October 2024

October 2024
Matthew Bisanz

(BA, Political Science, ’07; BBA, Accounting, ’07; MBA, Accounting ’08)

Q & A:

1. What was your favorite class, who was your favorite professor, or what is your fondest memory of Hofstra?
   My favorite class was PSC 127, Constitutional Law, with Professor Mark Landis. He treated me like an equal and meaningfully engaged in wide-ranging debates throughout the semester and during the rest of my time at Hofstra. The content of the class was more than adequate, but his commitment to fostering intellectual discourse with students left an impression on me.
2. What was your first job after graduating from Hofstra, and what was the most valuable thing you learned there?
   My first job after graduating from Hofstra was as a tax accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. The most valuable lesson I learned was the importance of attention to detail in professional work product. While intelligence and creativity are valuable traits, no one cares how smart or creative a first-year accountant is. Everyone cares about their tax return being accurate. This feedback served as an awakening to the realities of the business world and is a lesson that I reflect upon regularly.
3. What is your field of specialty, and how did you come to work in the industry?
   I specialize in bank regulatory law by counseling banks on developing new products, navigating strategic transactions, and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations. My journey into this space began during law school, when I had the opportunity to intern at several federal agencies, including the SEC and FDIC. These experiences highlighted how my background in accounting made me more adept than other lawyers in applying banking regulations to financial transactions. Moreover, I discovered that the banking bar is a small, collegial community of lawyers. In fact, we fit in a single ballroom for our annual convention. That sense of camaraderie distinguishes banking regulation from the enormity of public accounting or securities law and made it feel more relatable.
4. What advice would you give Hofstra students?
   Hofstra students should remember that they will receive only what they ask for and earn. Having ambition is meaningless if a person lacks skills and fails to put in effort. Putting in great effort is similarly worthless if a person does not channel it toward a goal. College can sometimes deceive students into believing that employers will hand them a predetermined career path, akin to the structured requirements of their majors leading to graduation. They forget that employers prioritize the success of their businesses, meaning that employees must have the self-motivation and initiative to chart their own course.
5. In one word, how would you describe Hofstra?
   Options. Hofstra offers every student a smorgasbord of options. There is no mandatory curriculum or rigid path for campus life. Some students focus on their major, others focus on student government or sports, and still others work while in school. That diversity of choice presents a challenge as students must be motivated to select and pursue their own path. However, I found it preferable to other models because it allowed me to take a path that uniquely aligned with my skills and goals.
6. What is a typical day like for a partner in Mayer Brown’s financial services regulatory practice?
   A typical day for me is to arrive early at the office to respond to matters that came in overnight and have uninterrupted time to begin my day. During this quiet time, I often begin by drafting detailed analyses of client inquiries before the markets open.
   
   Throughout the morning, my schedule is filled with calls with both partners and clients who have deals pending in other parts of the firm. As a regulatory lawyer, my expertise is frequently sought to tackle specific issues or clauses within agreements. In a year, I might work over 400 matters, which is a lot for a Biglaw partner. While my contribution to each matter may only require a few hours, it is key to getting the deal done.
   
   In the early afternoon, I allocate time for reaching out to potential clients, as well as drafting brief analyses that are almost rote memory at this point in my career. My managing partner has a saying that we lead with regulatory when competing for work because certain transactions have inherent regulatory elements, and many peer law firms lack dedicated regulatory experts. That is why it is so important for me to continuously engage with clients, prospective clients, journalists, and policymakers on the most important issues for financial institutions. I leave the office around 4:30 to pick up my son, take him home for dinner, and then log back on after his bedtime. That is time for less important administrative matters, long-term drafting projects, and urgent deal matters.
7. What is your favorite part of your job?
   The favorite part of my job is the opportunity to specialize in a specific area. Some lawyers are generalists or excel with specific skills, such as trial advocacy. In contrast, I have acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the regulation and operation of a bank. I publish dozens of articles each year and speak on numerous panels about issues of critical importance to a major part of the economy. 
   Banking touches everyone’s lives, and I find it rewarding to be able to explain why products function in a certain way; plus, helping banks design brand-new services is fun. Moreover, the recognition from my peers for the thoroughness of my advice makes me feel as though I have left my mark on a tiny part of the law.
8. How do you balance work and life?
   I set aside three hours every night to spend time with my wife and son. This includes dinner, my son’s bath time, and playtime that allows me to connect with them. I also try to set aside mornings on the weekend to go to a museum, park, or even the grocery store. My son loves doing any activity with me, even if it is shopping for meals.
9. How has your job influenced your mentality as a person?
   My job has taught me to pause and assess the long-term impact of any issue. Understanding that being late to a meeting, encountering a mistake at a restaurant, or forgetting something at the store typically has minimal impact has made life easier to navigate.
10. Who was the person who most influenced you, and how?
    Professor Dominic Marsicovetere had a profound influence on me. As an accounting professor at Hofstra, adviser to Beta Alpha Psi, and my faculty mentor, he exemplified humility despite his considerable accomplishments in the field. He never boasted about his achievements and he looked down on aggressive tactics, instead relying on the strength of his arguments and the thoroughness of his work. Through his example, I learned that being the loudest person or the person with the highest grades or the person with the most expensive clothes did not make a good accountant or a good person. Being attentive to detail, remembering and helping others, and doing a good, honest day’s work were what mattered. I have tried to live by those ideals in my career and life.
11. What is the hardest/toughest part of your job?
    The most challenging aspect of my job is managing multiple deals simultaneously. It requires humility to recognize when I need to pause and ask colleagues for time to review notes or follow up with emails to ensure that I am addressing the correct aspects of each deal.