LITIGATION FORUM TRACK: RESPA Litigation and Fair Lending

Robert R. Maddox, CMB, AMP

Partner, Bradley

Robert represents financial institutions and mortgage companies across the United States. He has handled matters both at the pre-litigation and initial complaint filing phase as well as being employed during discovery, to depose expert witnesses and at the pre-trial phase to assist the current counsel. On the compliance side, Robert has worked with both legal and business managers for multiple clients to draft and outline procedures in response to pending or new legislation. Robert is a regular speaker at national industry conferences. He is Faculty Fellow with MBA’s School of Mortgage Banking.

Chava Brandriss

Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP

Chava represents financial institutions against claims by consumers, advocates during government enforcement actions and investigations, and navigates clients through the maze of federal and state laws regulating consumer financial services. An experienced litigator, Chava has handled hundreds of lawsuits in the consumer financial services space, including class actions; large portfolios of defensive mortgage litigation; and other complex litigation against banks, credit unions, lenders, loan servicers and fintechs through trial and appeal. As an appellate litigator, Chava has crafted over 100 appellate briefs and arguments. Through her highly specialized expertise, Chava positions clients to avoid future risk and minimize potential exposure. Beyond litigation, Chava advises financial services clients on issues that span the product development, banking, lending and servicing lifecycle, from fair lending, fair and responsible banking and fair housing, to disclosures, fees, advertising and marketing, UDAAP, credit reporting, and debt collection. When supervisory matters escalate, Chava guides clients through their interactions with regulators, providing sensitive and strategic advice in investigations and enforcement actions before the CFPB, FDIC, OCC, HUD, state financial services regulators and attorneys general. Chava leads the mortgage and home lending practice within our banking and financial services group. Drawing from her career-long focus on the residential mortgage lending and servicing industry following the 2008 financial crisis and rise of the CFPB, she brings to her clients a deep knowledge of issues ranging from fair lending, fair housing and fair servicing, to default servicing and loss mitigation, investor and agency rules, and the TILA/Regulation Z, RESPA/Regulation X, and other requirements unique to residential mortgage lending and servicing.

Matthew Sheldon

Partner, Co-Chair of the Banking & Consumer Financial Services Practice, Goodwin

Matt Sheldon counsels many of the nation’s largest banks, mortgage lenders, and fintech companies on their most sensitive regulatory, enforcement, and litigation matters. His practice focuses on helping those clients successfully align their business goals and strategies within the complex framework of federal and state regulatory requirements. Much of his work centers on assisting clients with their regulatory relationships, whether in the examination, investigation, or enforcement context. Matt is a partner in Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation practice and he serves as co-chair of Goodwin’s Banking and Consumer Financial Services practice. He is also the Head of Goodwin’s Litigation Practice for the Washington, DC office. Matt is top-ranked by both Chambers USA and The Legal 500 US, with Chambers recognizing him as “a very thoughtful regulatory and litigation attorney, with a practical mindset toward complicated and often ambiguous issues.” Although Matt specializes in advising clients on residential mortgage lending matters, he counsels and represents clients regarding a broad array of consumer financial services and products, including credit cards, payment systems, insurance and reinsurance, and ERISA-covered retirement plans.