Marshall T. Bell
Partner
Biography
Marshall Bell represents financial institutions throughout the U.S. on consumer finance and bank regulatory issues. Marshall advises both bank and nonbank financial services companies on a range of matters such as the regulation of auto finance, credit cards, fair lending, Regulation Z, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), state retail installment sale and usury laws and debt collection.
In The News
The Legal 500 2019 recognizes 17 Buckley attorneys in five practice areas
The Legal 500 once again ranked Buckley as a top law firm and recognized it in five categories:
- Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense: Corporate – Tier 4
- Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense: Individuals – Tier 2 ...
Publications
"U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit finds Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding unconstitutional. Now what?" by John R. Coleman, Marshall T. Bell, and Jeffrey P. Naimon (JFAA)
A panel of three Fifth Circuit judges has unanimously held that the CFPB funding structure created by Congress violated the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution, which provides that “no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” The panel ruled...
Articles"Accurate FCRA reporting during Covid-19" by Marshall T. Bell and Jessica L. Pollet (Bloomberg Law)
As financial institutions respond to a flurry of regulatory recommendations and mandates in response to the Covid-19 crisis, those relating to consumer reporting may be among the most difficult to decipher and operationalize. Federal and state authorities have made it clear that they expect...
Articles"Email notice lessons from 7th Circ. debt collection ruling" (Lavallee v. Med-1 Solutions LLC) by Marshall T. Bell (Law360)
Consumers increasingly expect to have access to information and the ability to conduct business at the time and place of their choosing, whether shopping for goods and services or managing their finances. Often, that means they expect service providers to communicate with them by email, text or...
Articles"CFPB Issues Rule Regarding Payday, Title, Deposit Advance, and Certain Other Installment Loans" By Marshall T. Bell (Thomson Reuters)
On October 5, 2017, the CFPB published its final rule (the “Rule”) addressing payday loans, vehicle title loans, and certain other extensions of credit (collectively, “covered loans”). Among the Rule’s key provisions, it requires lenders to determine a borrower’s ability to repay for “covered short...
ArticlesMarshall T. Bell and Megan E. Whitehill Authored a Law360 Article, "Ability-To-Repay Enforcement Comes To Auto Finance"
In recent years, regulators and enforcement agencies have eagerly exercised their authority to prosecute what they perceive as unfair or deceptive acts and practices (UDAPs). Unfortunately for the auto finance industry, these regulators and agencies show no sign of tapping the brakes on such...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: CFPB Releases Outline of Proposed Rule for Third Party Debt Collectors
On July 28, the CFPB announced that it is considering proposing a rule to “overhaul the debt collection market by capping collector contact attempts and by helping to ensure that companies collect the correct debt.” The CFPB released several related documents, including a report on third-party debt...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: CFPB's Proposed Rule Regarding Payday, Title, and Certain Other Installment Loans
On June 2, 2016, the CFPB published its proposed rule (the “ Proposed Rule ”) addressing payday loans, vehicle title loans, and certain other installment loans (collectively “covered loans”). This alert summarizes the Proposed Rule and compares the Proposed Rule to the CFPB’s March 26, 2015 outline...
Articles"Key Points in the CFPB’s Outline of Proposed Rule for Third Party Debt Collectors" By Marshall T. Bell and Walter E. Zalenski (Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report)
On July 28, 2016 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) announced that it is considering proposing a rule to “overhaul the debt collection market by capping collector contact attempts and by helping to ensure that companies collect the correct debt.” The CFPB released several related...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: CFPB Finalizes Rule to Oversee Nonbank Auto Lenders
On June 10, the CFPB issued its final rule to oversee “larger participant” nonbank auto finance companies. Although the CFPB received significant feedback during the comment period, the final rule is nearly identical to that proposed in September 2014. Under the final rule, the CFPB will have...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: CFPB Releases Outline of Proposed Rule for Payday, Vehicle Title, and Similar Loans
On March 26, the CFPB announced that it is considering proposing a rule to “end payday debt traps” and released several related documents, including a fact sheet and an outline of the proposal that will be presented to a panel of small businesses pursuant to the Small Business Regulatory...
Articles
Awards and Recognitions
Awards & Recognitions
- Legal 500 2019: Recognized in Financial Services: Regulation
- Legal 500 2018: Recognized in Financial Services: Regulation
Practice Areas
- Alternative Finance
- Auto Finance
- Bank Counseling & Compliance
- Consumer Finance
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Credit, Debit & Prepaid Cards
- Debt Collection & Buying
- Enforcement Actions & Investigations
- Examinations
- Fair Lending and Fair Servicing
- Federal Trade Commission
- Fintech
- Privacy, Cyber Risk & Data Security
- Private Banking
- Private Equity & Venture Capital
- State Attorneys General
- Vendor Management
Education
- J.D., University of Michigan, 2003 (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif)
- B.S.C., University of Alabama, 2000 (summa cum laude)
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- New York