Courtney M. Dankworth is a litigation partner who focuses her practice on internal investigations and regulatory defense, including banking enforcement actions and disputes related to financial services.
Ms. Dankworth advises clients facing investigations and enforcement actions conducted by the Department of Justice, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Securities and Exchange Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, state attorneys general and state banking regulators, including counseling clients facing multi-agency inquiries involving federal and state authorities. She also conducts a broad range of internal investigations for corporations and financial institutions and advises clients and corporate boards regarding their compliance obligations.
Her representations have included negotiating and implementing the National Mortgage Settlement that settled claims by state and federal agencies against the country’s five largest mortgage servicers, as well as other mortgage, credit card and consumer finance issues. Ms. Dankworth is recommended by The Legal 500 US (2020) for Financial Services Litigation. In addition, she is named a Future Star and was named to the “Under 40 Hot List” by Benchmark Litigation (2023).
Ms. Dankworth is actively involved in the development of young lawyers, particularly women lawyers. She co-chairs the firm’s Women’s Resource Group and is a member of its Hiring Committee. She is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Union Settlement, an organization serving East Harlem.
Ms. Dankworth joined the firm in 2007. From 2006 to 2007, she clerked for the Hon. Amalya L. Kearse of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ms. Dankworth received a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School in 2006, where she was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. She received an A.B. with honors from Harvard University in 2001.
Ms. Dankworth’s publications include “Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures,” Law360 (April, 2024); “National Association of Attorneys General’s 2023 Consumer Protection Spring Conference,” NYU Compliance & Enforcement (July, 2023); “Supreme Court Repudiates ‘Right-to-Control’ Theory Under the Federal Wire Fraud Statute,” NYU Compliance & Enforcement (May, 2023); “CFPB Advisory on Placement Practices May Have Broader Market Implications,” NYU Compliance & Enforcement (March, 2023); “Why Fintechs Should Care About the CFPB,” Bloomberg Law (October, 2022); “CFPB’s Report on Buy Now, Pay Later,” NYU Compliance & Enforcement (October, 2022); “Guarding Consumer Financial Data As Federal Scrutiny Grows,” Law360 (August, 2022); “CFPB flexes its market monitoring authority in unprecedented ways,” Reuters (April, 2022); “Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses Federal Regulators’ Focus on AI and Consumer Protection in Finance,” Columbia Blue Sky Blog (November, 2021); “Banks, Fintech Firms Eyeing CFPB Proposal on Consumer Access to Financial Records,” Bloomberg Law (December, 2020); “Anticipating CFPB Changes Under The Biden Administration,” Law360 (November, 2020); “Debevoise & Plimpton Expects More New York Regulatory Enforcement of Banking and Financial Services,” Columbia Blue Sky Blog (September, 2020); and “Insulated No More: The Seila Decision and the End of the Independent CFPB Director,” NYU Compliance & Enforcement (July, 2020).