Kavita Shelat comes from a family of bankers and began her career as a consumer banker. In addition to compliance, Ms. Shelat regularly assists clients with residential mortgage litigation, commercial loan litigation, and general litigation. She also advises banks and investment advisors interested in providing services to marijuana-related businesses.
Ms. Shelat 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, Ms. Shelat has represented a major insurance company with bad faith claims, a biopharmaceutical company in complex contract litigation, broker-dealers in FINRA arbitrations, and is currently defending 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.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ms. Shelat 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, Ms. Shelat leverages this experience to help solve her clients' issues.
In 2012, Ms. Shelat 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 2016, she successfully obtained asylum for a woman and her minor son escaping Honduras after decades of domestic abuse. Also in 2016, she obtained withholding of removal for a woman escaping Guatemala for the same reason.