Successful 2021 Virtual Hill Days Reaffirms NCBA as the Voice for Creditors Rights Attorneys

NCBA’s Virtual Hill Days included more than a dozen meetings with Members of Congress and their staff from both sides of the aisle and from both the House and Senate. This event was a great success because of the participation of more than 2 dozen NCBA member attorneys and staff who participated with NCBA this week. 

While NCBA is hard at work representing our industry all year round, on April 27 and 28, NCBA member participants amplified our voice. Having our members participate this week is a highlight for NCBA and an important part of our advocacy strategy.

With the multitude of legislative, judicial, and regulatory issues facing our practice area, our robust advocacy strategy is more important than ever.  As an overarching theme our participants noted NCBA’s steadfast support for the Independence of the Practice of Law and the Integral role we play in the Credit Eco-System. We also were proud to highlight NCBA member firms’ response to the COVID-19 crisis by calling for the exemption of stimulus payments from involuntary judicial bank garnishment and by ensuring that robust hardship programs were available for affected consumers.

We also were able to let legislators know that proposals to ban all debt collections during the pandemic or legislation to regulate the practice of law would harm consumers, increase confusion for the practice area and have negative consequences for many small businesses. Specifically, we were able to raise the issue of a particular bill that seeks to expand FDCPA liability and regulate attorney conduct during the litigation process. We were pleased to learn from at least one democratic legislator that based on our explanation of these issues that he will not be supporting this legislation, despite his close relationship with the lead sponsor and co-sponsor of the bill.  

Finally, we fielded many questions and requests for additional information from our membership. Members of Congress would be interested in knowing more about the diversity & inclusion efforts in your firms, they would like to understand the total number of employees that you employ, and importantly, they are interested in the stories you may be able to share of how your firm has worked with consumers to find resolutions to consumer debt issues. Please reach out to nathan@creditorsbar.org to learn more.

While our successful NCBA Hill Days have concluded, our advocacy efforts continue.  Again, we are thankful for all those who took the time to attend our prep-calls, engage legislators and their staff via zoom and for their commitment to NCBA. We will build on this momentum and continue to be a voice for our members—to tell our story and ensure that we highlight the compliance, professionalism, and dedication of all our law firm members.

These efforts go a long way towards ensuring NCBA is the recognized premier advocate for attorneys practicing creditors rights law. To support our advocacy, please consider contributions to the NCBA PAC and/or Advocacy Support Fund.

Thank you, 2021 Hill Day participants:

Brian Cloud, Cloud Willis & Ellis, LLC
Thomas Canary, Keith D. Weiner & Associates Co., L.P.A.
Robert Daday, Portnoff Law Associates, Ltd.
Crystal Duplay, Lawgix Lawyers, LLC
Charles “Gus” Euripides, Glasser and Glasser, P.L.C.
Michele Gagnon, Lyons, Doughty & Veldhuis, P.C.
Mark Groves, Glasser and Glasser, P.L.C.
Todd Gurstel, Gurstel Law Firm P.C.
Joy Jackson, Faber & Brand LLC
Randall Johannes, Vargo & Janson, PC
Amber Kourofsky, Rossway Swan Tierney Barry & Oliver, P.L.
Steven Markoff, Markoff Law LLC
Jerry Myers, Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing and Myers, L.L.P.
Ronald C. Miller, Miller and Steeno, P.C.
Scott Morris, Tromberg, Morris & Poulin PLLC
Bradley J. Osborne, Hladik, Onorato & Federman, LLP
Burton (Chip) Stacy, Hood and Stacy, P.A.
Stacy Stein, Mountain Peak Law Group, PC
Brit Suttell, Barron & Newburger, P.C.
David Weimer, Kramer & Frank, P.C.
Keith D. Weiner, Keith D. Weiner & Associates Co., L.P.A.
Matt Williams, Miller and Steeno, P.C.
Jim Wolf, Stokes & Wolf PC