2015 Consumer Rights Litigation Conference Featured Speakers

2015 Consumer Rights Litigation Conference
Featured Speakers
Richard Alembik
Richard S. Alembik is the Principal at the Law Offices of Richard S. Alembik, PC, in Decatur,
Georgia. Since 1991 he has focused his practice on real-estate-related and commercial
litigation. Alembik has been recognized as a “leading authority on foreclosure defense,” and an
“advocate for victims of wrongful foreclosure.” Listed in SuperLawyers© since 2012 (since
2006 as a “Rising Star”), Alembik has won multi-million dollar jury verdicts and has litigated,
arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of legal disputes to successful resolution. He has first-chaired
more than 60 jury trials and arbitration proceedings in state and federal courts, and arbitration
forums. Alembik earned his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was
elected to the position of Executive Editor of the Georgia Journal of International and
Comparative Law. He regularly lectures on various legal topics (generally involving real-estaterelated litigation) at continuing legal education seminars, and to other non-legal organizations.
He has made TV appearances as a legal commentator and provided consultation on state
legislation to Georgia legislators and study groups. Alembik is admitted to practice before all
trial and appellate courts of the State of Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and all three U.S. District Courts in Georgia. He is an
active member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, Georgia Trial Lawyers
Association, DeKalb County Bar Association, Lawyers Club of Atlanta, and the Real Estate
Section of the State Bar of Georgia. Outside of work, Alembik enjoys raising his two daughters,
masters swimming competition, and studying military history.
Justin Baxter
Justin Baxter is an AV rated trial lawyer with Baxter & Baxter, LLP, in Portland, Oregon. His
national practice focuses on credit reporting and unlawful debt collection cases. In 2007, he
obtained a $200,000 verdict against Equifax under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In 2010, he
obtained a $95,000 verdict against TRS Home Furnishings under the Oregon Unlawful Debt
Collection Practices Act, and a $100,000 verdict against a debt buyer and collection law firm
under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In 2013, he obtained a verdict against Equifax for
$18.5 million.
Paul Bland
F. Paul Bland, Jr. is Executive Director of Public Justice, overseeing its docket of consumer,
environmental and civil rights cases. He has argued or co-argued and won more than 25
reported decisions from federal and state courts across the nation, including cases in six of the
federal Circuit Courts of Appeal and at least one victory in nine different state high courts. He
has been counsel in cases which have obtained injunctive or cash relief of more than $1 billion
for consumers. He was named the “Vern Countryman” Award winner in 2006 by the National
Consumer Law Center, which “honors the accomplishments of an exceptional consumer
attorney who, through the practice of consumer law, has contributed significantly to the wellbeing of vulnerable consumers.” In 2013, he received the Maryland Consumer Rights
Coalition’s “Legal Champion” award. In 2010, he received the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau’s
“Champion of Justice” Award. In the late 1980s, he was Chief Nominations Counsel to the U.S.
Senate Judiciary Committee. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986, and Georgetown
University in 1983.
Daniel Blinn
Daniel Blinn is the Managing Attorney of Consumer Law Group, located in Rocky Hill, CT. He
handles both individual claims and class actions, and most of his cases involve auto dealer fraud
and warranty claims, debt collection abuse, and unfair business practice claims. Dan is a former
chair of the CT Bar Association’s Consumer Law Section, and he is currently a member of the
Board of Directors of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. He also serves as
NACA’s treasurer and is currently the chair of its Connecticut chapter. Dan regularly blogs
regarding auto dealer fraud at www.gamesdealersplay.com. In addition to his legal practice,
Dan is active in secular and Humanist organizations and practices as a Humanist Celebrant.
