Attorney Mercedes Tunstall '95 Joins Pillsbury

November 4, 2014

Mercedes K. Tunstall, a public policy lawyer and 1995 graduate of DePauw University, is joining the law firm of Pillsbury and will work from the Washington, D.C. office. She comes from Ballard Spahr, where she was the practice leader of the Privacy and Data Security Group.

"As leader of her former firm’s privacy and data security practice group, Tunstall comes to Pillsbury with extensive experience in the consumer financial services category, counseling clients on compliance with industry laws and regulations, as well as investigations and proceedings of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)," notes the firm's announcement. "She also focuses on technology issues for the consumer financial services industry and on privacy and data security issues across industries."

"Mercedes’ concentrated knowledge of consumer financial products and services will be an important asset to our financial services clients," said Pillsbury chair Jim Rishwain. "Business and consumer financial data is constantly at risk in today’s technology landscape, and her experience advising institutions on security and regulatory issues will be invaluable."

The announcement adds, "In addition to counseling financial institutions on regulatory issues related to the CFPB, the FTC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, among other agencies, Tunstall works with clients on regulatory enforcement litigation. She also advises financial institutions as they develop new products and services such as mobile wallets, virtual currencies and emerging payments ... Tunstall has authored multiple publications and is a frequent presenter on the topics of CFPB compliance and cybersecurity issues specific to consumer financial products and services."

Mercedes Kelley Tunstall, who was a music performance major and Honor Scholar as an undergraduate, states, "Pillsbury’s history of working with financial institutions and the firm’s reputation for influential advice on data security and privacy issues offer exciting opportunities for growing my practice. I am eager to join a team with a strong focus on the ever-evolving regulatory and technology issues that financial institutions face."

Recently named a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow, Tunstall earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.