Allyson B. Baker is co-head of Venable’s Consumer Financial Services practice. Allyson is a trial attorney, civil litigator, and counselor with significant experience in the federal government and private practice.
Allyson represents consumer finance companies and individuals in confidential, non-public investigations initiated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Office of Enforcement, state attorneys general, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state banking agencies, and the DepartmeRepresenting consumer financial services companies in non-public confidential investigationsnt of Justice (DOJ).
She also serves as litigation counsel for financial services companies, advises on consumer financial laws, and provides strategic and risk management counsel to consumer finance companies dealing with the CFPB and other federal and state law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
- Representing consumer financial services companies in non-public confidential investigations
- Serving as litigation counsel for financial services companies
- Advising companies on all aspects of consumer financial laws
- Advising on crisis management strategies for companies in the consumer financial services sector
- Advising on due diligence efforts and risk management efforts for companies in the consumer financial services sector
Immediately before joining Venable, Allyson was an enforcement attorney at the CFPB, where she served as lead counsel in In the Matter of Discover Bank, which was one of the first enforcement actions in agency history and resulted in one of the largest agency settlements to date.
She was a member of the initial team of attorneys hired to stand up the CFPB’s Office of Enforcement. As part of this effort, she helped formulate policies on litigation and investigations.
She also led an office working group that created, reviewed, and coordinated research projects involving the application and jurisdiction of the Consumer Financial Protection Act and a group that coordinated the work of the Office of Enforcement and the CFPB’s Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity.
Before joining the CFPB, Allyson was a trial attorney with the DOJ Tax Division, where she served as a first-chair trial counsel in a number of jury and bench trials involving complex financial transactions, including a test case involving the sale of credit life insurance and other credit insurance products by credit unions.
Since joining Venable in April 2013, Allyson has worked on some of the most significant and high-profile cases and investigations in the consumer financial services area.
Allyson also routinely counsels companies about all aspects of federal and state consumer finance laws. She advises companies about new consumer financial products and business models, and undertakes due diligence reviews.
She has assisted companies and trade associations in their writing of comments for proposed CFPB rulemakings and requests for information. She is co-editor of Venable’s Consumer Financial Services Digest and regularly writes on topics related to financial services litigation and law enforcement.
She also speaks extensively at industry conferences and events, and is frequently quoted in the media on current consumer financial services issues.
Experience :
- Enforcement Attorney, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Trial Attorney, Civil Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice
- Served as lead counsel in CFPB v. Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), resulting in a victory in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals – the first time in decades that a federal appeals court had struck down an administrative subpoena issued by the federal government
- Served as lead trial counsel in Integrity Advance, LLC et al. v. CFPB, a case before the CFPB’s administrative law judge, involving alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
- Served as lead counsel in Center for Public Integrity v. TitleMax of Virginia, Inc., et al., resulting in affirmation in Virginia Supreme Court of an order denying a records request from a government body
- Served as lead trial counsel in United States v. Stover; obtained an injunction against a promoter of fraudulent tax structures involving retirement plans and pass-through entities, with an estimated tax harm of hundreds of millions of dollars
- Served as lead trial counsel in Saverin v. United States; obtained a directed verdict, resulting in a multi-million-dollar judgment for the government in trust fund recovery penalties and employment taxes
- Counsel in non-public confidential Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general investigations involving companies in numerous consumer financial services industries
- Counsel in numerous state regulatory agency enforcement actions involving companies in numerous consumer financial services industries.
Education :
- J.D. cum laude New York University School of Law 2000
- B.A. Columbia University 1995
Bar Admissions : District of Columbia, New York
Court Admissions :
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. Tax Court
Professional Memberships :
- Board member, Women in Housing and Finance Foundation
- Member, Litigation and Business Law Sections, American Bar Association
- Served as vice chair of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Protection Law Developments (CPLD) Committee, and as the editor of the first CPLD chapter devoted solely to the CFPB
Cost
Rate : $$$
