The primary aim of the bank will be to support community development activities in New Haven, including affordable housing development, home ownership, small business development, and banking the unbanked.
Students are involved in all aspects of launching a new bank, from providing counsel on regulatory issues and facilitating corporate process to performing market research and investigating and recommending financial advice to fit the bank’s unique mission.
The clinic takes an interdisciplinary approach, allowing law students to work as legal advisors, policy advisors, or business consultants, and brings students from the School of Management (and other related programs) together with Law students.
The clinic offers students a chance to work in regulatory, transactional, and business capacities, learning about both the law and business of banks, nonprofits, and small businesses. Students may gain corporate client contact, memo preparation skills, regulatory agency contact, and negotiation skills, as well as banking, finance, and business exposure.
CDFI includes 20 students, most with substantial backgrounds in banking, finance, community development, marketing, or business services.
Student Directors:
Ana Vohryzek-Griest
Nikhil Patel
Tom Donnelly
Faculty Advisors:
Sameera Fazili
Chuck Muckenfuss
Bob Solomon