Margo Strahlberg practices in the areas of electronic payment products and non-bank money services.  She focuses on the regulation of stored value, specializing in the laws governing abandoned property and consumer protection.  Ms. Strahlberg has particular expertise advising clients on reward and rebate programs for both open and closed loop prepaid cards, as well as assisting clients with the establishment and management of special purpose gift card entities.

As the co-author of the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association’s bi-weekly Government Update and contributing editor to Paybefore Legal, Ms. Strahlberg continuously monitors and reports on pending state and federal legislation and regulations affecting the prepaid card industry.  She also has extensive experience drafting prepaid card agreements, and advises clients on the state regulation of money services businesses and anti-money laundering/Bank Secrecy Act matters.

Prior to her work in this area, Ms. Strahlberg dedicated her practice to the drafting and negotiating of loan documentation in connection with syndicated and non-syndicated lending transactions.

Bar and Court Admissions

Illinois, 2008

New York, 2001

Education

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D., 2000

Brandeis University, B.A., cum laude, with honors, 1997

Languages

French

Publications

• "Trend Alert: The Consumer Protection Push at the State Level," Paybefore Magazine, Spring 2010
• "Sen. Dodd Introduces Regulatory Reform Bill," PaybeforeLegal, March 2010
• "Federal Reserve Board Issues Proposed Gift Card Rules," PaybeforeLegal, November 2009
• "The Aftermath: What the Prepaid Card Industry Can and Should Do in Response to the CARD Act," Paybefore.com, June 2009
• Co-author, "Abandoned Property Laws and Network Branded Prepaid Cards: Questions and Concerns Raised When Trying to Fit Cards into the Existing Abandoned Property Legal Framework," NBPCA White Paper,  co-author and contributor, March 2009
• Co-author, "Getting Your ‘Just Rewards’ - A Proposal for the Treatment of Prepaid Rewards Cards Under State Abandoned Property and Consumer Protection Laws," The Journal of Payment Systems Law, November/December 2007
  

Speeches and Seminars

• "10 Major Issues Facing the Retail Gift Card Industry Today," Presentation, Retail Gift Card Association Meeting, February 2010
• Gift Cards and Rebates: Unclaimed Property and Consumer Protection Issues,” Teleconference, American Bar Association, January 2010
• “NBPCA Workshop: The Prepaid Card Industry’s Take on State Abandoned Property Laws,” Presentation, The Prepaid Card Expo, March 2009
• “Privacy and Unclaimed Property Law,” Presentation, The Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization Annual Conference, March 2009

Professional Affiliations

• Co-Vice Chair to the Payments Fraud Task Force for the American Bar Association’s Subcommittee on Cyberspace Law

Civic Involvement and Honors

• “Rising Star in Prepaid,” Paybefore Magazine, October 2009
• “Real Law Covers Virtual Gifts,” The National Law Journal, June 2009