Jonathan L. Pompan

Representative Matters

• Defends financial services companies in complex, wide-scale, non-public FTC, CFPB, and state investigations, including multistate matters involving allegations of unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) and violations of other consumer financial laws, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), with many involving crisis or "bet-the-company" situations. For example, Jonathan served as lead counsel representing a leading debt buyer and debt collector in the appeal of a CFPB supervisory examination finding and referral to the Office of Enforcement concerning consumer authorizations for preauthorized electronic fund transfers in payment of debt, including compliance with EFTA, Regulation E, and the E-SIGN Act. Venable successfully obtained withdrawal of the examination matter requiring attention and closure of the enforcement referral. The CFPB subsequently issued a compliance bulletin consistent with the client's position and long-standing banking-agency interpretations of the relevant requirements
• Advises leading online marketplace and personal lenders on compliance with federal consumer financial law and state lending laws, including the design and implementation of online loan applications, payment portals, and collection strategies, and requirements under the Truth in Lending Act, EFTA, Regulation E, and the E-SIGN Act
• Regularly assists clients with the development and introduction of innovative financial products and services and related obligations under federal and state consumer financial laws, including financial services licensing. Jonathan has developed, drafted, and reviewed payment portals, notices, forms, terms of service, and other consumer-facing materials for credit cards, debit cards, stored-value products, mortgage loans, retail installment credit, debt collection, and merchant products, and regularly advises on the intersection of EFTA, Regulation E, the E-SIGN Act, business objectives, and consumer-facing materials
• Advises a prepaid payments provider on bank-issued card programs and cash-to-card kiosks, including bank relationships, funds flows, fees, electronic disclosures, and compliance with EFTA, Regulation E, the E-SIGN Act, and state and local cash-acceptance requirements. The work includes review of kiosk and digital customer experiences, cardholder terms, and operational practices, as well as representation in related consumer litigation, including a putative class action alleging EFTA and Regulation E violations
• Advises consumer reporting agencies, credit-report resellers, background-screening companies, fintech platforms, and other consumer reporting businesses on establishing and operating FCRA-compliant products and operations. Experience includes helping build consumer reporting agency operations from the ground up; structuring CRA and reseller relationships; negotiating credit bureau, data provider, and reseller agreements; credit bureau credentialing and onboarding; permissible purpose and user certification requirements; report access and use restrictions; data accuracy, adverse action, and consumer dispute processes; applicable state licensing requirements; and development of compliance policies, procedures, monitoring programs, and other operational controls
• Represents leading private equity firms in regulatory due diligence involving consumer financial services companies, including lenders, debt collectors, lead generators, fintech companies, and direct-response marketers, and assists with deal documents and transaction structures addressing the evolving federal and state regulatory landscape
• Advised a leading global asset manager on a multi-year, nationwide project addressing state non-depository financial services licensing and change-of-control requirements affecting public-market investments in financial services companies and their licensed subsidiaries. Developed a repeatable framework combining state-by-state legal analysis, extensive state-regulator engagement, and issuer-specific licensing assessments to support investment limit and governance decisions. The work addressed ownership attribution across funds and investment advisors, control thresholds, aggregation and acting-in-concert standards, and regulatory approval and notice requirements. License coverage included money transmitter and money services business licenses; mortgage lender, mortgage broker, mortgage banker, and mortgage servicer licenses; consumer lender and installment lender licenses; sales finance company and motor vehicle sales finance licenses; loan servicer licenses; and collection agency and debt buyer licenses
• Advised a technology company on U.S. regulatory diligence in connection with the acquisition of an AI-enabled legal and compliance services provider, including law firm ownership, nonlawyer service-company relationships, fee sharing, branding and intellectual property, technology integration, and multijurisdictional practice
• Serves as outside counsel to marketplace lenders, banks, fintech companies, and direct investors on consumer financial services regulatory compliance, product development, state licensing, advertising and marketing, and receivables management strategy, including enforceability of loans and banking relationships, "true lender," risk-retention, and related matters
• Advised numerous debt relief providers, including debt settlement companies, nonprofit credit counseling agencies, and related service providers, including payment processors, on the development and operation of debt relief and debt management programs. The work includes program structure, state licensing, consumer agreements, fees, dedicated-account and payment-processing arrangements, advertising and customer acquisition, and compliance with the Telemarketing Sales Rule, state debt-adjusting and debt-management laws, and state credit services laws
• Represents advertising and lead-generation service providers to marketplace lenders, small-dollar and short-term lenders, real estate professionals, mortgage lenders, and credit card providers—including some of the largest and most widely used websites and advertisers in these categories—on legal and regulatory compliance, compliance-program development, and transactional agreements. The work includes advising on lender-matching and customer-acquisition models, evaluating state lending and broker licensing requirements, allocating regulated functions among affiliated entities and service providers, and reviewing consumer application flows, data transfers, and related commercial arrangements
• Has assisted multiple financial institutions with acquisitions of debt portfolios, including diligence concerning loan collectability, usury, licensing, servicing and collection requirements, and related transactional advisory matters
• Serves as lead counsel advising bank and nonbank consumer financial services providers and their vendors on the design and enhancement of compliance management systems, policies, and procedures, including preparation for supervisory examinations and mock CFPB examinations
• Served as outside counsel to a proprietary school association student recruitment task force, including development of a sector-wide self-regulatory program and best-practices materials addressing the Department of Education's misrepresentation rule and third-party vendors
• Represents advertisers and marketers, including lead generators, before the FTC and other regulators on advertising, marketing, and consumer-protection compliance matters, and has assisted with the development of industry self-regulatory programs for internet advertising and marketing
• Assists clients in regulated industries with comprehensive nationwide state licensing strategies, including money transmitter and money services business, consumer lending, mortgage lender and broker, mortgage servicing, debt adjusting, debt collection, and credit services organization licensing, obtaining licenses for nationwide operations and developing related compliance programs
• Has resolved numerous state investigations and enforcement actions on behalf of for-profit and nonprofit clients involving consumer protection and financial services issues, including matters brought by state attorneys general, state banking departments, and other state financial services and consumer protection regulators
• Has coordinated legislative and regulatory advocacy for financial-services and financial-education industry coalitions and provides related strategic advice, including advocacy before the CFPB and other federal and state agencies

Education

• J.D. Washington University School of Law 2001
• B.A. The George Washington University 1998
• • George Washington Award, 1998

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Maryland

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Member, Section on Business Law and Nonprofit Committee, American Bar Association

• Legal 500
  • Not-For-Profit, 2012 – 2014
  • Financial Services: Regulatory, 2013 – 2014, 2018 – 2026
• Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, Consumer Law, Washington, DC, 2013 – 2015

Volunteerism

• Former member, Board of Directors, George Washington University Alumni Association
• Member, Barcroft School & Civic League, Arlington, Virginia
• Former volunteer, Everybody WINS! (elementary school reading program)