Mayer Brown announced an industry leading consumer financial services group of partners, adding Laurence Platt, Phillip Schulman, Melanie Brody and Jonathan Jaffe to the firm.

The group will join its global Financial Services Regulatory & Enforcement practice. Steven Kaplan will join Tom Delaney as co-leader of the firm’s practice.

“For more than 20 years, this outstanding team has been recognized by clients for its thought leadership and providing high caliber regulatory counseling, enforcement defense and transactional advice to mortgage and auto lenders, consumer finance companies, credit card issuers and investment banks,” said Mayer Brown Chairman Paul Theiss.

“Their arrival positions Mayer Brown, with its outstanding financial services practice, to provide high-level regulatory and enforcement advice to clients operating in the consumer financial services space, particularly traditional and non-traditional companies grappling with the challenges associated with delivering products and services in the increasingly complex arena of financial technology,” added Theiss

“Today, we are better able to represent consumer financial services providers in each critical phase of their business operations with practitioners who are universally regarded as among the best in the business,” Theiss continued.

The new Consumer Financial Services Group advises leading financial services companies—including banks, investment banks, private equity funds, hedge funds, mortgage companies, marketplace lenders, emerging payment companies and start-ups—as well as various types of participants in the consumer credit and real estate finance arenas.

The group will also counsel clients on:

• Counsels clients on federal and state laws governing the making, servicing, purchase and sale of consumer loans, including residential mortgage loans, auto     loans and marketplace loans under federal and state laws, and the requirements of FHA, VA, Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 
• Represents clients in supervisory matters before the CFPB, FDIC, FRB, OCC and state consumer credit and banking agencies.
• Obtains federal and state governmental approvals and licenses for mortgage companies, investors, money transmitters and consumer finance companies.

“Over the past few years, lawyers from a number of different areas – intellectual property, FDA, and litigation, to name just a few – have significantly augmented the service offerings of our office in the nation’s capital,” said Daniel Masur, partner-in-charge of Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office.

“The addition of this impressive group builds on the growth of our Washington office, which has seen the arrival of 19 lateral partners in the past two years,” continued Masur.

Prior to joining the firm, they all practiced at K&L Gates.