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Avanti D. Bakane

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As a lawyer by day and travel blogger by night, Avanti Bakane has global perspective that allows for understanding of diverse viewpoints and the value of her clients’ time. Publicly traded and smaller companies alike retain Ms. Bakane in areas such as complex class action, antitrust, breach of contract, and general commercial litigation with a focus upon consumer class action defense.

As a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) and co-chair of the firm’s Cyber, Privacy & Data Security group, Avanti’s practice consists of representing businesses and creative professionals in software and e-commerce development, data privacy, data loss, licensing, and copyright infringement disputes. Additionally, Avanti has experience representing clients in the cannabis space. With experience in federal and state courts across the country, she is a key asset in pre-suit negotiations, litigation, and compliance. She understands the importance of responsiveness, efficiency, and effective results to her clients.

Serving as co-chair of the firm’s South Asian Affinity Group and member of its Diversity Committee, Avanti also dedicates her time outside of the office to the community. She serves as an Advisory Board member for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), Co-Chair of the Outreach & Inclusion Committee for the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, Chicago chapter and a member of Leading India’s Future Today’s (LIFT) Board of Governors. Avanti is a past President of the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago, past Honorary Board Member for the Asian American Bar Association of Chicago (AABA), and volunteers with several non-profit organizations to provide opportunities for underprivileged youth, end gender violence, and find homes for rescue dogs.

Prior to joining GRSM, Avanti was with a major law firm in Chicago. During law school, she served as an extern for two semesters to the Honorable Irwin J. Solganick, Law Division, Circuit Court of Cook County. Avanti also worked as a research assistant to DePaul Professors Steven H. Resnicoff and Song Richardson. She was a member of DePaul’s International Moot Court team for two years.

Avanti is proficient in Spanish and Marathi and was a consulting academic tutor for the University of Veritas in San Jose, Costa Rica, where she tutored, translated and taught Spanish for International University students learning the language.

Examples of Avanti’s extensive experience include the following:

  • Obtained favorable ruling in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming summary judgment in two class action cases involving key industry issue as to application of UCC to statute of limitations for credit card accounts.
  • Obtained complete victory in week-long arbitration trial brought against software developer, securing no liability ruling and securing damages for client on counterclaim.
  • Successfully defended and obtained dismissals in numerous arbitration cases brought in JAMS and AAA pursuant to federal and state consumer acts, as well as vicarious liability claims.
  • Obtained complete victory in multi-day bench trial involving unfair trade practices claims, securing fee award post-trial.
  • Obtained favorable result at jury trial involving claims brought under FDCPA and FCRA, serving as second chair.
  • Obtained favorable ruling in Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming summary judgment for debt buyer on claims brought under FDCPA.
  • Successfully defeated class certification in FDCPA letter case by calling into question class representative’s adequacy based upon defenses unique to representative.
  • Served as the sole outside counsel to collection companies and law firms nationally, handling all of their consumer litigation and advising on compliance issues.
  • Argued pro bono criminal appeal in Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • Successfully secured dismissal of FDCPA class action claims at pleadings stage on claims involving time-barred debt disclosures in collection correspondences.
  • Successfully defended claims involving sufficiency of state court collection complaints, documentation required to file collection lawsuits, and standard for good faith filing of suits at summary judgment stage.
  • Successfully obtained rulings in favor of debt buyers and debt collectors nationwide at summary judgment stage where claims involved numerous oral and written communications and fact intensive claims.
  • Successfully secured dismissal of debt buyer at pleadings stage on claims involving deceptive and misleading statements made in collection correspondence.
  • Successfully secured dismissal of debt collector at pleadings stage on claims involving overshadowing.
  • Successfully compelled arbitration in FDCPA class action cases based upon collection correspondences sent to debtors.
  • Resolved a TCPA class action at one percent of the potential exposure to the firm’s client, and in an early stage of the case before the client’s internal procedures were made public and put under scrutiny.

