Dempsey will continue to work with ACA as a consultant in a substantially similar capacity.
03/30/2022 2:30 P.M.
2.5 minute read
ACA International Vice President of Federal Advocacy Leah Dempsey informed the Board of Directors that she has accepted the role of shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, effective April 11, 2022.
Dempsey has led ACA’s advocacy efforts since May 2018. Before that, she served as senior director of advocacy and counsel for the Credit Union National Association and policy director of the Community Financial Services Association. She previously served as ACA’s legislative counsel.
“While we will miss Leah’s direct presence on our team, her voice will continue to represent our membership on a consistent basis,” said ACA CEO Scott Purcell. “I’m encouraged by the value to ACA members of expanding ACA’s advocacy resources through this relationship with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.”
ACA’s board approved a contract with Brownstein that enables Dempsey to continue to work with ACA in a similar capacity, in addition to access to the firm’s other resources, including an expanded set of relationships with legislators and regulators.
In her time with ACA, Dempsey has helped grow our federal advocacy program. She is a lawyer and advocate, with a unique ability to lead efforts navigating the intersection between policy, consumer financial laws and regulations, and politics. She has led efforts to help the industry navigate federal rulemaking, regulatory, and legislative processes, in an effort to help the ARM industry continue to operate successfully, with fewer regulatory burdens and free of unwarranted litigation.
Dempsey has deep and extensive relationships not only at the federal agencies but with a variety of stakeholders and on Capitol Hill. She was recently recognized by The Hill newspaper as a Top Lobbyist in 2020 and 2021.
With 12 offices across the western U.S., plus Washington, D.C., and Atlantic City, Brownstein is where business, law and politics converge. Founded in 1968, Brownstein provides its clients with an integrated approach that combines sensible business solutions with a Capitol Hill perspective. The firm’s 300 lawyers and policy professionals have built a reputation for providing multidisciplinary legal counsel that drives results and connects business leaders to the information they need to make decisions.
ACA has worked closely with representatives from Brownstein over the years. In 2019, ACA representatives John Bedard Jr., owner of the Bedard Law Group in Atlanta, and Sarah Auchterlonie, an ACA consultant and shareholder with Brownstein, testified at a House Financial Services Committee.
ACA has also worked with ACA member Pat Reilly of Brownstein, who represents the Nevada Collectors Association (NCA) in advocacy litigation and who additionally serves as local counsel for ACA. ACA, NCA and 14 other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit asserting several defects with S.B. 248, the new Nevada medical debt collection law that took effect last year.
The Board Advocacy Committee and the Executive Team are actively evaluating all of ACA’s advocacy efforts to ensure members’ interests continue to be fully supported in our relationships with Congress and regulators, and appropriate support of members’ own advocacy efforts.
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