Bernard Brown
Bernard Brown studied as an undergraduate at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland (a
“Great Books” school), received his B.A. from the University of Toronto (in Toronto, Ontario),
his law degree from the University of Kansas, and has been in private practice in Kansas City
since 1980. Since 1983 his practice has focused on consumer fraud cases, particularly relating
to car sales and finance practices. His cases have resulted in many notable jury verdicts and
settlements, and in a sizable number of published court decisions of significance in consumer
law. He has worked regularly with the National Consumer Law Center for many years, as well
as with many other national consumer advocacy groups. He has written or contributed to many
items relating to consumer law, and has served as an adjunct law school professor teaching
consumer protection law. Mr. Brown is a founding member of the National Association of
Consumer Advocates (“NACA”), was one of its two original Co-chairs, has twice served on the
NACA board, and currently serves as chair of its Ethics Committee. He often is consulted by
members of local and national media regarding car industry consumer issues, and has appeared
in stories on 60 Minutes and ABC’s 20/20. He currently serves on a Department of Justice
Advisory Board that is dedicated to building the “National Motor Vehicle Title Information
System” (“NMVTIS”, a/k/a “vehiclehistory.gov”). In 2008 he received the “Countryman”
award from the National Consumer Law Center.
Carolyn Carter
Carolyn Carter is the Director of Advocacy at NCLC who has specialized in consumer law
issues for over 30 years. From 1974 to 1986 she worked for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland,
first as a staff attorney and later as law reform director. From 1986 to 1999 she was co-director
of a legal services program in Pennsylvania. She was the 1992 recipient of NCLC’s Vern
Countryman Award. She is admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. From 2005 to 2007 she was a
member of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council. She is a graduate of
Brown University and Yale Law School. She is co-author of NCLC's Truth in Lending, Unfair
and Deceptive Acts and Practices,Collection Actions and Consumer Warranty Law and is a
contributor to a number of other NCLC treatises.
Hyung S. Choi
Hyung S. Choi is a partner of Choi & Fabian, PLC, with offices in Chandler and Flagstaff,
Arizona. Mr. Choi has handled hundreds of successful consumer protection cases including
class action lawsuits against car dealers and finance companies. Mr. Choi’s efforts have resulted
in the following groundbreaking published decisions favoring consumers: Howell v. Midway
Infiniti., 362 F.Supp.2d 1158 (Ariz. 2005) (forgery and FCRA inaccuracy claims); Uhlig v.
Berge Ford, 257 F.Supp.2d 1228 (Ariz, 2003) (FCRA impermissible access claim); Garden
Lakes Community Association v. Madigan, 204 Ariz. 238, 62 P.2d 983 (App. 2003) (HOA
residents’ rights to install solar panels); and Winkler v. DTE, Inc., 205 F.R.D. 235 (Ariz. 2001)
(odometer rollback class action against lender based on the FTC Anti-Holder Rule). Mr. Choi
received his J.D., cum laude, from the Arizona State University College of Law in 1993. Mr.
Choi immigrated to the United States in 1978 at the age of fourteen. As an immigrant who
benefitted immensely from the opportunities and freedom to achieve provided by this great
country, Mr. Choi strongly believes in social justice and fights to promote it.
Alys Cohen
Alys Cohen is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center’s Washington office,
where she advocates before Congress and federal regulatory agencies on predatory lending and
sustainable homeownership issues. Ms. Cohen also trains and consults with attorneys and other
advocates nationwide on mortgage lending matters. She is a co-author of Stop Predatory
Lending, and a contributing author to the Center’s Cost of Credit, Credit Discrimination and
Truth in Lending treatises. Prior to joining the NCLC staff, Ms. Cohen served as an attorney in
the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Division of Financial
Practices, where she focused on predatory lending and discrimination matters. Ms. Cohen is a
graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Eileen Connor
Eileen Connor is a Senior Staff Attorney in the Special Litigation Unit of the New York Legal
Assistance Group. She is counsel on multiple consumer class-action lawsuits concerning
student loan debt, and a founder of the For-Profit School Project at NYLAG. Prior to joining
NYLAG, she was a John J. Gibbons Fellow in Constitutional and Public Interest Law at
Gibbons P.C., and a staff attorney at the Habeas Corpus Resource Center in San Francisco. She
served as a law clerk to Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey of the United States Court of Appeals for
the Sixth Circuit, and received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and B.A.
from Brown University.
