Brooks R Brown

Brooks R. Brown

Partner
Brooks R. Brown
Boston
+1 617 570 1419

Brooks Brown is a partner in Goodwin’s Complex Business Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Financial Services Litigation groups. He specializes in the defense of leading financial services and technology companies in complex consumer finance and privacy class actions, government investigations and enforcement actions, mass arbitrations, and general civil litigation matters. He also frequently provides compliance advice and litigation risk analysis to financial services, FinTech, technology, healthcare, business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), and other companies.

Brooks is a member of the firm’s Partnership Committee. He previously served as the co-chair of Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services group, is a former member of the firm's Data Security and Pro Bono Committees, and previously served as the pro bono partner for the Washington, D.C. office (2011 to 2017). He maintains an active pro bono practice, including advising the board of directors of multiple non-profit entities. Brooks lives in Hingham, Massachusetts with his wife (Jen) and two golden retrievers (Ellie and Ivy).

Experience

Recognized by clients for being “practically minded” and for providing “clear, business-oriented advice,” Brooks defends financial services and other companies against a wide variety of putative class actions and multi-district litigation (MDL) matters arising under the Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA), Servicemember's Civil Relief Act (SCRA), federal and state consumer privacy laws and regulations, state unfair and deceptive trade practices acts, and other consumer lending statutes and regulations. He also represents financial services and other companies in civil and criminal investigations before various federal and state agencies, including the CFPB, FTC, and state attorneys general and district attorneys, as well as in claims for violations of the False Claims Act. His recent work includes:
  • Successful defense  of numerous putative nationwide and statewide class actions alleging violations of the TCPA
  • Successful defense of leading financial services companies in putative national class action alleging violations of RICO and the FHA in the servicing and foreclosure of mortgage loans
  • Successful defense of national mortgage lender in MDL proceedings alleging violations of federal and state laws in the origination and servicing of mortgage loans
  • Successful defense of national mortgage lender in MDL proceedings alleging violations of federal and state law in the modification of mortgage loans
  • Successful defense of financial services company in civil investigation and litigation by numerous district attorneys
  • Successful defense of national debt collector and leading technology companies in putative class actions alleging violations of the TCPA and FDCPA
  • Successful defense of two national mortgage lenders in putative class actions alleging violations of federal and state fair lending laws
  • Successful defense of national mortgage lenders in action alleging violations of the False Claims Act
  • Representation of leading financial services company before the Supreme Court, Fourth Circuit and district court in a consumer class action concerning appraisal practices
  • Representation of leading financial services company in complex action alleging violations of the FHA arising from the maintenance and marketing of real-estate owned (REO) properties
  • Representation of numerous companies in federal and state investigations before the CFPB, FTC, and state attorneys general and district attorneys

Professional Activities

Brooks is a member of the American Bar Association and other state and local organizations.

Professional Experience

Brooks is a former special assistant district attorney for Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He has also served as a faculty member for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education trial practice law seminar.

Credentials

Education

JD1996

Boston University School of Law

(cum laude, Managing Editor of the Boston University School of Law Probate Law Journal)

BA1991

Connecticut College

Admissions

Bars

  • California
  • District of Columbia
  • Massachusetts

Courts

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico

Recognition & Awards

Brooks is top-ranked by Chambers USA for his national work in Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Litigation). He is also regularly recognized by The Legal 500 for his work in Financial Services: Litigation.

Publications

Brooks has appeared as a speaker at a number of industry conferences and trade association meetings. He is also the co-author of a section of Trial Basics: An Introductory Series for New Trial Lawyers titled "The Conclusion of Trial: Closing Arguments, Jury Instructions, Special Interrogatories, Post Trial Motions and Requests for Findings and Rulings under Rule 52," published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education.

Brooks’s recent speaking engagements include:

  • Presenter, “The Supreme Court’s Landmark Business-Friendly TCPA “Autodialer” Definition,” Goodwin Webinar, April 2021
  • Speaker, “The Telephone Consumer Protection (TCPA) Litigation Bubble: Evolving Technology, Record-Breaking Settlements and Uncertain Legal Precedent,” ACI's 30th National Forum on Consumer Finance Class Actions and Government Enforcement, July 2018
  • Speaker, “Growing TCPA Litigation Trends in the Cannabis Industry,” Goodwin Webinar, August 2020

Brooks’s recent publications include: