Meet our Team
Paul Watkins
Managing Partner
Paul is the managing partner of Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with state, federal, and global regulators building coalitions and implementing policies to promote innovation in financial services. He is responsible for designing and implementing the first state (Arizona) and federal (CFPB) FinTech sandboxes in the United States. He also designed the CFPB no-action letter and trial disclosure policies. He helped found the first global regulatory innovation coalition (Global Financial Innovation Network) and led the founding of the first U.S. regulatory innovation coalition (American Consumer Financial Innovation Network). He served on the Financial Stability Oversight Council subcommittee on digital assets. He also has drafted state-level laws on blockchain and utility tokens.
Paul also has significant enforcement and litigation experience. He led many multi-state consumer protection enforcement matters as Civil Litigation Division Chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to his government service, Paul practiced law in the areas of securities litigation and transactional work for approximately six years at two well-known law firms. He also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Degrees: J.D., Harvard Law School; B.A., Hillsdale College
Licensed to practice in Arizona
Brunn (Beau) Roysden
Partner
Beau is a partner at Fusion Law, PLLC. He focuses his practice on government investigations, complex litigation, and appeals. From 2020-2022, he served as the Solicitor General in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, where he supervised attorneys and staff in four sections: Special Litigation and Election Integrity, Civil Appeals and Federalism, Criminal Appeals, and Capital Litigation. The Solicitor General’s Office drafts or reviews over 400 civil and 500 criminal appellate briefs per year. As Solicitor General, Beau also successfully briefed and argued cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Arizona Supreme Court. Prior to that, he served in the Civil Litigation Division of the Attorney General’s Office, including as Acting Division Chief.
Beau’s passion is handling government investigations and complex litigation matters. Even as Solicitor General and Division Chief before that, he carried his own case load with notable victories:
–A $85M settlement on behalf of Arizona with Google over alleged violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act related to collection, storage, and use of user location data.
–A $40M settlement on behalf of Arizona with Volkswagen over alleged violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act related to “clean diesel.”
–A $500M settlement on behalf of all 50 states with Wells Fargo over violations of state consumer fraud laws related to opening bank accounts.
Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office in 2015, Beau worked as an attorney at two large national law firms, where he also focused on civil litigation, including patent litigation. Beau began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Andrew Hurwitz on the Arizona Supreme Court. He is a summa cum laude graduate of The University of Arizona Rogers College of Law, where he was a member of Order of the Coif, Managing Editor of the Arizona Law Review, and a member of the national moot court team. He is also a graduate of Dartmouth College with honors in computer science.
Degrees: J.D., University of Arizona College of Law; A.B., Dartmouth College.
Licensed to practice in Arizona
Matthew du Mee
Partner
Matthew is a partner at Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with government investigations and complex litigation.
From 2017-2022, he served as the Consumer Litigation Unit Chief in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, where he led a team of a dozen attorneys in consumer fraud investigations and lawsuits that led to record-breaking recoveries totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for consumers and the State. Matthew also handled appeals and special action proceedings, and first-chaired a six-week consumer fraud trial that resulted in a multi-million dollar judgment in favor of the State.
Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office in 2015, Matthew clerked for the Hon. Andrew Hurwitz on the Arizona Supreme Court and worked on complex commercial litigation for a large, international law firm. He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he served as a Supervising Editor on the Harvard Law Review, won the Williston Negotiation Competition, and received a top speaker award at the Willem C. Vis International Arbitration Moot Court Tournament in Vienna, Austria.
Degrees: J.D., Harvard Law School; B.A., Patrick Henry College
Licensed to practice in Arizona
Benjamin Bogos
Senior Associate
Ben is a senior associate at Fusion Law. He focuses his practice on complex litigation in state and federal court.
Ben previously worked as a litigation associate at a large international law firm, where he represented high-profile clients in multimillion-dollar disputes and class-action litigation.
Before entering private practice, Ben served as a judicial law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Ben graduated summa cum laude from Franciscan University of Steubenville with a degree in theology, and he received his J.D. summa cum laude from Ave Maria School of Law.
Degrees: J.D., Ave Maria School of Law; B.A., Franciscan University of Steubenville
Licensed to practice in Florida
Eric Blankenstein
Of Counsel*
Eric is the founder of the Law Offices of Eric Blankenstein PLLC. He is a litigator whose practice focuses on consumer financial products and services, securities regulation, and complex financial transactions. In addition to his legal experience, Eric has served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Ginnie Mae, Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the official responsible for overseeing all supervision and enforcement activity at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Prior to his government service, he was an attorney in private practice working mostly on complex civil litigation and regulatory investigations, much of which related to fallout from the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
Eric received his J.D. from the University of Virginia, where he also earned an M.A. in History, focusing on legal and constitutional history, and a B.S. in Commerce. While in law school he was a member of Order of the Coif and the Executive Editor of the Virginia Law and Business Review.
