For companies navigating rapidly evolving government and regulatory enforcement imperatives in the e-commerce and digital media sectors, Shawn Collins' practice strikes the right balance between business objectives and enforcement risk. With a practice centered on defending clients against alleged violations of consumer protection laws, Shawn provides proactive compliance counseling to retailers, telecommunication providers and other consumer-facing companies so they can stay ahead of the curve. And when enforcement actions or private litigant lawsuits arise, Shawn has deep experience defending against class action lawsuits and representing companies before the FTC, CFPB, DOJ, and in single or multistate regulatory enforcement actions by state Attorneys General.

Consumer Regulatory Expertise Includes:

• FTC Act and all 50 states’ respective UDAP laws
• Auto-Renew Laws (These govern monthly subscription and membership programs that automatically charge consumer’s credit cards monthly)
• Negative Option Laws (i.e. First month free and begin charging the customer on a monthly basis until they cancel).
• Social Media Advertising
  • FTC and state guidance regarding use of celebrity influencers
  • FTC and state guidance regarding use of testimonials and endorsements
• Native Advertisements (the advertisements that are integrated into websites consumers frequently visit)
• Telemarketing Laws
  • Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
  • Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)
• Made in the U.S.A. claims
• Use of the word “Free” in advertising
• Sweepstakes laws

Representative Matters:

• Represented DIRECTV in the successful settlement of an enforcement action brought by the Wisconsin Attorney General.
• Represented a AT&T in an investigation involving 46 state Attorneys General for alleged deceptive practices utilized during a national advertising campaign for its mobile telephone services. 
• Represented DIRECTV in an inquiry by the Minnesota Attorney General into alleged deceptive trade practices utilized during one of the company’s advertising campaigns.
• Represented a DIRECTV in an inquiry by the Vermont Attorney General into alleged deceptive trade practices utilized during one of the company’s advertising campaigns. 
• Represented DIRECTV in an inquiry by the Indiana Attorney General into alleged violations of the state’s Do-Not-Call (“DNC”) law.
• Represented Bridgepoint Education Co. while it was under investigation by the California Attorney General for alleged deceptive trade practices and defended Bridgepoint in the lawsuit that was subsequently filed against them by the CA AG for alleged deceptive trade practices.  
• Represented a company called Fruit of the Earth as part of a broader investigation by the California Attorney General of CVS, Walgreens, and Target regarding alleged deceptive labelling on their aloe vera products.
• Represented Just Fabulous Inc. and parent company Tech Style Inc. while it was under investigation by 26 state Attorneys General for alleged deceptive practices in connection with its retail membership program.
• Represented Bosch in an investigation by multiple state Attorneys General into alleged deceptive trade practices utilized in the company’s safety and product integrity processes.  
• Was part of the trial team that successfully defended DIRECTV in a lawsuit brought by the FTC, alleging deceptive advertising conduct, violation of the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act (ROSCA), and seeking injunctive and monetary relief of US$4 billion. The district court granted in part the client’s motion for judgment on partial findings after the FTC rested its case-in-chief, and the FTC thereafter dismissed the case with prejudice. The case was recognized as a significant victory by The Wall Street Journal, Law360 and the Daily Journal as a “Top Verdict” of 2018.
• Secured a victory for Charter Communications in a putative class action involving the company’s RSN and local broadcast fees by prevailing on a motion to compel arbitration.
• Conducted a complete compliance review and audit of billing practices for AT&T as they transitioned all of DIRECTV’s customers onto their billing platform, to make sure that the client was not at risk of a single or multistate regulatory enforcement action by state Attorneys General.
• Conducted a complete compliance review of state anti-trust laws for a AT&T in advance of their eventual acquisition of Time Warner, to ensure there was no state anti-trust exposure associated with the deal.
• Conducted multiple compliance reviews of promotional campaigns for AT&T to ensure its promotion of new products and services did not expose the company to potential violation of state and/or federal unfair business practices laws, false advertising laws, or common law contractual principles.
• Conducted multiple compliance reviews for DIRECTV to identify potential courses of action when faced with the possibility of having to remove channels from television packages as a result of stalled negotiations with Viacom, CBS, Fox, and other content providers.
• Conducted multiple compliance reviews for Amazon to ensure that its business practices were compliant with the multi-layered framework of state and federal consumer protection regulations that impact its e-commerce operations.
• Conducted a compliance review for Facebook that identified potential state and federal consumer protection regulations that might impact the implementation of a new telemarketing campaign the company planned on using to promote a new application on the company’s platform.  
• Conducted a compliance review for KPMG that involved assessing risks associated with the revamping of its international agreement. In particular, the compliance review was focused on compliance with state accountancy laws and ensuring that the new agreement would not jeopardize KPMG’s license to practice in any of the 50 states and U.S.