Thomas A. Cox
Thomas A. Cox joined National Consumer Law Center as Of Counsel in 2013 and focuses on
foreclosure and mortgage issues. Tom is credited with exposing the national foreclosure "robosigning" mortgage lenders' scandal and has more than 30 years of private practice experience in
residential and commercial loan documentation and litigation matters. Tom also has significant
experience training other attorneys in residential foreclosure defense and litigation practices,
and acted as a consultant to Maine's Pine Tree Legal Assistance in managing the litigation
strategies of its foreclosure prevention program. He has testified before the U.S. House
Judiciary Committee and is the recipient of numerous awards. Tom received his J.D. from the
Boston University School of Law.
Joanna K. Darcus
Joanna K. Darcus is a Staff Attorney in the Homeownership and Consumer Rights Unit at
Community Legal Services, Inc. of Philadelphia (CLS). She joined CLS as an Independence
Foundation Fellow. Through her fellowship, Joanna implemented an economic justice project
designed to protect consumers from predatory debt collection practices. Joanna represents lowincome consumers who have been sued by debt collectors or who are struggling to repay their
student loans. She also seeks to increase the availability of self-help materials and counsel for
consumers, and pursues policy reform. Joanna is a graduate of Williams College and Duke
University School of Law.
Charles Delbaum
Charles Delbaum is a staff attorney focusing on litigating class actions around the country. He
is also co-author and editor of NCLC's Consumer Class Actions manual, joint coordinator of the
annual NCLC National Consumer Class Action Symposium, a contributing author to the
litigation chapters of NCLC's Fair Debt Collections, Fair Credit Reporting and Credit
Discrimination manuals, and a frequent presenter at NCLC and other conferences.
Immediately prior to joining NCLC in 2005, Charles was the Director of Litigation and
Advocacy at New Orleans Legal Assistance for thirteen years. In 2000, he was the recipient of
the Louisiana State Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Career Service Award. Prior to his work
in New Orleans, Charles had been a federal law clerk in Pennsylvania, a staff attorney in the
law reform division of the Cleveland Legal Aid Society, and a founding partner of Stege,
Delbaum and Hickman, a firm of former Legal Aid attorneys in Cleveland, Ohio. In the latter
two positions, he specialized in nursing home patient rights litigation. He is a 1971 graduate of
Harvard Law School and a 1968 graduate, cum laude, of Amherst College.
Sharon Dietrich
Sharon Dietrich has been an attorney with the Employment Unit of Community Legal Services,
Philadelphia, since 1987. She became CLS’ Managing Attorney for Public Benefits and
Employment in 1997 and its Litigation Director in 2014. She specializes in employment issues
faced by people with criminal records. She also worked as a contract attorney with the National
Employment Law Project from 1994 through 2004. Ms. Dietrich’s work features systemic
advocacy, such as legislative and policy advocacy, class action litigation, and communications,
primarily on criminal record and unemployment insurance issues. She received the 2006
Kutak-Dodds Prize from National Legal Aid and Defender Association in 2006, among her
awards.
Robert W. Doggett
Robert W. Doggett is General Counsel at Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid (TRLA). Robert has been
with TRLA since 2001 and prior to that he worked for two other legal aid organizations in
Dallas, Texas. Although he has represented clients across many areas, his primary focus has
been housing work since becoming a lawyer in 1990. Robert is a native Texan but was forced by
prenuptial agreement to move to Austin. He is married to a criminal defense attorney (but she
prosecutes at home and their two daughters are alleged to be following in their mother's
footsteps).