Selected Decisions

  • Sprayberry v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC (9th Cir. Aug. 28, 2023)
  • Caw v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, 538 F. App’x 739 (8th Cir. 2013)
  • Wilcox, et al. v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., (D. Nev. Feb. 16, 2024)
  • Accra v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., (D. Ariz. Dec. 14, 2023)
  • Bell v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., (N.D. Ga. Dec. 1, 2023)
  • Hankins v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. (Milwaukee County, Wis. April 2, 2022)
  • Young v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., et al. (E.D. Mich. March 29, 2022)
  • Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC v. Sharon Eldred & Kareem Eldred (App. AZ Div. 2 July 26, 2021)
  • Jumoka Johnson v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, (Milwaukee County, Wis. Aug. 4, 2021)
  • Putnam v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 19-189 (E.D. Wash. Apr. 15, 2020)
  • Zelner v. ATG Credit, (N.D. Ill. Feb. 12, 2019)
  • Knutson v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., (E.D. Wash. Feb. 1, 2019)
  • Cooper v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 16-12969 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 15, 2017)
  • Paz v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 15-10145 (N.D. Ill. June 24, 2016)
  • Mark v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 14-5844 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 27, 2015)
  • Vance v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 14-3641 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 30, 2016)
  • Juarez v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 14-5928 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 12, 2015)
  • Pantoja v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 13-7654 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 24, 2015)
  • Boone v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 14-12281 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 27, 2014)
  • Andree v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No.12-882 (W.D. Mich. Sep. 25, 2013)
  • Mino v. Credit Prot. Ass’n, LP, No. 12-01446 (S.D. Ind. Aug. 7, 2013)
  • Sanford v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 12-11526 (E.D. Mich. July 22, 2013)
  • Rollins v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, No. 11-00665 (W.D. Mo. Apr. 25, 2012)

In the Media

  • Featured Panelist, Empowering Industry Women, Acccountsrecovery.net, March 1, 2024
  • Panelist, Building Your Personal Brand, Centerforce Diverse Rainmaker Summit, November 15, 2023
  • Moderator, SABA Chicago Pathways to Success Fireside Chat, September 28, 2023
  • Featured Panelist, Influx of Mass Arbitrations: Everything You Need to Know, Acccountsrecovery.net, April 21, 2023
  • Featured Speaker, Affirmative litigation in non-dispute cases & Arbitration Influx, PRA’s LEDTalks, April 5, 2023
  • Moderator, SABA Chicago Managing Partner Roundtable Discussion, March 2, 2023
  • Featured Speaker, Litigation Trends – 2020 and Beyond, PRA 2022 STRAT Legal Recovery Conference, Virginia Beach, VA, April 28, 2022
  • Featured Speaker, FCRA/FDCPA Cases Centered on Withdrawn Credit Disputes, ACA International Huddle, April 27, 2022
  • Featured Panelist, Privacy and the ARM Industry: What You Need to Know, Acccountsrecovery.net, February 24, 2022
  • Featured Panelist, Scottsdale Midyear Meeting: Is Bona-fide Error a Bona-fide Defense? And How Does Newly Implemented Reg F Impact This?, International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), February 19, 2022
  • Featured Panelist, Top 10 Consumer Claim Trends & Strategies to Defend, National Creditors Bar Association (NCBA) San Antonio Fall Conference, October 15, 2021
  • Featured Panelist, Hot Button Trends in Consumer Class Action and Credit Reporting Claims – SOL Tolling, Hunstein, & Notices of Non-disputes, National Asian Pacific Bar Association (NAPABA) Financial Services Network Committee Webinar, September 23, 2021
  • Featured Panelist, A Mistake of State Law: Is Bona-fide Error a Bona-fide Defense?, National Creditors Bar Association (NCBA) Webinar, June 10, 2021
  • Featured Speaker, Breaking Down Our Silos, diversity and activism event, May 27, 2021
  • Featured Panelist, Regulation F: Telephone Communications, National Creditors Bar Association (NCBA) Orlando Spring Conference, May 21, 2021
  • Roundtable Discussion Leader, Regulation F: Model Validation Notice, National Creditors Bar Association (NCBA) Spring Conference, May 20, 2021
  • Featured Speaker, BFE – Hall pass or Elusive Unicorn? The Developing Defense in the Wake of Regulation F & Kaiser; 11th Circuit’s Recent Hunstein v. Preferred Opinion, PRA’s LEDTalks, April 28, 2021
  • Featured Panelist, A Primer on the Bona Fide Error Defense and How it’s Applied to Regulation F, Acccountsrecovery.net, March 23, 2021
  • Featured Speaker, State Court Counterclaims: The Large Impact of Small Claims, PRA 2020 STRAT Legal Recovery Conference, August 31, 2020
  • Featured Speaker, Recent Uptick in Consumer and Class Action Claims Across State Lines, PRA’s LEDTalks, April 1, 2020
  • Featured Panelist, Scamming Gone Viral – Maintaining Your Company’s Cyber Hygiene in the Wake of COVID-19, National Asian Pacific Bar Association (NAPABA) Data Security & Privacy Committee Webinar, March 31, 2020
  • Featured Panelist, Interviewing Like a Pro: Advice from Chicago-area Attorneys & Judges, Loyola Law School, February 2, 2020
  • Featured Panelist, The Business of Law, DePaul College of Law, January 22, 2020
  • Featured Panelist, DePaul College of Law Women’s Bar Association and Women of Color Collective Diversity Week Panel, October 16, 2019
  • Featured Panelist, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, GRSM Chicago CLE Conference, October 3, 2019
  • Presenter, Board Governance, West Humboldt Park Development Council Nonprofit Board, September 23, 2019
  • Featured Panelist, Missed Opportunities in the Legal Profession: Recognizing Implicit and Affinity Biases and Implementing Sustainable Diversity Practices to Develop our Next Generation of Leaders, National Asian Pacific Bar Association’s (NAPABA) Indianapolis Regional Conference, August 24, 2019
  • Featured Panelist, Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, GRSM Hartford and New York CLE Conferences, May 2019
  • Featured Panelist, Advancement to Partner: Tiers, Taxes & Tracks, Illinois State Bar Association’s 6th Annual Minority Bar CLE Conference, June 21, 2018
  • Featured Panelist, Why Diversity Matters: How Far Have We Come, And How Can We Be More Inclusive?, Diversity Scholarship Foundation, June 8, 2018
  • Featured Panelist, Ethics of Social Media and Marketing, Chicago Bar Association’s Ethical Dilemmas in Law Firm Management, December 8, 2017
  • Featured Panelist, Advancement to Partner: What You Need to Know, Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in the Law, November 9, 2017
  • Featured Panelist, SABA Chicago’s Panel on Lateral Moves, September 6, 2017
  • Featured Panelist, Chicago Law Student Career Forum, February 25, 2017

