Advertising, Marketing, and Sales Counsel
Ellen’s practice is deeply rooted in advertising and marketing law, with a focus on compliance and risk management for consumer-facing programs and business-to-business sales. She offers extensive experience with:
- Federal and state regulatory frameworks, including rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCA), the CAN-SPAM Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the telemarketing sales rules (TSR), and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), as well as compliance for automatic renewal, subscription billing, and lead generation
- Representing clients in investigations and enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), state attorneys general, and self-regulatory bodies such as the National Advertising Division (NAD) and Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Conducting mock compliance audits and examinations, designing internal compliance programs, and developing marketing policies for omnichannel campaigns
- Reviewing a wide array of marketing collateral—TV, digital, email, social, mobile, and e-commerce—for claims substantiation, endorsement disclosures, sweepstakes, and social media promotions
- Serving as a trusted resource to in-house counsel on matters involving telemarketing, texting, email marketing, sponsorships, customer service, and consumer complaint response
- Managing global marketing compliance, including coordination with international counsel for cross-border campaigns
Payments and Fintech Advisory
A core part of Ellen’s practice is advising fintechs, payment processors, independent sales organizations (ISOs), payment facilitators, and banks on the legal nuances regulatory compliance, risk management, business counseling, litigation, and law enforcement. Her work includes:
- Counseling on merchant onboarding, know your customer guidelines (KYC), anti-money laundering (AML), high-risk verticals, and compliance with consumer finance laws
- Advising fintech clients on money transmission licensing, card brand rule compliance, and banking-as-a-service structures
- Supporting business operations with drafting and negotiation of critical commercial agreements, including ISO agreements, PayFac agreements, ISV and SaaS contracts, and merchant services terms
- Handling and resolving responses to civil investigative demands (CIDS) and other investigative requests initiated by the FTC, Department of Justice (DOJ), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), CFPB, bank regulators, state attorneys general, state consumer protection regulators, and other state financial services regulators
Ellen is a recognized thought leader and frequent speaker on topics spanning advertising law, subscription marketing, telemarketing, payment processing, merchant services, and government enforcement trends. She co-chairs the Government Relations Strategic Interest Group of the Association of Payment Professionals and is an active member of the Electronic Transactions Association.