Bryan Wells is a partner in the Miami office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where he is Co-Chair of the Financial Services Practice Group.
Bryan has been named as one of the Best Lawyers in America® in banking and finance law and is recognized by Chambers USA as one of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He has been a strong advocate for the financial services industry for nearly three decades. Bryan represents domestic and non-U.S. banks, broker-dealers and investment advisory firms in a wide range of regulatory, transactional, enforcement and corporate matters.
He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, establishing and expanding financial institutions and structuring and documenting investment products and services. Bryan provides counsel in banking and securities regulatory enforcement and examination proceedings. He also regularly handles anti-money laundering compliance matters.
Bryan is a frequent speaker on issues of relevance to the financial services industry and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Banking Law at the University of Miami School of Law. He formerly served as General Counsel to the Florida International Bankers Association.
Prior to joining Shutts, Bryan was a judicial law clerk to United States District Court Judge William M. Hoeveler.
Credentials
Education
- University of Michigan School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1993
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., English, with highest honors, 1991
Bar Admissions
- Florida
Professional and Civic
- General Counsel, Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA), 2016-2020
- Former Chair, Legal and Regulatory Affairs Committee, Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA)
News & Insights
News & Speaking Engagements
Publications
- Co-author, “Consumer Financial Regulation: Florida,” Practical Law (October 2020)
- Co-author, "Gary Gensler Named SEC Chief: An Aggressive Regulator Returns to Washington," Daily Business Review (February 9, 2021)
- The Cross-Border Securities Business: Recent Changes and Continuing Uncertainties, with Kimberly Prior, Inside the Minds: New Developments in Securities Law, 2015 ed.
- Co-author, “New State Law on Subpoenas Changes Financial Privacy Network,” Daily Business Review (September 29, 2015)
- SEC Interim Final Rules Implementing the Securities Activities “Push Out” Provisions of the GLBA, with Bowman Brown and William McCullough, Banking and Financial Services Policy Report (July 2001)
- The Big Push in Private Banking Law: Implications of the “Push Out” Provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, with Bowman Brown, Latin Finance Magazine (May 2001)
- Making the Most of International Private Banking: Opportunities and Challenges for the Private Banking Client, with Raul Salas, LatinFinance Magazine (April 2000)
- Banking Across Borders: Regulatory Frameworks Dictate Business, with Bowman Brown and William McCullough, LatinFinance Magazine (January - February 1996)
Practice Areas
Industry Focus
Accolades
- Chambers USA America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Banking & Finance: Regulatory, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
- Best Lawyers in America®, Banking & Finance Law, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
