Kavita Shelat comes from a family of bankers and began her career as a consumer banker. In addition to financial services litigation, Kavita regularly assists clients with front-end compliance and after-the-fact remediation related to federal consumer protection statutes such as ECOA, FCRA, RESPA, TILA, FDCPA, and TCPA. She also advises banks and investment advisors interested in providing services to marijuana-related businesses.
Kavita has first chair trial experience representing bank clients and has obtained full defense verdicts in several matters. She helped to create important case law in the Sixth Circuit on the scope of consumer rights under the federal HAMP loan modification program and the scope of consumer protection statutes like TILA. She also helped to create important case law in Tennessee and Arkansas related to the preclusive effect of bankruptcy actions.
In addition to representing financial services companies, Kavita has represented a major insurance company with bad faith claims, a biopharmaceutical company in complex contract litigation, title insurers in complex property disputes, and defended a class action lawsuit against funeral home directors in Tennessee state court. She has obtained favorable verdicts at trial as well as favorably settled suits prior to trial.
Before becoming a lawyer, Kavita completed Bank of America's Management Development Program and worked in customer-facing departments like credit, collections, customer service, and telesales before specializing in direct mail marketing. Later she worked as a banker for Wells Fargo and managed Spanish speaking small business and personal banking customers. As an attorney, Kavita leverages this experience to help solve her clients' issues.
In 2012, Kavita received the Firm's Pro Bono Attorney of the Year award for the Memphis office for her successful representation of a young woman seeking asylum in the United States on the basis of religious persecution by violent gang members in El Salvador. In 2020, she will receive the Firm's Pro Bono Attorney of the Year award for the Memphis office for a second time for her legal counsel and strategic advice to Calvary Place daycare in downtown Memphis.