E. Michelle Drake
E. Michelle Drake is a partner at Nichols Kaster, PLLP in Minneapolis. Ms. Drake has served
as lead class counsel in over fifty consumer and employment class actions and has achieved
over $150 million in recoveries for her clients. Michelle serves on the Board of the National
Association of Consumer Advocates, is a member of the Partner’s Council of the National
Consumer Law Center, and is as an At-Large Council Member for the Consumer Litigation
Section for the Minnesota State Bar Association. She was named as a Super Lawyer by her
peers in both 2013 and 2014 and was appointed to the Federal Practice Committee in 2010 by
the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Ms. Drake is a graduate of
Harvard College, Oxford University, and Harvard Law School. Ms. Drake began her career as a
public defender in Georgia where she defended death penalty cases at the trial court level. She
has never lost her desire to engage in high stakes litigation and to fight for the little guy.
Judith Fox
Judith Fox is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Notre Dame Law School, where she teaches and
practices consumer law. She joined the faculty in 1997 and teaches courses in consumer law
and negotiation. Ms. Fox directs the Economic Justice Project, a low income clinic specializing
in foreclosure and debt collection defense. Judy graduated from Notre Dame Law School,
magna cum laude in 1993, where she was the articles editor of the Notre Dame Law Review.
Ms. Fox’s advocacy and research focus on issues of predatory lending and debt collection. She
is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the Indiana Mortgage
Foreclosure Task Force and co-chairs the AALS Clinical Section’s Standing Committee on
Lawyering in the Public Interest. She has received numerous awards for her advocacy,
including the Rodney F. Ganey, Ph.D. Faculty Community Based Research Award for her
research on foreclosure issues in Indiana and the Grenville Clark Award for voluntary activities
that advance the cause of peace and human rights. Ms. Fox provides trainings and seminars
across the country on issues related to mortgage foreclosure and debt collection and, most
recently, as a trainer for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s toolkit, Your Money
Your Goals, to assist low income consumers gain financial literacy.
James Francis
James Francis he has focused his practice in consumer protection litigation, with a particular
concentration in fair credit reporting, fair debt collection practices and consumer class actions
since 1998. He was ranked a Top 100 Pennsylvania Superlawyer in 2008, 2012, and 2014, and
has been regularly ranked one of the Top 100 Superlawyers in Philadelphia since 2004. He has
lectured and spoken extensively on the FCRA and currently serves on the Board of Directors of
the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA).
Jeff Gentes
Jeff Gentes manages the Connecticut Fair Housing Center’s work on the fair lending and
foreclosure prevention aspects of housing discrimination and co-supervises the Mortgage
Foreclosure Litigation Clinic at Yale Law School. His practice focuses on foreclosure defense
and litigating against mortgage companies on behalf of homeowners. He regularly engages in
appellate work, as both homeowner counsel and amicus curiae, and has trained foreclosure
mediators in four different states. He is a member of Connecticut’s Bench-Bar Foreclosure
Committee, and a registered state lobbyist on mortgage and foreclosure issues. Mr. Gentes
began his work in this field in 2008 when he joined the Homeowner Defense Project at Staten
Island Legal Services following stints at Proskauer Rose LLP and Pfizer Inc. Mr. Gentes
received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut and his J.D. from New York University
School of Law.
Chantal Hernandez
Chantal Hernandez is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center whose focus
includes mortgage servicing and foreclosures, including language access issues for limited
English proficiency consumers.. Previously, she was a staff attorney in the Foreclosure
Prevention Project of MFY Legal Services in New York. At MFY, she defended homeowners
sued in foreclosure through state trial and appellate litigation, representation at court-supervised
settlement conferences, preparation of pro se pleadings, and negotiation of loan modifications.
During law school, she was an intern for the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department
of Justice and also represented clients at the Janet R. Spragens Federal Tax Clinic in
Washington, D.C. She also served a member of the American University Law Review. Chantal
is a member of the New York Bar. She graduated cum laude from Boston University and
American University, Washington College of Law.
Scott R. Kaufman
Scott R. Kaufman is far from the traditional attorney and his firm is far from a traditional firm.
