Sabrina M. Rose-Smith

Sabrina Rose-Smith is a partner in Goodwin’s Financial Services Litigation and Consumer Financial Services Litigation practices. Her nationwide practice includes both defending financial institutions against consumer class actions and government enforcement actions, and providing regulatory compliance and litigation risk counseling to banks, credit card issuers, mortgage lenders and specialty and small-dollar FinTech companies. She is also a member of Goodwin’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) & Impact practice, and focuses on fair and responsible lending/banking, financial inclusion, and Community Reinvestment Act risks and obligations. Sabrina has previously served on Goodwin’s Executive Committee, and as the Chair of CRED@Goodwin. She is currently the Hiring Partner for the firm’s DC office and serves on the firm's Partnership committee.

Recognized by Chambers USA as a “powerful legal advocate” who “always provides best-in-class advice and service,” Sabrina defends financial services clients in high stakes enforcement matters and class action cases involving the Truth In Lending Act (TILA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), state and federal unfair and deceptive trade practices (UDAP) statutes and other alleged violations of law arising from her clients’ lending, servicing and/or collections activity.

Her areas of experience include:

• Defense of enforcement actions involving the CFPB, HUD, DOJ, and state attorneys general
• Class action defense, including successful methods for defeating class certification in both consumer finance and business litigation matters involving banks and other financial services businesses
• Assisting FinTech companies and financial institutions in assessing compliance and risk concerns in lending operations, and in the creation and licensing of new specialty finance products, such as debit and stored value cards, installment loans and money transmission

She has recently represented:

• A nationwide mortgage servicer in multiple government enforcement actions based on alleged RESPA mortgage servicing rules violations, and various state unfair and deceptive trade practices allegations
• A nationwide mortgage servicer in a class action alleging violations of RESPA’s affiliated business rules
• A national bank in a prepaid card enforcement action
• A FinTech lender in a CFPB enforcement action alleging violations of the CFPA
• A nationwide mortgage lender in a government enforcement action based on alleged failure to comply with Federal Housing Administration guidelines for FHA – insured loans
• A national bank in a lawsuit alleging systemic violations of the Fair Housing Act
• A mortgage lender in a class-wide federal jury trial involving lender’s alleged violations of RESPA’s affiliated business rules
• A regional bank regarding its compliance with HUD regulations for FHA lenders and loan servicers
• A nationwide lender in a multi-district litigation (MDL) based on alleged unfair and deceptive sales and marketing of loan products

Sabrina serves on the Board of Directors of Black Women in Asset Management and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Hollins University. Sabrina was also appointed as the Mason District Commissioner for the Fairfax County Commission for Women. She is fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) and mentor to women and minorities within the firm and the broader legal profession

Sabrina has been recognized by Forbes as one of the nation’s Top 200 Lawyers for 2024. She is also top-ranked by Chambers USA for her expertise in consumer finance enforcement and investigations. Sabrina’s “responsiveness and knowledge of the law are top tier. Her presentation of material, whether to clients, opposing parties, or in a general form, is spectacular.” Sabrina has been selected for inclusion in The Legal 500 US 2022.

Sabrina is the lead editor of Consumer Finance Insights, a Goodwin blog that monitors, chronicles and analyzes news and legal issues affecting clients and others in the consumer finance industry. She is also co-author of Goodwin’s annual Consumer Finance Year in Review.

Sabrina’s recent publications include:

• Co-Author, “CFPB Goes on Offense, Faces New Challenges After High Court Win,” Bloomberg, May 22, 2024

Sabrina's recent speaking engagements include:

• Speaker, “Enforcement Trends,” MBA 2023 Chairman’s Conference, June 6, 2023
• Speaker, “CFPB at a Crossroads,” MBA Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference, May 8, 2023
• Speaker, “Fee-ling the Impact: Increased Regulatory Scrutiny of ‘Junk’ Fees and Other Top Challenges for Consumer Credit Card Pricing Strategies,” Webinar, March 15, 2023
• Speaker, “Key Updates Track: Major Litigation Update,” MBA Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference, May 23, 2022
• Speaker, “IDEA: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Allyship in the Law,” Consero Forum, May 17, 2022
• Speaker, “Litigation Forum Track: Servicing,” MBA Regulatory Compliance Conference, September 12, 2021
• Speaker, “Financial Services Enforcement in 2021,” Webinar, March 1, 2021
• Speaker, “Consumer Challenges During the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Webinar, August 25, 2020
• Speaker, “Allyship: Growing from Mistakes In a Cancel Culture,” Conversation with Kenji Yoshino, July 20, 2020
• Speaker, “Madden Fix and True Lender Concerns,” Webinar, July 16, 2020
• Speaker, “Litigation Trend Update,” Short-Term Loan Bar Association 2019 Annual Meeting, November 12, 2019, Scottsdale, Arizona
• Speaker, “Understanding the Burdens of State Data-Privacy Laws,” Short-Term Loan Bar Association 2018 Annual Meeting, November 12, 2018, San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Speaker, “Navigating State UDAP Laws,” MBA Regulatory Compliance Conference, Washington DC, September 16, 2018
• Speaker, “False Claims Act – Origination Risk Developments,” MBA Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference, May 1, 2018