Our nationally recognized group advises on regulatory matters, assists in the design and documentation of credit products, and represents clients in class actions, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and other lawsuits nationwide. We represent clients ranging from the largest financial institutions in the nation to smaller enterprises and Internet-based providers.
Our attorneys
pioneered the use of pre-dispute arbitration in consumer financial services contracts. We have designed, implemented, and enforced arbitration programs for many of the largest lending institutions in the world.
The 2009 edition of Chambers USA ranked our group in the highest tier nationally in the category of Financial Services Regulation, praising our exemplary service, ability to devise and structure innovative solutions, and skill with regulatory and enforcement work.
The team includes four members of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, including its first president. This organization was founded to honor lawyers who have made substantial contributions to the development of consumer financial services law.
Our experience includes:
Consumer class actions, regulatory proceedings, and individual actions
Pricing, design, and regulation of all types of credit products, including short-term loan programs, credit card and other open-end products, motor vehicle and home loans, and government-insured and private student loan programs
Pricing, design, and regulation of deposit products such as checking and money market accounts, certificates of deposit and sweep accounts, and debit and stored-value cards
Implementation and enforcement of arbitration programs
Advertising and marketing
Compliance with all UDAP statutes
Privacy, data mining, credit reporting, and debt collection practices
Our attorneys advise financial institutions across the country in lending, leasing, and depositing matters and keep them in compliance with an increasingly complex regulatory structure. Clients include:
Banks
Savings associations
Consumer finance companies, including payday, auto title, and pawn lenders
Providers of stored-value cards
Automobile leasing, rental, and financing entities
Mortgage bankers and brokers
Credit unions
Providers of software-generated forms and documentation
Retailers
LITIGATION AND ARBITRATION
The group has developed a pre-eminent consumer financial services litigation practice, defending banks and other financial institutions throughout the United States in class actions, regulatory proceedings, and other complex litigation.
We often act as national coordinating counsel in defending litigation for major consumer financial services providers. Our litigators have handled class actions and other lawsuits involving:
Enforcement of arbitration provisions in consumer credit contracts
Challenges to interest rates, fees, and other contract terms
Compliance with the gamut of federal and state consumer financial services laws, including challenges to clients' TILA, HOEPA, ECOA, FCRA, FDCPA, RESPA, and EFTA compliance
Claims of credit discrimination and reverse redlining
Marketing and advertising practices
Privacy issues
Insurance issues
Claims against spurious arbitration companies and fraudulent debt management companies
PRODUCT GUIDANCE
We represent clients in developing new or complex financial services products and in acquiring issuers or portfolios of such products. We negotiate and draft commercial agreements with third parties and assess applicable federal and state laws and judicial decisions. We draft consumer agreements and disclosures and communicate with regulatory authorities. We also conduct due diligence of issuers and portfolios.
Our experience includes:
Implementation and enforcement of pre-dispute arbitration programs, including the most novel and consumer-friendly programs in the market today
Advertising and marketing requirements
Compliance with state and federal "UDAP" statutes that prohibit unfair and deceptive acts and practices
Pricing and design of all types of credit products, including secured and unsecured loans; credit cards, home equity lines of credit, and other open-end products; retail installment sale agreements, consumer leases, and layaway agreements; government-insured and private student loan programs and related tuition payment plans; and higher risk niche products, typically directed to subprime customers, such as tax refund anticipation, payday, and auto title loans
Payment card products, including payroll and other stored-value cards and gift cards, as well as more traditional deposit products and certificates
Credit insurance products and debt suspension and debt cancellation products
Use of the internet and electronic payment systems in the delivery of financial services
Federal preemption, Commerce Clause, and conflict of law issues
Privacy, data mining, credit reporting, and debt collection practices
REGULATORY ASSISTANCE
Our attorneys guide clients in responding to compliance and safety and soundness examinations, administrative investigations, all enforcement proceedings, and other dealings with regulatory authorities.
Our experience encompasses the full range of federal and state banking laws. We regularly deal with federal and state banking and enforcement agencies, including all of the federal banking agencies and state agencies both within and outside our geographic footprint.