Anjum Unwala currently serves as Counsel at Capital One which she joined in April 2020. She advises the Customer Advocacy Office in the review and response of highly escalated consumer complaints, attorney prelitigation demands, and inquiries from state and federal regulatory entities. Anjum also supports special projects in the business and serves as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) complaints lead.
Prior to joining Capital One, Anjum was an associate at both the New York and Washington DC offices of Hogan Lovells, starting in the litigation group and then focusing her practice in the government investigations group of the firm. While at Hogan Lovells, Anjum advised a diverse range of clients, from pharmaceutical companies to an international telecommunications company, on strategies to respond to various federal and state government requests for documents and information and subpoenas. As part of her work, Anjum conducted numerous witness interviews, conducted cross-border document collections and reviews, and represented her clients before various state and federal government agencies.
Anjum is passionate about pro bono service and advocating for those that are disadvantaged by systemic injustices. Of her long list of accomplishments, she notably obtained asylum for a client who fled his home country after being persecuted for his sexual orientation; secured a five year order of protection for a victim of domestic abuse and her daughter from her estranged husband; and negotiated a settlement with a city housing agency to obtain safe housing for her client and her client’s family. In 2016, she was recognized, as part of a Hogan Lovells team, as a distinguished recipient of the Sanctuary for Families “Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Award” for helping create new federal precedent protecting domestic abuse victims from paying legal fees and court costs to their abusers in Hague Convention related litigation (see the Souratgar v. Fair decision).
Anjum helped lead the Asian American Affinity group at Hogan Lovells with other attorneys of Asian descent to support attorneys of color and Asian descent in their legal practice through which she created programming and helped implement mentoring initiatives. Since 2017, Anjum has served on the board of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Area (APABA-DC) in various capacities and is currently serving as the Vice President of Community Affairs. She also will be serving on the Diversity and Inclusion Board at Capital One for a two year tenure starting in the fall of 2020.
After graduating from New York University with a degree in finance and international business and before attending law school, Anjum interned at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and served as a year long Indicorps Fellow in rural India. As an Indicorps Fellow based with a local non-profit, Anjum helped develop a small business training program, an activity based science curriculum, and a youth Ultimate Frisbee team. She graduated with her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Anjum is a Jersey girl at heart, having grown up in the suburbs of southern New Jersey, and currently resides with her family in northern Virginia. In her spare time, she enjoys running and has completed two half marathons; reading; traveling; binge-watching the Great British Bakeoff and reality TV; and experimenting with baking in her kitchen.