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 Avanti in areas such as complex class action, antitrust, breach of contract, and general commercial litigation with a focus upon consumer class action defense. Avanti serves as co-chair of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services group.
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. (9th Cir. Aug. 28, 2023)
- Caw v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. 538 F. Appx 739 (8th Cir. 2013)
- Cabrera v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. (AAA Jan. 29, 2026)
- Frazier v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. (AAA June 10, 2025)
- Faubel v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. (E.D. Cal. June 3, 2025)
- 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. (Milwaukee County, Wis. Aug. 4, 2021)
- Putnam v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. 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. No. 16-12969 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 15, 2017)
- Paz v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. No. 15-10145 (N.D. Ill. June 24, 2016)
- Mark v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. No. 14-5844 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 27, 2015)
- Vance v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. No. 14-3641 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 30, 2016)
- Juarez v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. No. 14-5928 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 12, 2015)
- Pantoja v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. No. 13-7654 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 24, 2015)
- Boone v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. No. 14-12281 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 27, 2014)
- Andree v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. 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. No. 12-11526 (E.D. Mich. July 22, 2013)
- Rollins v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs. No. 11-00665 (W.D. Mo. Apr. 25, 2012)
- “Facial Recognition Technology – The Good, Bad, and the Future,” International Association of Defense Counsel, Cybersecurity Publication, June 2021
- “A National Biometric Privacy Law Could Spur Litigation Wave,” Bloomberg Law, September 22, 2020
In the Media
- “Avanti Bakane on How to Collect People, How to Find Allies, and Why You Should Never Stress Over Good Intentions,” Khurram’s Quorum Podcast, December 2020
- “Diversity Scholarship Foundation – Legal Leaders,” CAN TV21, July 25, 2017
- Featured Panelist, Non-lawyer Representatives Infiltrating Arbitrations, Acccountsrecovery.net, May 6, 2025
- 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, Central and Southern Districts of California
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana
- U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan
- U.S. District Court, 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
- NAPABA Best Under 40 Award (2023)
- Chicago Law Bulletin 40 Under 40 Award (2023)
- AABA Chicago Law Firm Partner Award (2023)
- SABA Chicago Women’s Leadership Award (2022)
- Named to “NAWL Rising List,” National Association of Women Lawyers (2022)
- Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
- Recognized by Chicago Lawyer, Top 50 Women in Law (2021)
- Recognized as Outstanding Young Alumna by DePaul University College of Law Alumni Association (2020)
- Recognized in Crain’s 2019 Notable Minorities in Accounting, Consulting, and Law
- Diversity Scholarship Foundation’s Advocate for Diversity Award (2017)
- Recognized as Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers (2016-2022)
- Recognized as a “Rising Star” by Illinois Super Lawyers (2014-2023)
- Recognized as Advocate for Diversity by Diversity Scholarship Foundation (2017)
- Lawyers of Color’s Inaugural Hot List Issue (2013)
Languages
- Spanish
- Marathi