CAUTIONARY TALE: That Time Wells Fargo Tried Using #BigLaw for TCPA Defense Instead of the Czar and It Didn’t Go Well

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I was preparing slides for my big presentation at the Association of National Advertisers Masters of Advertising Law event last week– great show BTW, loved seeing everyone– and I put together a slide on the largest TCPA settlements of all time.

Now this isn’t actually a complete list– I took off Rash Curtis and U.S. Coachways because I wanted to focus on names people new– but one thing jumped out at me.

Every single major bank is on this list– Chase, Citi, Bank of America, HSBC, and Capital one.

All except one.

Wells Fargo.

Now there’s no mystery in that for me– I know exactly why they aren’t the list.

Do you?

Its simple.

They hired the best counsel.

Me.

It is public record that the Czar– Eric J. Troutman–served as national TCPA counsel for Wells Fargo for nearly a decade. Lots of battles won during those days. Almost no losses. And the results were stunning.

Every other bank ended up getting crushed by broad-ranging discovery orders and negative rulings that lead to massive settlements.

Wells Fargo never went down that path– at least not to the same degree. Not while I was their lawyer.

And then something happened.

When I went back to write this story I found out something I didn’t know– or had forgotten.

Wells Fargo actually should be on this list.

Wells Fargo settled the Case of Cross v. Wells Fargo for ~$30MM– enough to make the list of the largest TCPA class action settlements of all time.

So what happened?

I wasn’t their counsel for that one.

A big law firm flexed its muscles and Wells Fargo tossed them a bone. Maybe Wells wanted to see if the Czar was really that good. Maybe they wanted to A/B test. Not sure.

What is clear is the result.

I handled dozens of TCPA class actions for Wells Fargo. NO disasters. Everything on the rails.

#BigLaw gets involve with one — and Wells Fargo makes the list for the largest settlements of all time.

$30MM down the drain for no reason.

Sometimes results speak for themselves.

Yes, choosing the right counsel DOES make a difference. Even in TCPAWorld.

And if YOU want to see a difference in YOUR TCPA knowledge (and your network) be sure to attend Law Conference of Champions V in July, 2027. 2 full days of TCPA, data privacy, and AI reg CLE from the best minds in advertising and marketing law. Be there or miss out! Prices rise daily so hurry…

Chat soon!

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Published by Eric "Czar" Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

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