Tony Alexis

Anthony Alexis

Partner
Anthony Alexis
Washington, DC
+1 202 346 4032

Anthony Alexis is a partner in Goodwin’s Complex Business Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Financial Industry Litigation practices focusing on Consumer Financial Services Litigation and serves as the head of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Enforcement practice.

Anthony’s practice focuses on representing financial services institutions and litigation matters, with a focus on class action litigation and government and regulatory investigations. Prior to joining Goodwin in 2017, Anthony served as Assistant Director and Head of the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he developed and managed the CFPB’s enforcement strategy, consumer financial investigations and litigation. He coordinated strategy, investigations and litigation in areas such as fair lending, payday/short-term loans, mortgage origination, mortgage servicing, credit cards, credit reporting, debt collection, student and automobile lending, and payments systems with leaders of the enforcement and regulation departments at the Department of Justice (DOJ), US Attorneys’ Offices, state attorneys general, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC), the California Department of Business Oversight and the New York State Department of Financial Services (NY-DFS).

Anthony also served as a member of the CFPB’s Executive Committee and its Civil Penalty Fund Governance Board. He joined the CFPB as the Deputy Enforcement Director for Field Litigation, and was responsible for enforcement work conducted by the CFPB’s regional offices.

Prior to joining the CFPB, Anthony was a partner at the Washington, DC office of an International law firm, where his practice focused on representing individuals and business organizations in government investigations and complex litigation. Previously, Anthony served for nearly two decades at the Department of Justice, including more than ten years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted cases as the senior attorney in the Fraud & Public Corruption Section and as the Deputy Chief of the Federal Major Crimes Section. During that time, he was responsible for supervising and conducting the investigation and prosecution of federal criminal offenses including economic crimes fraud, extra-territorial crimes, money laundering, immigration fraud and environmental crimes. He investigated and prosecuted numerous high-profile white-collar crimes including bribery, public corruption, embezzlement, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations and healthcare fraud. Prior to his service in the US Attorney’s Office, he was a trial attorney at the US Department of Justice in the Fraud Section of the Civil Division where he led dozens of False Claims Act investigations and litigations throughout the United States. Throughout his career, Anthony has trained new attorneys, agents, investigators, and examiners.

Experience

Anthony brings his litigation and enforcement experiences to provide a wide array of clients including financial institutions, banks, servicers and investors, with valuable insights shaped by his decades of enforcement expertise and his experience as a trial lawyer and litigator. His experience includes conducting internal investigations, counseling clients regarding the design of new products including the marketing, sales, and servicing of the products. Anthony has advised clients in all phases of investigations and litigation in these matters including:

  • Assisting banks and non-banks with CFPB and other regulatory bodies in examinations of their enterprises 
  • Providing mock examinations and other guidance to business enterprises subject to regulatory examination 
  • Defending financial services companies in multistate investigations by regulatory bodies and state attorneys general offices
  • Defending companies subject to federal regulatory investigations (including the CFPB)
  • Defending companies in private law suits based on allegations of violations of consumer financial services laws including fair lending

Credentials

Education

JD1984

Howard University School of Law

BA1981

George Washington University

Clerkships

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Admissions

Bars

  • District of Columbia

Recognition & Awards

Anthony is recognized by The Best Lawyers in America Best Lawyers 2023 for Financial Services Regulation Law and Chambers USA 2022 and 2023 for his work in Banking & Finance. Anthony has been consistently recognized for his public service, including with the prestigious United States Department of Justice Director’s Award for superior performance as an assistant US Attorney, and multiple United States Attorney’s Office Special Achievement awards for outstanding performance. Commenting on Anthony’s service, CFPB’s former director Richard Cordray noted: “As our chief of Enforcement, Tony has been my strong right arm.”

Publications

Based on his in-depth experience and senior government service, Anthony is frequently sought after for public speaking and private consultation with companies including the American Bar Association, the American Bankers Association, the American Conference Institute, the Clearing House, the Consumer Bankers Association, and the Practising Law Institute.

Anthony’s recent speaking engagements include:

  • “Consumer Finance Regulatory Enforcement – Now, Next and Beyond,” EY Consumer Regulatory Enforcement Webcast Series, January 2023
  • “Litigation Forum: FDCPA: Lessons from Litigation and CFPB Enforcement” MBA Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference, May 2022
  • “Privacy Panel – Goodwin” Conference of Counsel, October 2019
  • “Traditional Consumer Regulatory Issues,” Conference of Counsel, September 2018
  • “Trends in RESPA Section 8 Compliance,” Mortgage Bankers Association Regulatory Compliance Conference, September 2018
  • “Moving Past Dodd-Frank,” Bretton Woods Summit 2018, July 2018
  • “Hear from the Regulators: US and International,” Comply 2018: The RegTech and Compliance Conference, May 2018
  • “Riding the Roller-Coaster: How the New CFPB will Treat Enforcement,” Consumer Bankers Association LIVE 2018, March 2018