Governor Mikie Sherrill has announced her intention to nominate Christopher L. Peterson, one of the nation’s best-known consumer protection scholars and former senior Consumer Financial Protection Bureau official, to serve as Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. Peterson will begin serving as Acting Director on August 3, pending his formal nomination and confirmation by the New Jersey Senate. 

The appointment is significant not only for New Jersey, but also for the consumer financial services industry nationwide. The Division of Consumer Affairs is responsible for enforcing New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, regulating the securities industry, and overseeing 51 professional licensing boards. Under Peterson’s leadership, we expect the Division to remain one of the country’s most active state consumer protection agencies. 

We have known Chris well for many years through his active involvement in the American Bar Association’s Committee on Consumer Financial Services, a committee in which several members of Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group have long been active participants. Throughout that time, Chris has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on consumer financial services law.

Chris has also been a valued guest on our Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast on two occasions. On March 31, 2022 he joined Alan Kaplinsky to discuss the first several months of Rohit Chopra’s tenure as Director of the CFPB. Earlier, on February 13, 2020 he joined Alan to discuss the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act.

Simply put, we regard Chris as one of the smartest consumer financial services lawyers in the country. He has been a prolific author and speaker on virtually every major issue affecting consumer financial services providers, including consumer credit, mortgage lending, fintech, predatory lending, military lending protections, consumer protection law, and CFPB enforcement. Whether or not one agrees with all of his policy views, there is little question that he has had an enormous influence on the development of consumer financial services law over the past two decades.

Chris is also a longtime Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, an honor reserved for lawyers who have achieved preeminence in the field through distinguished professional accomplishment, scholarship, and service.

Peterson’s appointment also reflects his impressive public service and academic credentials. For many years, he has been on the faculty at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. While remaining on that faculty, he served as a senior advisor at the CFPB during the Bureau’s formative years, helping shape its enforcement strategy and policy initiatives. Later, he played an important role at the Department of Defense in strengthening protections for military families through the Military Lending Act. 

What should the regulated industry expect?

We believe Chris will be a reasonable, thoughtful, but nevertheless strict enforcer of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act. While he has consistently advocated for robust consumer protections throughout his career, he also possesses a sophisticated understanding of how consumer financial markets operate and the compliance challenges faced by legitimate businesses.

One area that bears particularly close watching is the Division’s recently issued guidance concerning so-called “junk fees.” Given Chris’s longstanding interest in transparency in consumer transactions, we expect enforcement in this area to remain a significant priority. Companies doing business in New Jersey should carefully review their fee disclosure practices and ensure that they comply with both the Consumer Fraud Act and the Division’s guidance.

Finally, although it is obviously too early to make predictions about future federal appointments, Chris’s experience as a former CFPB official, nationally recognized scholar, and respected consumer protection expert would undoubtedly make him a leading candidate to serve as Director of the CFPB should a Democrat next occupy the White House.

We congratulate Chris on this well-deserved appointment and wish him every success as he undertakes this important new public service role. We look forward to following the Division’s priorities and enforcement initiatives under his leadership.

We would be remiss if we didn’t note this as being part of the trend we just recognized of former CFPB lawyers joining state enforcement agencies or launching public interest private practices which are partially filling the consumer protection void created by the CFPB.