By PYMNTS | July 14, 2026
In a significant development for the landscape of American consumer and civil rights advocacy, three high-ranking former enforcement officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have announced the formation of a new public interest law firm. The firm, Halperin Petersen & Mikkilineni LLP (HPM), seeks to fill a void in federal oversight by aggressively litigating against corporate abuses that the founders argue have been left unchecked by the current administration.
The launch of HPM marks a pivotal transition for Eric Halperin, Cara Petersen, and Tara Mikkilineni—all of whom spent years at the forefront of the government’s regulatory efforts to police the financial sector. Their move signals a shift from inside-government enforcement to outside-litigation activism, as they prepare to take on systemic issues ranging from algorithmic wage theft to discriminatory housing practices.
The Core Mission: A New Front in Corporate Accountability
The founding partners of HPM are not newcomers to high-stakes litigation. Between 2021 and 2025, the trio led a CFPB team that secured court-ordered penalties and consumer restitution totaling a staggering $9.5 billion. This track record provides the firm with a formidable foundation of experience in tackling complex financial malfeasance.
HPM’s practice areas are broad, reflecting the multifaceted nature of modern corporate overreach. According to the firm’s inaugural press release, their legal focus will encompass:
- Financial Consumer Rights: Combatting predatory lending and the proliferation of "illegal junk fees" that erode consumer savings.
- Labor Protections: Addressing wage theft, the illegal misclassification of employees, and the emerging threat of algorithmic wage-setting.
- Housing and Civil Rights: Challenging unlawful eviction practices and discriminatory housing policies that perpetuate inequality.
- Technological Abuse: Investigating invasive monitoring programs and AI-driven deceptive schemes that obscure harm from the average consumer.
"We believe litigation is critical to pushing back against corporate abuse," Eric Halperin stated in the firm’s launch announcement. This sentiment is shared by his partners, who view the current regulatory climate as one that necessitates private intervention to uphold the rule of law.
Chronology: The Road to Resignation and Resistance
To understand the emergence of HPM, one must look back at the turbulent internal environment of the CFPB during the early stages of President Donald Trump’s second term.
2025: The Erosion of Oversight
The seeds for HPM were sown in the summer of 2025, as the CFPB underwent a radical shift in leadership and philosophy. In June 2025, Cara Petersen resigned from her post as the acting enforcement director of the CFPB. Her departure was notably public; she explicitly cited a lack of institutional will to enforce the law, stating that the agency’s leadership under the current administration "has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way."
Petersen’s exit was not an isolated incident. It followed a broader exodus of enforcement and supervision chiefs who had spent years building the agency’s enforcement capabilities. Reports from that period suggest a coordinated push to dismantle the agency’s regulatory power, leaving a vacuum where once there was a watchdog.
2026: The Transition to Private Practice
Shortly after the inauguration of the second Trump term, both Eric Halperin and Tara Mikkilineni departed the agency. Their exit marked the final dissolution of the core team that had been responsible for the CFPB’s most high-profile wins during the previous administration. By July 2026, the three had formalized their partnership, launching HPM with the specific intent of doing the work they felt the government had abandoned.
Supporting Data: The Scale of the Challenge
The $9.5 billion in penalties secured by the founders during their tenure at the CFPB serves as a benchmark for the scale of the malfeasance they aim to address. However, the nature of the "enemy" has evolved. As Tara Mikkilineni noted in a recent interview, the threat is no longer just "old school" predatory lending; it is a sophisticated, technology-enabled system of exploitation.
The Rise of Algorithmic Financial Abuse
Mikkilineni highlighted the dangers of AI and algorithmic systems that can optimize predatory behavior while remaining shielded from scrutiny. "We saw old school predatory financial models morph into a particular set of technologies," Mikkilineni explained. "I think they’re going to go through another morphing now that AI can make all of that more powerful, more seamless, and frankly less transparent to the consumer."
For HPM, the challenge is not just identifying a violation of the law, but peeling back the layers of automated, algorithmic decision-making that companies use to justify discriminatory or exploitative practices. This requires a level of forensic technical expertise that few private firms currently possess, positioning HPM as a unique player in the public interest sector.
Official Responses and Strategic Vision
The partners have been clear about their strategic vision. They do not view HPM as merely a firm that waits for clients to come to them, but as a proactive entity that will seek out systemic issues to litigate.
"Consumer rights, civil rights and workers’ rights are all under attack, and HPM will use every tool available to stop this onslaught in its tracks," Mikkilineni asserted. This aggressive posture is intended to signal to corporations that even if the federal government is sidelined, they will still face significant legal hurdles when they infringe upon the rights of workers and consumers.
"We are proud to take up the fight to defend working people," Cara Petersen added. Her words underscore the firm’s commitment to the vulnerable populations—tenants, gig workers, and marginalized communities—who are most susceptible to the "onslaught" of corporate overreach.
Implications: A Shift in Power Dynamics
The formation of HPM has significant implications for both the corporate world and the advocacy community.
1. The Privatization of Regulatory Enforcement
With the federal government’s enforcement arm significantly weakened, the burden of protecting the public is effectively being privatized. HPM represents a new breed of firm that functions as a "shadow regulator." By utilizing civil litigation to force transparency and restitution, they are creating a deterrent that the current administration has largely dismantled.
2. A New Tool for Plaintiffs’ Bar
HPM’s focus on algorithmic abuse and data-driven discrimination could provide a roadmap for other plaintiffs’ firms. By successfully litigating these cases, they could establish legal precedents that make it harder for companies to hide behind "black box" algorithms when accused of violating consumer protection or labor laws.
3. The Future of Agency Alumni
The launch of HPM may also serve as a blueprint for other career civil servants. If the political environment at federal agencies continues to swing between extremes, the "revolving door" may increasingly lead to public interest law firms rather than corporate defense firms. This shift could create a robust ecosystem of private attorneys who possess the "insider knowledge" required to hold the government and private sector accountable.
4. Challenges Ahead
Despite their credentials, the partners face an uphill battle. Litigation is expensive and time-consuming. Unlike the CFPB, which had the backing of the federal budget, HPM will need to secure funding—likely through a combination of foundation grants, fee-shifting settlements, and potentially litigation finance—to sustain their efforts. Furthermore, they will be navigating a judiciary that has become increasingly skeptical of broad regulatory interpretations and consumer class-action suits.
Conclusion
As HPM opens its doors, it does so in an era defined by a deep skepticism toward federal intervention. By drawing on their experience as some of the most effective enforcers in recent American history, Halperin, Petersen, and Mikkilineni are betting that the demand for justice has not diminished, even if the government’s appetite for providing it has.
Whether they can achieve the same level of impact from the private sector as they did from within the halls of the CFPB remains to be seen. However, their entry into the market is a clear warning to corporations that the "fight to defend working people" has not ended—it has simply moved to a new venue. As the regulatory climate remains in flux, HPM stands ready to serve as the new frontline in the battle for corporate accountability.
