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GREENSBORO - For Don Lampe, a banking and regulatory attorney at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, the term "out of the office" could put him anywhere in the United States.
As a nationally known legal consultant, the Greensboro-based lawyer spends half his time outside the Gate City, advising banks and other lenders on how to offer loans and other services while complying with state and federal regulations.
In 1999, he provided the technical analysis that helped draft North Carolina's first law to stymie predatory lending in the mortgage industry. Several states have since modeled their laws to replicate those in the Tar Heel State, providing demand for Lampe's advisory services.
In recent years, he has been in Georgia, Kentucky and New Mexico, helping the banking commissions in those states hammer out similar laws designed to keep predatory lenders at bay, while letting other lenders offer innovative programs to prospective home buyers.
Bankers say that, along the way, Lampe discovered a legal niche and established a reputation as one of the country's top experts in banking law. They say he has reached that point by having a vast knowledge of the banking industry, the ability to translate jargon to others and an affable personality wellsuited for public speaking.
"He's the most knowledgeable attorney when it comes to subprime and traditional lending, and how it all ties into the predatory lending debate," says Joe Brannen, president of the Georgia Bankers Association. "Plus, he has an engaging personality and he's a likable guy." Finding a legal niche
Lampe has worked in banking law for 22 years, starting his career at a Dallas law firm in the early 1980s. Early on, he showed a willingness to travel, spending a year in London on a rotational assignment in international banking.
Lampe came to the Triad...