News

September 19, 2019

Partner Lucy Morris comments for Bloomberg Law on the possible future of the CFPB and its director

On September 19, Bloomberg Law spoke to Hudson Cook Partner Lucy Morris and others for their reactions to the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) letter supporting the Department of Justice's position (in Seila Law v. CFPB) that the agency's for-cause termination provision is unconstitutional. According to Bloomberg, the letter from Director Kathleen Kraninger represents a shift in the CFPB's prior position, making it more likely that the Supreme Court will take up the question.

Lucy Morris, a former CFPB deputy enforcement director, told Bloomberg that "Kraninger and the Bureau are walking an extremely fine line here." Additionally, in the case of CFPB v. RD Legal Funding LLC, the CFPB sent a letter to the Second Circuit arguing that while it agrees with the lower court that its structure is unconstitutional, the remedy of eliminating the Bureau completely goes too far. Lucy noted that this may be a tough argument for the Bureau. She also noted that if the Supreme Court upholds the structure, an incoming President (such as Elizabeth Warren) could use Kraninger's failure to defend the Bureau's structure as a cause to fire her.

Lucy is a partner in Hudson Cook's Washington, D.C. office and chairs the firm's Government Investigations, Examinations and Enforcement practice group. Lucy counsels financial institutions and others in complying with federal consumer financial laws and prohibitions against unfair, deceptive or abusive trade practices. She is an experienced advocate and litigator, representing clients in government investigations, examinations, and enforcement actions before federal and state agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice and state AG offices. Lucy was a panelist at the June CFPB symposium on Abusive Acts or Practices. A video of the symposium can be viewed on the CFPB website.

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