Wells_John

John C. Wells

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Wells_John

John C. Wells

Partner

Washington DC + 1 202 663 6352

John Wells leverages his experience as the former Deputy Enforcement Director at the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to guide clients through complex regulations, investigations and enforcement actions related to consumer financial services. Since joining the CFPB roughly a year after its creation, Mr. Wells held multiple positions in the Bureau’s Office of Enforcement and led or supervised over 75 public enforcement actions. With a proven track record in government and private practice and strong relationships with federal and state regulatory bodies, Mr. Wells is uniquely positioned to counsel banks and financial services companies through their most challenging issues and represent them before regulators. 

While at the CFPB, Mr. Wells directed a substantial portion of the Bureau’s major enforcement actions, which involved large banks, credit reporting agencies, payment processors, debt collectors, debt-relief services providers, title companies, mortgage lenders, payday lenders and other financial services providers. In addition to serving as the Deputy Enforcement Director, Mr. Wells was also an Assistant Litigation Deputy and an enforcement attorney in the Bureau’s Office of Enforcement. In 2016 and 2019, he received the Director’s Mission Achievement Award for outstanding team contributions to the Bureau’s mission.

Prior to joining the CFPB, Mr. Wells worked for nine years in another international law firm’s white-collar practice, where he gained broad experience in all phases of litigation and internal investigations. Following law school, Mr. Wells clerked for the Honorable Karen J. Williams of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

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Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 2001

      cum laude 

      Managing Editor, Georgetown Law Journal

      Milton J. Kaufman Prize

    • AB, Harvard University, 1998

      cum laude 

  • Admissions

    • District of Columbia

    • Massachusetts

  • Clerkships

    • The Hon. Karen J. Williams, Chief Judge, US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2001 - 2003

Credentials