Aaron P. Kouhoupt
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I’ve been fortunate to hold many compliance positions within banks, so my experience gives me a unique perspective into my clients’ worlds. Whether it's applying old laws to innovative financial products at a FinTech startup, or building and operating a bank’s compliance program from the ground up, I understand the legal issues financial institutions face and I appreciate the practical difficulty of implementing their goals. I’ve always prided myself on my ability to help my business line, now my clients, successfully marry legal requirements with business objectives. With my FinTech clients specifically, I help clients think outside the box to view the regulations not as a stop sign, but as guideposts to reach their desired destination.

Aaron Kouhoupt offers a unique perspective shaped by more than 15 years’ experience as both in-house and outside counsel to banks and financial institutions of various sizes and formats. Aaron applies his extensive grasp of financial services regulation for clients ranging from marketplace lenders and other FinTech companies to community, regional, and national banks, automotive and personal property finance companies to small loan companies, mortgage lenders and servicers, and companies engaged in merchant cash advance and factoring.

Having most recently served as Associate General Counsel at a company that specializes in peer-to-peer lending and alternative investing, Aaron is used to working with laws that might not yet be in sync with innovative financial products. He counsels clients on regulatory compliance matters including consumer loan documentation, e-commerce, underwriting, and advertising. Aaron also routinely advises clients on “traditional banking” issues including those arising under the BSA, FDCPA, and FCRA, as well as matters involving privacy, bankruptcy, and enterprise-wide risk management.

Aaron has published extensively and presented continuing legal education on the topics of TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure, State Banking Regulation and Legalized Marijuana, the Military Lending Act, and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. He has experience as an Adjunct Professor teaching Business Law, Constitutional Law, and American Government at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

Industries

Services

Insights

  • Supreme Court decision provides clarity on TCPA

    Attorneys Joe Apatov (Ft. Lauderdale) and Aaron Kouhoupt (Cleveland) were quoted in an April 7 article in Auto Finance News detailing the specifics of the Supreme Court's decision in the Facebook v. Duguid case.

  • SCOTUS clarifies “autodialer” definition in Facebook TCPA decision

    On April 1, 2021, the Supreme Court held in a 9-0 decision that an “automatic telephone dialing system” is a device that has the capacity either to store a telephone number using a random or sequential generator, or to produce a telephone number using a random or sequential number generator. As a quick refresher: the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts certain calls made by an “auto dialer,” which the TCPA defines as equipment which has the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator and to dial such numbers.”

  • Two TCPA updates that auto finance companies need to know

    The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and the barrage of litigation that stems from its various interpretations, is always in the news. In fact, there is so much change that it’s often hard for a casual follower to filter out the news from noise. For example, court cases discussing the constitutionality of the TCPA as a resultMore

  • Podcast: Is the TCPA Unconstitutional?

    The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is always the subject of litigation. The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the government debt exception, which was added to the statute in 2015, was unconstitutional. Can the Court's recent ruling be interpreted to mean the entirety of the TCPA has been unconstitutional since 2015?

  • UDAAP and Fair Lending: When’s the last time you reviewed your Policies?

    As expected, the change in presidential administrations is leading to a change in administrative policies. All consumer financial service providers who are subject to the jurisdiction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) should carefully review their compliance management policies and procedures with a particular focus on Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) and Fair Lending.

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presentations

"Is the TCPA Robocall Restriction Enforceable?" McGlinchey Webinar, December 3, 2020

"Credit Reporting in the Pandemic Era," Client Presentation, November 11, 2020

"The Evolving TCPA Landscape and Circuit Court Splits," 2020 Virtual Consumer Finance Legal Conference, October 9, 2020

"Credit Reporting and CARES Act," 2020 Virtual Consumer Finance Legal Conference, October 8, 2020

"Consumer Communications: Basic Refresher and Recent Updates," 2020 Virtual Consumer Finance Legal Conference, October 8, 2020

"Overview of CCPA and How it Incorporates into Current Policies," 2020 Virtual Consumer Finance Legal Conference, October 7, 2020

"Defining Accurate Credit Reporting Under the CARES Act During the Pandemic," ABA Business Law Section Virtual Annual Meeting, September 21, 2020

"Advertising and Lead Generation," 2019 Consumer Finance Legal Conference, New Orleans, LA, October 15, 2019

published articles

"Maine Court Rules FCRA Preempts State Credit Reporting Law," ABA Business Law Today, October Month-In-Brief: Business Regulation & Regulated Industries, November 3, 2020

Education

  • Rutgers University School of Law - Camden (J.D., 2004)
  • University of Maine at Presque Isle (B.S., 2001)
    Political Science and Government

Admissions

Bar Admissions
  • Ohio
  • Maine
  • New Jersey

Affiliations

Professional

  • American Bar Association - Compliance Management Subcommittee

Outside the Office

Aaron enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. As a family of avid travelers, he can’t remember the last weekend they didn’t “get in the car, drive somewhere, and do something outside.” They’ve been known to take 12-hour round-trip adventures in a single day, and although he claims not to enjoy it, he’s been to DisneyWorld many times. Aaron also explores the world’s cultures on annual international trips with friends.