Shannon Wheaton focuses her practice on mortgage litigation, broker-dealer disputes, the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), and permitting and litigation issues related to cell towers.

For her financial services clients, Shannon represents the interests of mortgage lenders when borrowers allege wrongful foreclosure, breach of contract, cloud on title, violation of state consumer-protection laws such as the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA), and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Shannon assists broker-dealer and investment advisor clients facing investigations and litigation with the SEC and FINRA, when regulators allege insufficient disclosures to customers, insider trading violations, failure to supervise, and possible books and records violations related to retention of electronic communications. In FINRA arbitrations, she initiates claims on behalf of firms seeking to recover unpaid loans from their former advisors and defends claims when advisors seek expungement of negative events on their licenses.

Shannon advises clients on compliance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a consumer protection statute governing the collection of consumer debts. She assists entities in determining whether they are “debt collectors” regularly collecting debts within the meaning of the FDCPA, whether the debts they are trying to recover are commercial or consumer debts, and if they are collecting consumer debts, whether their collection activities comport with the strict-liability requirements of the FDCPA.

Outside of the financial services industry, Shannon advises cellular infrastructure companies on municipal, county, state and federal zoning and variance requirements, interfacing directly with local government entities. Finally, she interprets residential leases for a large property management company.

Since late 2021, Shannon has studied the CTA, a federal law that will require small to mid-sized businesses to register information about their beneficial owners with a division of the U.S. Treasury, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), once FinCEN’s rules take effect on January 1, 2024. Shannon has published several articles with BCLP’s working group which studies the CTA.

Shannon has an active pro bono practice, focusing mostly on housing issues. She represents clients of limited means facing unjust eviction from their rental property. She helps neighborhood associations in underserved areas improve quality of life for their residents by seeking receivership of blighted and vacant properties. She has also appeared in circuit and municipal courts on behalf of indigent clients in felony and misdemeanor matters.

Shannon is a recreational language learner and is conversational in Spanish and Russian.