Jonice Gray Tucker

Jonice Gray Tucker is a partner in Buckley LLP’s Washington, D.C., office and a member of the firm’s partner board. Ms. Tucker specializes in work with banks, non-bank financial institutions, and other companies providing financial products and services. She represents corporate and individual clients in matters initiated by government regulators, as well as in private civil litigation and internal investigations. Ms. Tucker also counsels clients on compliance with consumer protection laws and supervision preparedness.

Ms. Tucker focuses a substantial portion of her practice on representations involving escalated government examination matters, investigations, and enforcement actions relating to banking, consumer finance, and consumer protection laws. Many of these matters have been closed without further action.

Ms. Tucker has been representing financial institutions in matters involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since it was first established frequently providing advice in connection with policy matters, routine supervisory matters, escalated supervisory matters such as responses to Proposed Action and Request for Response (PARR) letters, and enforcement matters.

In addition, Ms. Tucker frequently represents institutions in matters initiated by other federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Ms. Tucker also has an active state regulatory practice, representing institutions in matters involving state attorneys general, including multi-state groups, as well as other state regulators such as the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO), and state banking departments.

Ms. Tucker handles compliance, enforcement, and litigation matters involving, among other things:

• Allegations of unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act (UDAP, Section 5), the Consumer Financial Protection Act (UDAAP, Section 1036), and similar state laws
   
• Federal and state consumer protection laws, including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Civil Rights Act, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as well as related regulatory requirements such as state license laws

Ms. Tucker’s clients include:

• Lenders and servicers in the mortgage, automotive, and student product industries
   
• Credit and prepaid card issuers
   
• Credit reporting agencies and related entities
   
• Fintechs
   
• Entities offering digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, and related services, including exchanges
   
• Institutions offering small business loans and cash advances
   
• Home builders
   
• Solar energy finance companies
   
• Large retailers offering varied good and services which may be acquired through credit or prepaid access
   
• Industry trade associations

Ms. Tucker’s representations, the vast majority of which are nonpublic, have included:

• Representing a large conglomerate, with numerous affiliates performing retail sales, consumer lending, and related services, in parallel investigations by several federal government agencies and a large group of state attorneys general as well as concurrent supervisory activity
   
• Representing lenders in connection with redlining, underwriting discrimination, and pricing discrimination allegations by the DOJ, HUD, CFPB, prudential banking regulators, and state regulators, including matters which were closed without further action

• Representing several large institutions in escalated state and federal government supervisory activity and investigations regarding mortgage origination and servicing practices

• Representing two large, nonbank mortgage industry participants in landmark enforcement actions brought by the FTC

• Representing a nonbank institution in a FTC investigation alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices regarding the marketing of products and services to veterans

• Providing compliance advice to banks and nonbanks on small business lending and merchant cash advances (MCAs)

• Representing participants in the digital asset space, including those involved with cryptocurrencies, in matters involving compliance management, regulatory advice, and state investigations
   
• Representing a top U.S. bank in precedent-setting lawsuits brought by municipalities, under the FHA, in the wake of the foreclosure crisis
   
• Representing solar finance companies in regulatory matters, compliance management, and investigation defense
   
• Representing numerous participants in the credit bureau reporting industry in federal actions alleging UDAAP and FCRA violations, including matters closed without further action
   
• Advising numerous fintechs on regulatory, compliance, and enforcement matters, related to licensing, money transmission, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance
   
• Preparation of comment letters on behalf of the Consumer Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable (now Bank Policy Institute), and the Consumer Mortgage Coalition on CFPB’s use of Civil Investigative Demands, enforcement practices, and supervision process, with recent adoption of a number of significant recommended policy changes
   
• Representing a major credit reporting bureau in a CFPB enforcement action alleging UDAAP and FCRA violations relating to educational credit scores and negative option billing
   
• Representing numerous banks and nonbanks in CFPB investigations, enforcement action, and escalated supervisory matters alleging UDAAPs in the sale, marketing, and/or servicing of ancillary products
   
• Representing various student loan companies in investigations initiated by the CFPB and state regulators, including matters closed without further action
   
• Representing large financial institutions in internal investigations alleging, among other things, misconduct in the performance of core job functions and other workplace improprieties including kickbacks
   
• Providing advice to various merchants on compliance matters related to financial transactions with consumers, including implementation of virtual marketplaces and use of prepaid and stored value products
   
• Representing a top U.S. bank in concurrent investigations and enforcement actions by the DOJ, the OCC, and the FRB related to allegations of discriminatory mortgage lending practices
   
• Representing several bank and nonbank entities in concurrent investigations initiated by the FHFA related to the FHFA’s investments in residential mortgage-backed securities
   
• Representing a large bank in the settlement of a nationwide class action alleging mortgage fraud and predatory lending
   
• Representing a large bank in connection with a putative class action alleging discrimination in indirect auto lending
   
• Representing several nonbank servicers in consumer protection investigations and enforcement actions brought by state attorneys general, including multistate groups
   
• Assisting bank and nonbank finance companies with the development and/or enhancement of compliance management systems
   
• Providing fair and responsible banking advice to financial institutions of varying sizes, including conducting compliance management and fair lending risk assessments

Ms. Tucker has been recognized in Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in the area of Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Enforcement & Investigations), where she was described as “whip-smart, high-profile and experienced,” “a tenacious litigator and does a good job of building relationships that help us navigate the labyrinth of regulatory agencies,” “as well as a top-notch lawyer,” who is "very knowledgeable in the area," and “very well connected in the regulatory world.” She has been described as a  "go-to person for matters relating to the CFPB" in particular. Legal 500 recognized her in Financial Services Regulation and Fintech, and noted: “She provides special insights that she has gained through her role as a thought leader and nationally trusted adviser.” She has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in the areas of Banking and Finance Law, and in Super Lawyers in the areas of Banking, Consumer Law, and Civil Litigation Defense. Ms. Tucker has been named a Mortgage Star by Mortgage Women Magazine and also has been recognized by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association as one of a handful of top diverse rainmakers in the nation and by Savoy magazine as one of the country’s Most Influential Black Lawyers.

Ms. Tucker has been featured in Washingtonian magazine’s "Top Lawyers" issue in an article focusing on the path to partnership, a "Meet the Women Rainmakers" segment of Law Practice Today, and in Law360's "Rainmaker" series. She also was selected for Legal Bisnow’s 2015 edition of "40 Top Lawyers Under 40." Ms. Tucker has published articles on a wide variety of legal issues impacting financial institutions, and is a frequent speaker on the industry, particularly on matters relating to government regulation, investigations, and enforcement activity.

Ms. Tucker is firmly committed to providing pro bono legal services to members of the community who cannot afford to pay for counsel. She has been recognized for her outstanding work in a pro bono capacity, including her work on a highly-publicized habeas corpus case, which led to the overturning of a wrongful criminal conviction in Conley v. United States (1st Cir.).

Ms. Tucker is active in the American Bar Association, where she is Immediate Past Chair of the Banking Law Committee, which has more than 2,000 members, and has held leadership positions on the ABA’s Consumer Financial Services Committee. She has previously served on the Board of Regents of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers.

Ms. Tucker serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Legal Aid Society of D.C., and the Board of Trustees for the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Ron Brown Scholars Program and the Board of Directors of the Kolar Charitable Foundation.

Prior to joining Buckley as a founding partner in 2009, Ms. Tucker practiced with the litigation group at Skadden Arps, where she specialized in Financial Services. Before entering private practice, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Marvin J. Garbis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Ms. Tucker holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from the University of Virginia (Phi Beta Kappa).