Brian Johnson

Brian Johnson is a partner in Alston & Bird’s Financial Services & Products Group and the Consumer Financial Services Team.

Before joining the firm, Brian served as deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he was responsible for policy development, strategic planning, and execution of the CFPB’s statutory supervision, examination, enforcement, rulemaking, and research activities. He conceived and led the creation of high-profile agency initiatives, including the Office of Innovation, Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law, call for evidence RFI series, policy symposia series, and Start Small, Save Up emergency savings program.

Brian held various positions on Capitol Hill, including policy director and chief financial institutions counsel on the House Committee on Financial Services, where his portfolio covered consumer protection and credit, mortgage origination, credit reporting, banking, and data security. His efforts on the committee involved drafting legislation to provide regulatory relief to bank, credit union, and nondepository financial institutions, as well as conducting oversight of the activities of the CFPB, Financial Stability Oversight Council, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Financial Research, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve System, and National Credit Union Administration.

Brian earned his B.A. in economics and his J.D. from the University of Virginia. He is a frequent speaker at events organized by industry trade associations, consumer advocacy organizations, and think tanks.