Ori Lev

Ori Lev is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and a member of the Financial Services Regulatory & Enforcement practice and the Consumer Financial Services group. He concentrates his practice on representing financial institutions and other companies in government enforcement matters, internal investigations, and litigation, and providing regulatory advice and counsel on federal consumer financial and economic sanctions law.

Ori has an extensive regulatory enforcement background, both at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he served as a deputy enforcement director, and at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), where he led the Office of Enforcement and served in other leadership positions. He also has substantial litigation experience.

In the consumer-finance space, Ori has worked on matters involving a wide range of legal issues and industries. His matters have included alleged unfair, deceptive and abusive acts or practices (UDAAP), as well as alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Truth in Lending Act.

These matters have involved mortgage, auto and student loan origination and servicing, as well as payment processing, credit reporting and furnishing, debt collection and debt relief.

He regularly represents clients in CFPB investigations, helps clients prepare responses to CFPB PARR letters, assists clients in preparing self-disclosures and advises clients on UDAAP and other regulatory risks. He also provides advice regarding the CFPB’s jurisdiction, authority, priorities and practices.

With respect to economic sanctions, Ori has led internal investigations, helped draft license applications and self-disclosures to OFAC, and has provided advice and counsel on the applicability of OFAC regulations to a wide range of business conduct.

Before joining the CFPB, Ori served as a senior advisor and then as the head of enforcement at OFAC, where he was involved in OFAC’s early dollar-clearing and wire-stripping cases, oversaw and reorganized OFAC’s enforcement function and participated in major policy decisions and initiatives. He was also the principal drafter of OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines, which set forth the framework for resolving OFAC enforcement actions.

Education :

• Yale Law School, JD
• University of Michigan, BA, with highest distinction

Admissions : District of Columbia

Activities : Community Tax Aid, former member of the board of directors

Experience :

• Represented banks, mortgage originators, mortgage servicers, consumer reporting agencies, retailers, lead generators and other entities in CFPB enforcement investigations concerning a broad range of issues.
• Prepared responses to CFPB PARR letters for bank and non-bank clients, with the result being no enforcement action.
• Advised depository and non-depository financial services clients considering self-disclosure to the CFPB, and helped frame and draft such disclosures.
• Advised clients regarding consumer remediation plans in light of possible UDAAP or other regulatory violations.
• Advised bank and non-bank clients on UDAAP and RESPA risk associated with a variety of business practices.
• Advised banking and other clients on the applicability of OFAC regulations to various business and trade practices.