Caren D. Enloe

Caren Enloe leads Smith Debnam’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Compliance group. Her practice is additionally concentrated in bankruptcy and commercial litigation with an emphasis on creditors’ rights. She practiced with Smith Debnam from 1992 until 2011 and rejoined the firm in 2015 following a three and a half year stint with an Am Law 200 law firm based in Atlanta.

Caren defends consumer financial service providers and members of the collection industry in state and federal court and in regulatory matters involving a variety of consumer protection laws. Caren also advises fintech companies, law firms, and collection agencies regarding an array of consumer finance issues, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, Truth in Lending Act, Consumer Leasing Act, Gramm Leach Bliley Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Electronic Funds Transfer Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Caren has appeared as counsel in North Carolina’s state and federal trial courts and the North Carolina Court of Appeals, North Carolina Supreme Court, South Carolina Court of Appeals, and Fourth Circuit. Caren additionally assists her collection agency clients with regulatory matters involving the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

Caren uses her more than thirty years of litigation experience in her compliance practice to help industry members assess and mitigate risk. Her compliance experience includes letter audits, assessing fintech products for compliance with federal and state consumer finance laws and regulations, assisting industry members with submitting comments regarding federal rulemaking, and developing compliance management systems, policies and procedures to mitigate the risk of violations of federal and state consumer finance laws and regulations. Most recently, Caren has been involved with consulting industry members regarding the CFPB’s Final Debt Collection Rulemaking, Regulation F.

Caren represents a number of clients who finance and lease agricultural and heavy equipment both in state court and in bankruptcy court. She represents secured creditors and lease creditors in protecting their rights in cases and adversary proceedings under Chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13. She also has extensive experience defending the collection and credit industries in adversary proceedings involving consumer protection violations and sanctions motions.

Caren is an active and well-known industry thought leader. She currently serves as Chair of the Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Subcommittee for the American Bar Association’s Consumer Finance Law Committee, Co-chair of the National Creditor Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section, and as a member of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law’s Governing Committee. In 2018, Caren was named one of the “20 Most Powerful Women in Collections” by Collection Advisor, a national trade publication. Caren is listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers, an independent rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Caren oversees a blog titled: Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Compliance dedicated to consumer financial services and has been published in a number of publications including the Journal of Taxation and Regulation of Financial Institutions, California State Bar Business Law News, Banking and Financial Services Policy Report and Carolina Banker.