ProfessionalsRoberto J. Gonzalez
Tel: +1-202-223-7316
Fax: +1-202-204-7344
emailrgonzalez@paulweiss.com
Roberto Gonzalez draws on his experience in senior legal positions in the Obama White House Counsel’s Office, the CFPB, and the Treasury Department to help U.S. and non-U.S. clients navigate franchise-threatening government regulatory issues, criminal, civil, and congressional investigations, sensitive internal inquiries, and crisis management situations.
Roberto has advised the world’s largest banks, investment companies, and technology companies across a range of issues. His experience spans economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, export controls and national security matters; consumer financial protection; payments and cryptocurrency; the False Claims Act; workplace discrimination; and privacy and data security. He has represented clients before Treasury, Commerce, DOJ and a number of U.S. Attorney’s offices, the banking agencies (including the OCC, Federal Reserve, CFPB, and the New York DFS), the SEC and CFTC and various congressional committees.
Roberto was recognized as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon. In 2017, he was elected as a member of the American Law Institute. Roberto was named a “D.C. Rising Star” by the National Law Journal, a “Rising Star in Banking” by Law360 and a “Top Lawyer Under 40” by the National Hispanic Bar Association. At Treasury, Secretary Jacob J. Lew awarded Roberto the Treasury Medal in recognition of his accomplishments and leadership as Deputy General Counsel.
Roberto was a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Guido Calabresi on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Government Service
Prior to Paul, Weiss, Roberto served as Associate White House Counsel and Special Assistant to President Obama, where he counseled on Dodd-Frank, homeland security, congressional investigations, and a variety of sensitive internal matters. He then became a founding employee of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and served as Principal Deputy General Counsel. In that role, he advised the Director on all rulemakings, enforcement actions, and significant supervisory matters. Roberto then became Deputy General Counsel of the Treasury Department, where he oversaw major litigations, congressional investigations, and sensitive internal matters and supervised over 100 lawyers in the areas of sanctions, anti-money laundering, Dodd-Frank, cybersecurity, and ethics and employment matters.
EXPERIENCE
Roberto’s recent representations include:
- multiple global financial institutions and other companies in a variety of internal investigations and criminal, regulatory and congressional investigations regarding allegations of sanctions and anti-money laundering violations and related employee misconduct;
- a major non-U.S. technology company in engaging with multiple U.S. government agencies regarding privacy, data security, and national security concerns;
- a major U.S. bank in an investigation by the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus regarding the operation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and concerns regarding access by minority and low-income borrowers;
- a major U.S. bank in an internal investigation and accountability review regarding allegations of potential employee misconduct and compliance program failures;
- a major private equity firm in connection with allegations of internal misconduct, conflicts of interest and theft of proprietary information;
- a major non-U.S. cryptocurrency exchange on a range of U.S. regulatory issues and litigation matters;
- an indenture trustee and collateral agent in litigation in the District Court for the Southern District of New York concerning the enforceability of senior secured notes issued by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.;
- a former cabinet official in high-profile congressional inquiries;
- Citigroup Inc. and affiliates in an ongoing multidistrict putative class action alleging that Citi and other banks conspired to reduce potential competition in interest rate swap trading, and a related CFTC investigation;
- a major U.S. bank in connection with a favorable settlement with the CFPB and follow-on settlements with state Attorneys General;
- a U.S. equipment manufacturer in a DOJ False Claims Act criminal and civil investigation;
- multiple asset managers in connection with due diligence and advice on compliance and regulatory issues in potential transactions spanning the areas of consumer financial protection, cryptocurrency, and sanctions/AML matters; and
- multiple financial institutions in connection with regulatory advice concerning the marijuana/cannabis industry in the United States and Canada.
Roberto speaks and writes frequently on compliance and regulatory issues. His publications have appeared in the National Law Journal, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, and the Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets. Roberto was selected to receive the “Law360 Distinguished Writing Award.”
Roberto is a member of Paul, Weiss’s diversity and inclusion task force, and chairs the Washington D.C. office’s diversity committee. Prior to his government service, he served as a fellow at a non-profit organization litigating employment discrimination and related cases.