Scott graduated from the University of South Florida in 1981 with a degree in Speech
Communication. He went on to follow his dream of becoming an entrepreneur by selling hot
dogs from a hot dog cart in Southern CA. He later began his own small business teaching
tennis, also in Southern CA. After a dozen years of "living the dream" Scott went off to law
school and earned his JD from Willmatte University College of Law in in 1997. Once again,
Scott's entrepreneurial spirit had him starting and running his own business. A few years in,
facing mounting bills, Scott took a job with Consumer Legal Services, PC, out of Michigan,
opening and running their California Lemon Law office. Dissatisfied with the way this firm
operated, Scott opened California Lemon Lawyers in 2003. Mr. Kaufman focused on a smaller
practice, dedicated to helping consumers, not just his own bottom line. This smaller firm
approach has been directly responsible for putting millions of dollars back in to the pockets of
California Consumers since 2003. Scott now has three dedicated consumer attorneys working at
his office on Auto Fraud and Lemon Law matters.
Mr. Kaufman has appeared on Radio and Television multiple times in his capacity as a
Consumer Protection attorney. Mr. Kaufman been active with the National Association of
Consumer Advocates since 2005 and currently serves with Bob Brennan as California co-chair
for NACA. While his legal focus remains on Lemon Law and Auto Fraud matters, he regularly
attends conferences for FDCPA, FCRA, and other consumer law areas in order to hone and his
consumer advocate skills. Mr. Kaufman co-hosted NACA's semi-annual Auto Fraud conference
in San Diego in 2014 and is again on that committee for 2016. He also teaches Mandatory
Continuing Legal Education classes in the areas of lemon law and auto fraud, nationwide, in
order to further the cause.
Kristi C. Kelly
Kristi C. Kelly focusses her practice on advocating for individuals in state and federal courts in
Virginia, District of Columbia and Maryland, with a focus on credit reporting inaccuracies and
mortgage servicing abuses. Described by her peers as someone “who takes- and wins- the cases
others won’t touch,” she was selected as a Virginia “Leader in the Law” for the Class of 2014.
Ms. Kelly is also regularly selected as a Super Lawyer. Prior to starting her law firm in 2014,
Ms. Kelly was a shareholder at Surovell Isaacs Petersen & Levy where her practice focused on
consumer rights litigation in state and federal courts in the Washington, D.C. area. In May
2010, she received a $686,600 jury verdict and her attorney fees from a foreclosure rescue
scammer. After graduating law school, Ms. Kelly worked for Legal Services of Northern
Virginia as a housing and consumer law attorney. In that position, she co-founded the
Foreclosure Legal Assistance Program (FLAP) to provide legal advice and housing counseling
to prevent foreclosures. Ms. Kelly is a regular speaker on credit reporting and mortgage
servicing issues. She graduated from University of Richmond TC Williams School of Law. At
graduation, she received the Nina R. Kestin award for her extraordinary contributions to the
school, community and profession. Ms. Kelly received her degree cum laude from Dickinson
College, where she was a four year varsity soccer player. Ms. Kelly is a board member of the
Virginia Poverty Law Center and on the Advisory Committee of the Legal Aid Justice Center.
She lives in Oakton, VA with her husband Matt and two sons, Joey and Charlie.
Keith Keogh
Keith J. Keogh is a partner at Keogh Law, Ltd. in Chicago, Il. Keith has been litigating TCPA
class actions since early 2002 many of which have resulted in class wide settlements. He was
class counsel in the two largest TCPA Class Settlements. See Hageman v. AT&T Mobility
LLC, et al., Case 1:13-cv-00050-DLC-RWA (D. MT.) (Co-Lead) (Final Approval Granted
February 11, 2015 providing for a $45 million settlement for a class of 16,000 persons) and
Capital One Telephone Consumer Protection Act Litigation, et al., 12-cv-10064 (N.D. Ill. Judge
Holderman) (Liaison Counsel and additional Class Counsel)(Final Approval Granted February
12, 2015 for a $75 million settlement). Keith was selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer in 2015
and 2014 and an Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star each year from 2008 through 2013. In
addition to litigating TCPA cases, Keith has spoken at numerous sessions on the TCPA.
