Managing Associate
Washington, D.C.
Derrick Perkins advises banks, fintechs, and other financial services companies on complex commercial, regulatory, and transactional matters, drawing on more than a decade of in-house legal and compliance experience.
Derrick brings a practical, business-focused perspective to clients navigating the rapidly evolving financial services industry. Having served in senior legal and compliance roles at banks and fintech companies—including as Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer of a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) bank—he understands how legal advice must work in practice, not just on paper.
Derrick advises financial institutions, fintech companies, and investors on bank-fintech partnership agreements, critical vendor and technology agreements, regulatory compliance matters, commercial and structured financings, and mergers and acquisitions. His experience spans the full lifecycle of financial services products and partnerships, from structuring and negotiating agreements to assessing regulatory risk, building compliance frameworks, and supporting implementation.
Before joining Orrick, Derrick served as Chief Compliance Officer at a significant BaaS partner bank, where he oversaw the bank’s compliance program during a period of significant regulatory change in the BaaS industry. He previously served as Chief Legal Officer of another BaaS bank and as General Counsel of a deposit and credit card fintech company, and advised financial institutions and fintech companies through his own consulting practice.
This combination of legal, compliance and operational experience enables Derrick to anticipate issues from multiple perspectives and provide clear, commercially practical guidance. He works closely with business, legal, compliance, risk and operations teams to help clients execute transactions, manage regulatory expectations, and develop sustainable financial services programs.
“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”
- Helen Keller