Eric S. Halperin

Three former enforcement attorneys of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have joined the advocacy group Protect Borrowers as senior fellows to launch a new litigation project focused on the "weaponization of corporate power that is plunging working people into financial crisis." Protect Borrowers announced Wednesday that Eric Halperin, Cara Petersen, and Tara Mikkilineni have joined the organization to work on a new initiative that will "use legal and policy levers to challenge products and practices that exploit workers, consumers, and small business owners." The announcement comes as the CFPB has significantly scaled back its enforcement actions and priorities in recent months under the Trump administration. Under acting Director Russell Vought, a Trump appointee, supervision and enforcement at the CFPB has largely ground to a halt since February. No new contested actions have been brought, and the agency has dismissed or rolled back more than 40 pending or settled cases. Most recently, the bureau lifted a consent order against TransUnion LLC, which had subjected the company to compliance monitoring and reporting provisions, and required TransUnion and its subsidiaries to pay a $5 million fine to the CFPB and $3 million to consumers. According to Protect Borrowers' announcement, Halperin and Peterson previously served as enforcement director and deputy enforcement director, respectively, for the CFPB. Mikkilineni was a senior adviser to CFPB enforcement leadership. The announcement states that between 2021 and 2025, the trio led a team at the agency that secured more than $9.5 billion in penalties and payments to consumers. They plan to use their experience to drive litigation that will "challenge entrenched and emerging corporate abuses," the announcement states. Halperin told Law360 on Wednesday that the indicators of deep economic pain for consumers are "flashing bright red," while corporate profits are "skyrocketing." "That is not a coincidence. With no federal enforcement apparatus to ensure corporations are held accountable to the public, it's only too easy for corporations to fleece consumers to line their pocketbooks," he said. "We are thrilled to be incubating a strategic litigation project at Protect Borrowers that so closely aligns with their mission to fight for families that are drowning in debt and struggling to make ends meet." "The strategic litigation project at Protect Borrowers will take on entrenched and emerging corporate abuses, developing litigation strategies that address the products and practices that cause the most risk and harm to consumers," Halperin added. "And it is going to help build what is needed outside of the federal government to address the gap created by the Trump administration's abandonment of working Americans and small businesses." Protect Borrowers' Executive Director Mike Pierce further stated: "With federal law enforcers asleep at the wheel, corporations have been given a free pass to ignore the law and trample on Americans' rights. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to protecting working people from these abuses." The CFPB did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

Nov 12

2 min

Willkie advised Recognize in connection with the agreement by GTCR and Recognize to acquire TRANZACT, a leading direct-to-consumer insurance services company, from WTW PLC (NASDAQ: WTW), a global advisory, broking and solutions company. The transaction values TRANZACT at $632.4 million. On October 1, WTW announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to sell TRANZACT to GTCR and Recognize for $632.4 million, subject to certain adjustments. The investment will build on TRANZACT’s strong performance and target areas of growth amongst its insurance carrier partners. Recognize is an investment platform exclusively focused on the digital services industry. The Willkie team is led by partners Eric Halperin and Thomas Sharkey and includes associate Matthew Williams.

Oct 1

1 min

Willkie advised Magnetar Capital LLC in connection with the Chapter 11 restructuring and recapitalization of cybersecurity firm Appgate. On May 6, Appgate (OTCMKTS: APGT) announced that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the support of Magnetar, a longstanding investor in Appgate, and other creditors. Under the prepackaged restructuring plan, Magnetar will provide Appgate incremental investment to bolster its balance sheet and position the company for long-term growth. As part of the restructuring process, Appgate will transition to a privately held entity and expects to emerge from Chapter 11 debt free. Magnetar is a leading alternative investment firm with $13.4 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023. The Willkie team was led by partners Jennifer Hardy, Melainie Mansfield and Eric Halperin and included partners Russell Pinilis, Geri Anne McEvoy and Britt Mosman and associates Brenton Clarke, Amanda Fang and Margaret O’Brien.

May 7

1 min

Willkie advised Recognize on its significant majority investment in Blue Mantis, a premier IT services provider with deep expertise in managed services, cybersecurity and cloud solutions. Blue Mantis services mid-market and enterprise clients with a North American focus across multiple vertical markets including business services, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and public sector. Abry Partners, which has backed the company since 2020, will continue as a minority investor in the company. Recognize is an investment platform exclusively focused on the digital services industry. The Willkie team was led by partners Eric Halperin, Amanda M. Burke and Jason Pearl with associate Pablo Benjumea Gutierrez.

Sep 9

1 min

Willkie advised Egen, a technology services company with leading capabilities across Google Cloud infrastructure, product and data engineering, and AI, on its acquisition of Qarik, a multinational Google Cloud Premier Partner. On October 24, Egen, a portfolio company of Recognize, announced that it acquired Qarik, further strengthening its position as a leading pure-play services partner focused on advanced data and AI applications in the Google Cloud ecosystem. Willkie previously advised Recognize on the merger of its portfolio company SpringML with Egen Solutions in 2023, creating Egen. Recognize is an investment platform exclusively focused on investments in the digital services industry. The Willkie team was led by partner Eric Halperin and associate Augustine Donati and included associates Alexandria Ku, Orlando He and Andrea Tam.

Oct 25

1 min