April Kuehnhoff
April Kuehnhoff is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center whose focus includes
fair debt collection. From 2009 to 2010 she was a Skirnick Public Interest Fellow at the
Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services office of Greater Boston Legal Services. From 2010
to 2012 she was a law clerk for the Honorable Justice Gary Katzmann at the Massachusetts
Appeals Court. From 2012 to 2014 she was an associate at Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP. Prior
to law school, April worked as a member of the Project on Global Working Families at the
Harvard School of Public Health and at the Wellesley College Center for Work and Service.
April is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Law School.
Elizabeth Letcher
Elizabeth Letcher is a consumer advocate and attorney who has practiced in the public interest
for nearly twenty years. She represents homeowners and other consumers in mortgage
servicing and related litigation, and offers consulting to attorneys and others on mortgage
servicing and loan modification. Before opening the Law Offices of Elizabeth S. Letcher in
2015, she was the Director of Litigation at the nonprofit Housing and Economic Rights
Advocates, leading the organization’s individual and class litigation in areas ranging from
predatory lending to mortgage servicing and modification issues to unfair debt collection, and
performing non-litigation related advocacy as well. She has testified as an expert on
foreclosure rescue and loan modification issues, and conducts worships and trainings for
consumers and attorneys on related issues. Before her six years at HERA, Ms. Letcher had a
civil rights oriented practice, both as an associate at a small firm and on her own, which focused
on challenges to government conduct and practices, employment discrimination and public
benefits suits, and civil, administrative, and criminal appeals. Ms. Letcher is a 1994 graduate of
Berkeley Law. She clerked for the Hon. Thelton E. Henderson of the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California, and the Hon James R. Browning of the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals, and was a Skadden Fellow at the Employment Law Center in San Francisco.
Ariana Lindermayer
Ariana Lindermayer is a staff attorney at MFY Legal Services. She works in the Consumer
Rights Project, which assists low-income New Yorkers who are being pursued for credit card
debts, medical debts, or student loan debts or are victims of financial scams. After graduating
from Fordham University School of Law, she clerked for the Honorable Paul A. Crotty on the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Honorable Maryanne Trump
Barry on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Ian Lyngklip
Ian B. Lyngklip is a partner at Lyngklip & Associates Consumer Law Center PLC. Mr.
Lyngklip is a former member and Chairperson of the State Bar of Michigan Consumer Law
Section Counsel, and a past Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of
Consumer Advocates. He regularly provides training in consumer law around the country,
which have included participation in programs for other consumer advocates, legal aid groups,
industry, regulatory bodies, judges, and legislators. He is the recipient of many honors
including the Oakland County Bar Association Pro Bono Service Award, June 2005, the Frank
Kelly Award, Michigan State Bar Association Consumer Law Section, September 2004, and the
Consumer Advocate of the Year, National Association of Consumer Advocates, October 2003.
He is regularly quoted in articles concern credit reporting and debt collection abuse, and has
appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Kiplingers, the Scripps Howard News
Wire, and the Detroit Free Press. His firm maintains its web site at
www.MichiganConsumerLaw.com. He graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
in 1987 and the University of Detroit School of Law in 1992.
Sara Manaugh
Since 2008, Sara Manaugh has been a staff attorney in the Foreclosure Prevention Project at
South Brooklyn Legal Services, where she defends homeowners in foreclosure actions;
participates in affirmative litigation primarily relating to predatory lending, unfair debt
collection practices, and mortgage and real estate fraud; and advocates for homeowners in
court-mediated settlement conferences. Prior to her work at South Brooklyn Legal Services,
she served as law clerk to two federal judges and worked at a law firm in Manhattan.
Roger L. Mandel
Roger L. Mandel is a nationally known class action lawyer who has been lead and liaison
counsel in class action cases across the country which have collectively recovered hundreds of
millions of dollars for injured consumers. He successfully tried one of the only two class actions
known to have been tried to a jury verdict in the Texas state courts. He is a frequent author and
lecturer on class action topics. He has been named as a Texas Super Lawyer in the Class
Action/Mass Torts category by Texas Monthly Magazine since the inception of the ratings in
2003, as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in the Class Action category by The National Trial Lawyers
since the inception of the honor in 2013, and as one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas in the Class
Action category by D Magazine since the inception of the category in 2014.
