CFPB’s Final Rule on Debt Collection Practices: Prohibited Behavior
Webinar
The CFPB just released the final Rule on Debt Collection Practices, NCBA will provide in-depth analysis on Prohibited Behavior within the rules.
Presenters:
John Bedard, Bedard Law Group, P.C.
John H. Bedard, Jr. is the managing attorney of Bedard Law Group, P.C., located in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Bedard represents creditors, debt collectors, and asset buyers nationwide, helping them stay in compliance with state and federal collection laws, including onsite mock CFPB examinations, and Receivables Management Association International (“RMAI”) certification program audits. He also manages the nationwide litigation for several collection agencies and focuses his litigation practice on Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, and Telephone Consumer Protection Act defense. He received his law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law and his undergraduate degree in economics from the Pennsylvania State University.
John is an AV rated attorney and nationally recognized authority on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. He serves as counsel to professional trade associations including the Georgia Collectors Association and the Tennessee Collectors Association. John is active in the collection industry and has served on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Members Attorney Program of the industry's leading professional trade organization, ACA International. John is also a past officer of the Consumer Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia. In 2008, John was recognized by Collection Advisor Magazine as one of the nation's top 50 most influential people in the collection industry. John served as the Chairman of the Education Council of ACA International and has served as ACA’s Compliance Chairperson for the State of Georgia for over 15 years. He has also served as panel defense counsel for ACA International’s partner insurance carrier, currently QBE, for over 15 years.
Joann Needleman, Clark Hill PLC
Joann Needleman is a partner in the law firm of Clark Hill PLC where she serves as the leader of the Consumer Financial Services Regulatory & Compliance Practice Group. Joann serves as a navigator to her clients seeking advice and guidance in the complex regulatory environment facing the financial services industry. She provides counsel, consultation, and litigation services to a wide array of financial institutions, law firms, credit reporting agencies, and debt buyers throughout the country. With extensive experience as a collection attorney, she understands the regulatory requirements expected from attorneys and non-attorneys in the credit and collection industry. A former member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Consumer Advisory Board, Joann has been able to provide her clients with useful strategies in order to prepare for new areas of regulatory scrutiny.
Joann is frequently quoted in American Banker and the Wall Street Journal for her insight of the CFPB. Joann is the past President of the Board of Directors of the National Creditors Bar Association (NCBA).
Andrew Schwartz, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
Andrew M. Schwartz is a Partner in the Philadelphia office of Gordon & Rees and is a member of the Commercial Litigation, Professional Liability, and Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditors' Rights practice groups.
Mr. Schwartz' practice is largely devoted to matters regarding professional liability, concentrating on creditors' rights defense, defamation and privacy issues, business and commercial law, and legal malpractice matters. Mr. Schwartz defends all manner of financial institutions, debt servicers and buyers, auto finance companies, collection attorneys, student lenders, telecommunication providers, mortgage lenders and credit reporting agencies.
In 1991 Mr. Schwartz graduated from the "Great Books" program at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. Mr. Schwartz attended Hofstra University School of Law in Hempstead, New York, and earned his juris doctor in 1996.
While earning his juris doctor, Mr. Schwartz served as a summer law clerk for the Honorable Zelda Jonas of the New York Supreme Court. He also assisted in the creation of an award-winning homeless advocacy group, representing indigent clients through the homeless advocacy group and criminal defendants through the Hofstra Criminal Justice Clinic. Mr. Schwartz received the Former District Attorneys of New York Criminal Justice Award in 1996. Additionally, Mr. Schwartz was a two-time recipient, 1994 and 1995, of the Hofstra Pro Bono award for service to the community.
Chantal C. Wonder, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
Chantel Wonder is Senior Counsel for the Tampa office of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, and is a member of the Insurance, Commercial Litigation, Construction, and Consumer Protection Litigation practice groups since May 2020. She was previously the in-house Trial Counsel for Portfolio Recovery Associates, focusing on heavily litigated collection cases and counterclaims. Ms. Wonder has been a licensed attorney since 2011. She earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Stetson University in 2007, and graduated from Stetson University College of Law in May 2010. At Stetson University, she studied abroad at the University of Oxford in England, and was a member of Phi Alpha Delta. She is a member of the Tampa Bay Inns of Court, Rotary Club of Pinellas Park, Past President of the Florida Creditors’ Bar, and Secretary for the Florida Small Claims Rules Committee.
CLE Information
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It is not uncommon for a course which is pending approval to not be approved until after the webinar has taken place. Once an official decision notice arrives from the state, NCBA will notify attorneys who have completed the course as soon as possible via email, and will re-issue any certificates of completion to reflect the updated state reporting numbers. However, it is recommended that attorneys do not view webinars that are pending approval close to their CLE deadline, as NCBA cannot guarantee that a course will be approved in time.
National Creditors Bar Association will seek MCLE accreditation, with the assistance of the ABA MCLE, for this webinar. The NCBA will seek General CLE credit hours in 60-minute-hour states, and in 50-minute states, subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules. States typically decide whether a program qualifies for MCLE credit in their jurisdiction 4-8 weeks after the program application is submitted. For many live events, credit approval is not received prior to the program. A link for CLE requests will be provided to webinar attendees who have met the attendance and engagement requirements.