Darren Welch represents and advises a broad range of companies and individuals in regulatory investigations, enforcement proceedings and examinations, as well as in civil litigation on all types of consumer financial services issues.
Welch’s practice focuses on fair lending; laws governing unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices; artificial intelligence; models used by financial institutions; sales practices risk; credit reporting; and a wide variety of other consumer financial protection issues. His practice also includes transactional diligence; class action and general litigation; statistical model review and governance; compliance examinations and enforcement; and bank receivership director and officer litigation and enforcement.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Investigations Lawyers | 2026 | Financial Investigations, Enforcement, Examinations |
Welch represents clients before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Trade Commission, federal banking regulators and state attorneys general and financial regulators.
Among his notable recent representations are:
- Wells Fargo Bank in connection with an inquiry by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding sales practices, and other banks in sales practices examinations by the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and other regulators
- Capital One in connection with a federal lawsuit regarding branch closures in Texas
- Credit Acceptance Corp. lawsuits by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, New York attorney general and Mississippi attorney general regarding the origination and servicing of automobile finance contracts
Welch has lectured and published on various topics, including consumer financial services litigation and enforcement, consumer compliance risk management, fintech developments and the Dodd-Frank Act.