Degrees: J.D., University of Virginia School of Law; M.A., B.S., University of Virginia
Licensed to practice in the District of Columbia
Christopher Mills
Of Counsel*
Christopher is the founder of Spero Law LLC. He was previously a partner at a national law firm and a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. He served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Supreme Court during October Term 2018. He also clerked for the Honorable David B. Sentelle, then-Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He has authored briefs and motions in the Supreme Court, courts of appeals, and trial courts, and argued before the D.C. Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, and other courts. He has served as special counsel to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and is an Adjunct Professor at the Charleston School of Law.
A 2012 magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Christopher was a senior editor of the Harvard Law Review, an editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and served on the Executive Board of the Harvard Federalist Society. In 2009, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a degree in economics from Furman University.
Christopher lives in Charleston with his wife, children, and golden retriever. He is licensed to practice law in South Carolina.
Degrees: J.D., Harvard Law School; B.A., Furman University
Licensed to practice in South Carolina
Kenzie Overing
Of Counsel*
Kenzie focuses her practice on federal and state court litigation. Kenzie previously served as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice. She also served as a law clerk to Judge Danielle J. Forrest of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and to Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She earned her J.D. magna cum laude from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Kenzie is admitted to practice in Ohio and the District of Columbia.
Degrees: J.D., The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law; B.F.A., Rutgers University
Licensed to practice in Ohio and the District of Columbia
Sarah Rafie Pineau
Of Counsel*
Sarah Rafie Pineau has extensive experience in navigating complex employment disputes in a variety of industries. Her practice focuses on all facets of employment law, with an emphasis on wrongful termination, retaliation, and discrimination claims including race, age, disability, and sex discrimination. Sarah also has experience counseling clients on compliance with various state and federal employment statutes.
Sarah previously served as a law clerk to Judge Kathryn H. Vratil of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, and as an associate at a large law firm.
Sarah received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she served on the Executive Board for the Federalist Society and the Law Christian Fellowship. Sarah also received the Bracewell LLP Appellate Advocacy Award for outstanding oral advocacy and was a member of the Journal of Law and Politics.
Prior to law school, Sarah interned for Judge Jennifer W. Elrod of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Sarah graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science from Baylor University.
Degrees: J.D., University of Virginia School of Law
B.A., Baylor University
Licensed to practice in Texas, Missouri, and the District of Columbia
John Sullivan
Of Counsel*
John is the founder of S|L Law, PLLC. John is a former Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Texas and a veteran of one of the world’s largest law firms, where he focused on appellate litigation, agency matters, and government relations.
John previously served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Edith H. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
A summa cum laude graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, John earned the Farabaugh Prize for high scholarship in law and was the top student in the Program of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy. He also served as the executive editor (deputy editor-in-chief) of the Notre Dame Law Review.
Prior to law school, John interned for Chief Justice Jim Wright of the Texas Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
John currently serves as president of the Dallas Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society.
Degrees: J.D., Notre Dame Law School
Licensed to practice in Texas
Kathleen Barceleau
Of Counsel*
Kathleen has been working on financial regulation and policy issues since 2021.
Previously, Kathleen served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Kansas, where she represented the state and its officials in civil rights and constitutional litigation in both state and federal courts. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert H. Cleland on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Kathleen received her B.A. in Classics and Economics from Ave Maria University and her J.D. summa cum laude from Ave Maria School of Law.
Kathleen is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.
Degrees: J.D., Ave Maria School of Law; B.A., Ave Maria University
Licensed to practice in Michigan
Helena Dollanarte
Of Counsel*
Helena is the founder of Dollanarte Law, PLLC. She is dedicated to helping clients find solutions to complex problems. She also serves as a Professor.
Helena’s focus includes administrative law, environmental law, immigration law, and intellectual property law. While in law school, Helena served as an intern in the Office of White House Counsel.
Helena is a graduate of the Liberty University School of Law and Liberty University, where she played Division I soccer. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, dog training, and a cup of tea.
Degrees: J.D., Liberty University School of Law; B.A., Liberty University
Licensed to practice in Virginia
Carolyn Varadan
Of Counsel*
Before working with Fusion Law, Carolyn served as a law clerk to the Honorable Suzanne Labrit at Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal in Tampa.
Carolyn received her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Wyoming Catholic College. She then attended Ave Maria School of Law, where she graduated second in her class and served as managing editor of the Ave Maria Law Review. Carolyn is a member of the Florida Bar.
Degrees: J.D., Ave Maria School of Law; B.A., Wyoming Catholic College
Licensed to practice in Florida
*Of Counsel
Of Counsel attorneys listed above are not employees of Fusion Law, PLLC and are licensed in the jurisdictions listed on their bios. They each have their own firm or sole proprietorship. Fusion Law contracts with such attorneys.
