Howell is a frequent author and speaker on AI governance, financial regulation and compliance, with publications in Bloomberg and ABA Risk and Compliance Magazine and presentations at industry conferences on AI, fintech partnerships and financial crime compliance.
Prior to joining Debevoise, Mr. Howell was counsel in the Financial Institutions Group and National Security practice at another prominent law firm. Earlier in his career, he served as a Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army, a summer consultant at Boston Consulting Group and a project manager at Epic Systems Corporation.
He received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2019 and his B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin in 2009.