Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced today that Jehan Patterson has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as counsel in the White Collar & Regulatory Defense practice. In this role, Ms. Patterson will advise the firm’s financial institution clients on matters related to consumer finance laws and enforcement.
Ms. Patterson joins Debevoise from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) where she served as a senior litigation counsel in the Office of Enforcement for over six years. At the CFPB, Ms. Patterson investigated, litigated, and settled matters against entities and individuals for violations of federal consumer financial laws and regulations related to mortgage servicing, debt collection, payment processing, and student lending. Some of her matters resulted in administrative consent orders that imposed sweeping injunctive relief requiring implementation of changes to information systems, technologies, and processes to bring them into compliance with federal consumer financial law.
“Our bank and fintech clients are navigating an increasingly complex regulatory landscape as they seek to provide the products and services expected by their retail clients in a cost effective manner in an environment of increasing CFPB enforcement activity,” said Gregory Lyons, co-chair of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group. “Jehan’s breadth of consumer financial product expertise and experience as a CFPB litigator will enhance our already strong bank consumer and enforcement defense practice as we assist clients both to develop compliant products and respond to enforcement matters that may arise.”
Mary Beth Hogan, co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Department, added: “Jehan’s regulatory and enforcement experience as a senior litigation counsel at the CFPB will be a valuable addition to the firm and an asset to our clients. We look forward to her many contributions as she returns to the firm.”
Prior to the CFPB, Ms. Patterson was a staff attorney at a public interest law firm where she represented clients in impact litigation concerning, among other issues, government transparency, open records, access to courts, data privacy, class actions, workers’ rights, constitutional claims, and Administrative Procedure Act challenges. Ms. Patterson was an associate at Debevoise earlier in her career before going on to serve as a law clerk to Judge Anne E. Thompson in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey. She also worked at another international law firm and a non-profit agency representing clients in residential foreclosure actions and in affirmative litigation against lenders and mortgage servicers. Ms. Patterson received her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Ms. Patterson will join more than 20 former prosecutors and senior government officials in Debevoise’s preeminent White Collar & Regulatory Defense Practice, which is ranked as one of the world’s top practices by Global Investigations Review and as Band 1 by Chambers on both sides of the Atlantic for its complex representations of clients facing litigation and public policy crises. The group has been involved in some of the most significant investigations and resolutions over the past few years, and offers international and domestic clients a depth of experience and global reach that allows for effective and strategic counsel, from defending against criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement actions, to conducting internal investigations, negotiating complex global settlements and facilitating cooperation with government regulators.
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. We deliver effective solutions to our clients’ most important legal challenges, applying clear commercial judgment and a distinctively collaborative approach.