Samantha M. Kirby

Samantha Kirby is a partner in Goodwin’s Financial Industry group and co-chair of the Banking and Consumer Financial Services practice. Ms. Kirby advises boards and management of financial institutions, fintech companies (including fintechs operating in the crypto space), and other financial services firms on strategic corporate governance and bank regulatory and compliance matters, SEC reporting, and capital markets and M&A transactions. For banks, Ms. Kirby’s transactional work includes mutual-to-stock conversions, holding company formations, and de novo bank chartering. In addition to working with the firm's full service bank and thrift clients, Ms. Kirby has worked extensively with nonbank financial services providers to establish limited purpose trust banks and other nontraditional vehicles for providing fiduciary and asset management services, and advises banks and trust companies that manage collective investment funds and other commingled pools. She has been selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

Ms. Kirby regularly represents clients before federal and state regulatory agencies, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC, the Massachusetts Division of Banks and numerous other state bank regulators.

Ms. Kirby’s has significant M&A and corporate finance experience. Recent representative transactions include: 

• Brookline Bancorp, Inc.’s merger of First Ipswich Bank and Brookline Bank
• Maine Community Bancorp’s merger of Biddeford Savings Bank and Mechanics Savings Bank
• Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.’s merger of Halsey Associates, Inc. and The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly
• Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc.’s merger of KLS Professional Advisers Group, LLC and Boston Private Wealth LLC
• Optima Bank & Trust Company’s sale to Cambridge Trust Company
• HarborOne Bancorp, Inc.’s mutual-to-stock conversion and minority stock offering, acquisition of Coastway Bancorp, Inc., and second-step conversion
• Merchants Bancshares, Inc.’s sale to Community Bank System, Inc.
• Cross Financial Corp. in a number of insurance agency acquisitions

Ms. Kirby is a member of the American Bar Association and is co-chair of the Banking Law Section of the Boston Bar Association.

Ms. Kirby was recognized by Chambers USA 2021 and 2022 for her work in Banking & Finance: Corporate & Regulatory.

Ms. Kirby regularly speaks about corporate governance, strategic planning, and other topics of interest to financial institutions to legal and banking industry groups, including the American Bankers Association, the Massachusetts Bankers Association, the New York Bankers Association, the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, the New Hampshire Bankers Association, the Vermont Bankers Association and the Maryland Bankers Association.