Examinations, CIDs & Subpoenas

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Bradley routinely represents financial institutions in a wide range of government enforcement actions and investigations, including:

  • Federal and state investigations
  • Banking and regulatory examinations
  • Civil investigative demands (CIDs) and subpoenas
  • Audits and investigations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
  • Qui tam actions filed under the provisions of the False Claims Act

We have successfully resolved the majority of these investigations before lawsuits were filed and resolved a high percentage through direct meetings with the government.

Among our high-profile clients is SunTrust Mortgage Corporation in its Federal Reserve Board-mandated Independent Foreclosure Review, for which we served as independent counsel. We also have served as government-approved independent counsel as part of the resolution of several other enforcement matters.

In cases where it is not possible to resolve government investigations before a lawsuit, our attorneys are prepared to litigate aggressively against the government. In 2015, Bradley obtained summary judgment for a client after a two-month False Claims Act trial that Law360 described as “dealing a blow to the U.S. Department of Justice and capping one of the most extraordinary court battles in FCA history.”

When clients face internal compliance concerns or government inquiries into company conduct, Bradley conducts confidential internal investigations to identify noncompliance and determine its root cause. We act efficiently and cost-effectively to assess our clients’ physical and electronic documentation, identify relevant information, and respond appropriately to government requests.

Our role in these investigations is to act on behalf of our clients in light of the potential violations of consumer laws and associated consequences. Our activities extend to:

  • Conducting detailed investigations into any allegations, including interviewing witnesses and preparing appropriate documentation
  • Developing criteria to audit existing documentation and correspondence (including electronic) and implementing those audits
  • Presenting findings of fact in reports and recommending corrective action, which may involve liaising with government agencies on procedures and remediation, as well as advising on policy and procedures

In the last several years alone, we have handled cases involving regulators in multistate banking, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), federal banking, and – most recently – CFPB examinations and investigations.

We also assist clients in responding to both informal and formal inquiries by:

  • State attorneys general (both individual state subpoenas and multistate CIDs)
  • The Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • HUD’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
  • U.S. Attorneys’ offices

We resolve the majority of these investigations before the filing of any lawsuit and a high percentage of these matters are resolved through direct meetings with the government.

Since the collapse of numerous high-volume foreclosure legal service providers, we have played an active role in helping our clients respond to regulators, who have become increasingly focused on servicers’ oversight of third-party vendors. This comes into play especially with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Federal Reserve System, including the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB), which now require servicers to certify that default legal service providers are in compliance with applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations, judicial requirements, and other work standards.

Bradley also handles matters with regards to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).