Admissions

  • California
  • Illinois
  • Wisconsin
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Central and Southern Districts of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Memberships

  • Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law
    • Chicago Chapter Co-Chair of the Outreach & Inclusion Committee (2021-2022)
  • International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC): Member
    • Vice Chair of Publications for the Cyber Security, Data Privacy & Technology Committee (2020-2022)
  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
    • Advisory Board (2021-2022)
    • VP of Communications (2018-2020)
    • Central Regional Governor (2016–2018)
  • Asian American Bar Association of Chicago
    • Honorary Board Member (2016-2017)
  • South Asian Bar Association of Chicago (formerly the Indian-American Bar Association of Chicago), Advisory Council member
    • President (2015)
    • President-Elect (2014)

Community Involvement

  • Apna Ghar, Annual Taste for Life event, Host Committee (2014-2019), Volunteer (2010-present)
  • Leading India’s Future Today (LIFT Foundation)
    • Board of Directors, Member (2018-2019)
    • Associate Board of Directors, President (2017-2018)
  • Cause for Paws, Volunteer (2008-present)

Education

  • J.D., DePaul University College of Law, 2009
    • CALI Award, Litigation Lab
  • B.A., Anthropology / Spanish, University of California at Santa Barbara, 2005

Honors

Languages

  • Spanish
  • Marathi

Languages

  • Spanish
  • Marathi

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Firm News

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Accolade

Chicago Partner Avanti Bakane Honored with NAPABA Best Under 40 Award

October 2023
Result

Multi-State Team Turns the Tables in Fee-Shifting Suit with Significant Win for Client

June 2023
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Gordon & Rees Celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month

May 2023
Accolade

Gordon & Rees Partner Avanti Bakane Receives AABA Chicago’s Law Firm Partner Diversity Leadership Award

February 2023
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Gordon & Rees Chicago Partner Avanti Bakane Honored by SABA Chicago

November 2022
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Multi-state Team Kills Class Claims Brought Against National Debt Buyer Client

April 2022
Accolade

Avanti Bakane Named to the National Association of Women’s Lawyers Rising List

February 2022