mpeltz@publiclawgroup.com

Bio

ABOUT

Of Counsel Max Peltz joined Renne Public Law Group (RPLG) after thirteen years as an enforcement attorney at the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). At the CFPB, Max was lead counsel in complex civil enforcement actions. He managed teams of lawyers, paralegals, investigators, economists and outside experts, handling cases against companies engaging in predatory and unlawful conduct, securing millions in redress for tens of thousands of consumers, including military servicemembers, students and financially distressed borrowers and homeowners.

Before working at the CFPB, Max was an assistant district attorney at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where he led criminal prosecutions and litigated civil consumer-protection actions. His practice areas included workplace fatalities, wage theft, crimes against immigrants and tenants, consumer fraud, unfair business practices and environmental violations.

Previously, Max served as a deputy city attorney under former City Attorney Louise Renne. As a member of the office’s trial team, Max litigated civil cases in state and federal court involving police use-of-force, municipal law, personal injury and code enforcement. As a member of the ethics and elections team, he advised the San Francisco Department of Elections and Board of Supervisors. Following law school, Max clerked for the U.S. District Judge Terry C. Kern (N.D. Okla.).

Max earned his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as executive editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review and received the Benjamin N. Cardozo Prize for Best Moot Court Brief. He earned his B.A. in international relations from Stanford University, graduating with honors and distinction and receiving the Firestone Medal for Excellence in Research.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Throughout his career, Max has been responsible for:

• Leading federal civil enforcement actions involving violations of consumer financial laws.
• Litigating civil and criminal cases through trial.
• Managing multidisciplinary litigation teams.
• Investigating and litigating deceptive and unfair business practices, including matters involving debt relief services, lending practices and debt collection.
• Prosecuting criminal and civil enforcement cases involving wage theft, environmental violations, consumer fraud and unfair business practices.
• Representing government agencies in civil litigation in state and federal court involving civil rights, municipal law and regulatory enforcement.
• Advising public officials and departments on municipal law and elections matters, including drafting ballot digests, ordinances and charter amendments.
• Negotiating settlement agreements and consent orders, securing millions in consumer redress and civil penalties.

PUBLICATIONS

• Second-Parent Adoption: Overcoming Barriers to Lesbian Family Rights, Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, 1995.

ADMISSIONS AND COURTS

• California

EDUCATION

• Yale Law School, J.D.
• Stanford University, B.A., international relations, with honors and distinction

Max in the News