Tompkins Financial Corporation announced that Alyssa H. Fontaine will join the company as Executive Vice President and General Counsel effective January 1, 2016. Currently a partner with Harris Beach PLLC, Fontaine is a member of the firm's Corporate Practice Group and serves on the Financial Institutions and Capital Markets Industry Team. She focuses on corporate transactional work, bank regulatory compliance and securities matters.

Her experience in mergers and acquisitions includes identifying appropriate deal structures for public and private clients, assisting in the negotiation of deal terms and drafting deal agreements. Ed Hooks of Harris Beach has served as Tompkins' General Counsel since 1992. He will retire at the end of this year.