Theresa Y. Kananen

Theresa is a partner in the Litigation and Employment practices and co-chair of the Payment Systems industry team. Theresa’s practice is multi-faceted, and encompasses employment litigation and counseling, commercial litigation, and regulatory and compliance advice specific to the payments industry.

On the employment side of her practice, Theresa works with employers and human resource professionals in a counseling and training capacity, and also handles internal workplace investigation.  In addition, she represents employers in a full range of employment-based disputes, including termination matters, discrimination and harassment claims, wage and hour issues, restrictive covenants, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and contractual disputes. She appears before administrative agencies, such as the EEOC and Department of Labor, as well as in state and federal courts.

On the payments side of her practice, Theresa serves a variety of entities on the acquiring side of the industry, including ISOs, payment facilitators, and payment processors. She handles both regulatory and compliance matters, whether the genesis of the issue is state law, federal law, or card brand rules.  She is often asked to advise on surcharging practices, money transmitter licensing issues, and issues unique to cryptocurrency. In addition, Theresa routinely handles industry-specific litigation and government investigations, including enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission.  Assisting payments clients with contract preparation is also one of her core competencies.  Theresa often presents on payments hot topics at industry conferences.