Jessica Lesser is a proven civil trial attorney with expertise in the regulatory framework of consumer finance, lending, and technology. A former managing attorney in the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, she has two decades of litigation and regulatory compliance experience and is board certified in consumer and commercial law. Her leadership roles in private practice, state government, and within corporations demonstrate her adaptability and ability to provide solutions in highly regulated environments. Her extensive litigation experience provides for efficient and responsive results that are customized to a client’s needs.
As a litigator, Jessica has extensive hearing and trial experience with strong success in pre-trial disposition through negotiated settlements, summary judgment, and mediation. She has managed a litigation portfolio of nationwide consumer cases, developing case strategy, managing deadlines, drafting litigation documents, and working with business units in responding to discovery and preparing witnesses for depositions.
Her experience working in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas has given her a comprehensive knowledge of federal and state consumer protection laws with the regulations affecting advertising, credit reporting, auto finance, credit cards, mortgage servicing, loan originations, debt collection, privacy, and data security. As managing attorney of the largest regional office in the Consumer Protection Division, she conducted consumer protection investigations and civil enforcement actions related to consumer and commercial debt collection, student loans, auto sales and finance, advertising/marketing, and credit card processing. In addition, she advised executive and division management on consumer finance and lending and partnered with federal and state regulators to identify consumer finance concerns.
Jessica has also worked as in-house counsel in the financial services sector, including for a title insurance group, a payments services company, a credit reporting agency, and a leading independent automobile finance company. Among her roles in the corporate sector, she served as lead counsel for her company’s lender services channel for compliance, commercial transactions, regulatory investigations and litigation; as a Chief Privacy Officer, managing the use, collection, and security of consumer information and data; and as a company representative in regulatory investigations regarding credit reporting, privacy and mortgage servicing.
Jessica has spoken and published on a variety of legal topics that relate to the financial services industry, including:
» Debt Defense – A View From The Other Side, ACA International Fall Forum, November 2021;
» Regulatory Agency Enforcement Actions and Inquiries: As If Lawsuits Weren’t Enough!, ACA International Convention & Expo, July 2021;
» When Perception Becomes Reality – The Importance of Decision Making Within an Effective Compliance Program, Keynote Address, Compliance Unleashed, May 2021;
» Agency Enforcement Actions and Attorney General Inquiries: As if Lawsuits Weren’t Enough!, RMAI Webinar, February 2021;
» E-Discovery and Data Mining: What Every Attorney Should Know, Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law Conference, 2018 (author, “Trending Now: Proportionality is the New Polestar”);
» Managing Client Relationships, Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law Conference, 2017;
» Panelist, FTC Debt Collection Roundtable, 2015;
» Course Director, Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law Conference, 2015;
» What’s Up with FCRA in 2014, Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law Conference, 2014 (author, “The Deconstruction of the Fair Credit Reporting Act: Back to Basics in 2014”);
»The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau New Rules for Mortgage Servicing: What Every Attorney Should Know, webinar, State Bar of Texas, and presenter, State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, 2014;
» Collection Litigation: Strategies, Traps, and Compliance, State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, 2014;
» Debt Litigation Strategies, State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, 2013 and 2012;
» Recent Developments in Debt Defense, Advanced Consumer Law Conference, 2013 and 2011;
» Debt Collection from the Collector’s Viewpoint, Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law Conference, 2010;
» “A Shorthand Guide to the Credit CARD Act,” co-author, American Bar Association, 2010;
» Compliance Challenges with Consumer Protection Regulation and Privacy, Public Risk Management Association Annual Conference, 2005;
» The Brave New World under FACTA for Specialty Credit Reporting Agencies, Fair and Accurate Transaction Act Industry Roundtable, 2004.
Jessica is the former chair of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization Advisory and Exam Commission for the consumer and commercial law specialization exam and past chair of the Consumer and Commercial Law Section, State Bar of Texas. She is a member of the American Bankers Association, ACA International, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Receivables Management Association International (RMAI).
Jessica graduated cum laude from Texas Tech University School of Law, where she was the President’s scholar. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University. She is admitted to practice in Texas and in the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas.