Alston & Bird has added Sandhya “Sandy” P. Brown, former assistant director in the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Division of Financial Practices, as a partner in Washington, D.C. She joins the firm’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group and will strengthen its consumer protection capabilities. Drawing on two decades at the FTC, she will help clients navigate federal and state investigations, enforcement actions, and regulatory compliance challenges involving advertising, fintech, consumer lending, subscription practices, digital assets, AI-connected products, and other emerging technologies.
“Companies under FTC scrutiny want counsel who understand how the agency actually builds and evaluates a case,” said Ted Kang, partner-in-charge of Alston & Bird’s Washington, D.C. office and co-chair of the Litigation & Trial Practice Group. “Sandy brings the kind of firsthand FTC leadership experience our clients look for when facing agency investigations, and that judgment will help them anticipate how the agency thinks long before a matter reaches a courtroom.”
During her 20 years at the FTC, she drove strategy for complex investigations and novel cases in emerging areas such as fintech, alternative lending, “buy now, pay later,” payment platforms, edtech, in-app choice architecture and dark patterns, online lead generation, small business financing, and digital assets. She also helped shape agency policy, including spearheading the renewal of FTC enforcement in the education sector. In addition, Sandy advised agency leadership on policy and enforcement priorities and served as a key FTC spokesperson in congressional briefings, to industry groups, and in media interviews.
At Alston & Bird, Sandy will bring clients an insider’s view of how the agency approaches novel consumer protection questions. She will counsel clients on compliance with the FTC Act, Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, Truth in Lending Act, and related federal and state consumer protection statutes, and will advise on advertising, subscription, and billing practices. Sandy will work with the firm’s financial services, health care, retail, and technology industry teams, among others, to apply that experience across sectors.
“After two decades in government, I chose Alston & Bird because of its fast-growing consumer protection practice, national client base, and driven culture of collegiality,” said Sandy. “I’m looking forward to helping clients in fintech, AI, and other fast-moving areas get ahead of issues.”
Alston & Bird’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group handles complex disputes and government-facing matters for clients across the firm’s financial services, technology, health care, and retail industry teams. Its consumer protection lawyers counsel companies on federal and state consumer protection requirements and represent them in FTC and state attorney general investigations, enforcement actions, and litigation.