Jan Lynn Owen of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips has hired Jan Lynn Owen, a former commissioner of the California Department of Business Oversight, as a senior adviser for the firm's financial services group.

Owen, who expects to start at the firm July 15, will split her time between its Sacramento and San Francisco offices. Prior to joining Manatt, Owen has not previously worked at a law firm.

“That is what makes Manatt so appealing because they do focus on building the professional services part of the firm and they are committed to innovating to meet the ever-changing needs of their clients,” Owen said.

“They have a wide array of business focuses, which includes health care, government, and regulatory practice, real estate [and] taxation,” she added. “These issues are all in my wheelhouse.”

Owen was appointed as the first commissioner of the Department of Business Oversight by Gov. Edmund Brown Jr. in 2013, following a merger of the Department of Corporations and the Department of Financial Institutions.

Prior to serving as commissioner, she ran her own consulting firm, The Jan Owen Group, for about a year. Before that, she had several in-house roles, including serving as a strategic initiatives manager at Apple Inc., vice president of government affairs at JPMorgan Chase, state director of government and industry affairs at Washington Mutual Inc., and executive director of the California Mortgage Bankers Association.

“I have been in and out of the private and public sectors for many, many years. There isn't a lot of difference,” Owen said.

Owen's arrival at Manatt follows last month's addition of consumer financial services partner Scott Pearson and his team from Ballard Spahr in Los Angeles. Manatt, which identifies itself as a professional services firm, said it has nearly 100 advisers and consultants across the firm.

“Over the past decade and in response to client needs, we have transformed from a top law firm to a cutting-edge, hybridized consulting and legal professional services firm,” said Donna Wilson, who was recently elected to serve as Manatt's CEO and managing partner, starting in July. “We intend to accelerate this transformation and Jan is part of that. Our clients want and need hybridized teams of problem solvers to handle their legal and business challenges.”

Wilson added, “Jan has unique nationwide regulatory and consulting experience in the financial services and fintech arenas, making her a natural fit for our firm.”

According to the firm, Manatt has about 60 attorneys and advisers in Northern California. With Owen's addition, the firm will have 10 legal professionals in Sacramento and 48 in San Francisco.

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