Mandi Matlock
Mandi L. Matlock is the founder and former director of the Texas Taxpayer Assistance Project
at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA). Before joining TRLA as a managing attorney, she
was an Equal Justice Works fellow specializing in tax and consumer litigation. She co-authors
Effectively Representing Your Clients Before the IRS and has worked on numerous comment
projects for proposed Treasury regulations, including testifying before the Department of the
Treasury on behalf of the State Bar of Texas Tax Section. She represents individual and
business taxpayers at all administrative levels of the IRS, in U.S. Tax Court, and in federal
district court. Ms. Matlock is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law.
Toby Merrell
Toby is a Clinical Instructor at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, where she
founded and directs the Project on Predatory Student Lending. The Project represents lowincome student loan borrowers in predatory lending cases against for-profit and occupational
schools. She teaches and supervises law students in the Center’s Predatory Lending Clinic.
Toby is also a lecturer at Harvard Law School, where she teaches a class on Student Loan Law.
She is a member of the advisory council on Private Occupational Schools to the Massachusetts
Division of Professional Licensure, and has represented legal aid providers and their clients in
the US Department of Education's two most recent negotiated rulemaking sessions, by which
the Department promulgates new student loan regulations.
Toby joined the Center in 2012 as a Skadden Fellow. She received her J.D. cum laude from
Harvard Law School. She clerked for the Honorable Janet C. Hall of the United States District
Court for the District of Connecticut. Before attending law school, Toby worked for an
education non-profit in New York City. She holds a B.A. from Yale, with distinction.
Adam S. Minsky
Adam S. Minsky founded the first law office in Massachusetts devoted entirely to assisting
student loan borrowers, and he is one of the only attorneys in the country practicing exclusively
in this area of law. Attorney Minsky provides counsel, legal assistance, and direct advocacy for
borrowers on a variety of student loan-related matters, including repayment management,
default resolution, and servicing troubleshooting. He has been interviewed by major national
publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and
The Chronicle of Higher Education, and was recently featured on the front page of the Boston
Business Journal. Attorney Minsky regularly speaks to students, graduates, and advocates about
the latest developments in higher education financing, and he maintains a nationally recognized
blog on student loan-related topics at www.BostonStudentLoanLawyer.com. He has recently
published two handbooks on student loan-related topics: Student Loan Debt 101, and The
Student Loan Guide for Parents and Cosigners. His upcoming book, The Student Loan
Handbook for Law Students and Attorneys, will soon be released by the American Bar
Association. Attorney Minsky is also a contributor to the National Consumer Law Center’s
manual on Student Loan Law. Attorney Minsky is a graduate of Boston University and
Northeastern University School of Law.
Willard Ogburn
Willard Ogburn has been the Executive Director of the National Consumer Law Center since
1987. The National Consumer Law Center is a low-income advocacy organization, publisher of
the major treatises on consumer law, a support center for legal aid programs, and sponsor of the
annual National Consumer Rights Litigation Conference. NCLC's advocates are sometimes
called 'the nation's consumer law experts.' Mr. Ogburn has presented and written widely on
consumer law. He has served as Deputy Commissioner of Banks in Massachusetts; in the
Executive Office of the President; with Congress' Legislative Reference Service; in the Law
Reform Unit of Cleveland Legal Aid; as a member and Chair of the Federal Reserve Board
Consumer Advisory Council; on Senator Elizabeth Warren's Judicial Screening Committee; on
the transition team for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey; and on the Boards of
Directors of Americans for Fairness in Lending; the Consumer Federation of America
(President); the National Association of Consumer Advocates (Executive Committee); the
Center for Legal Aid Education (President); and Consumer Reports. He was awarded the
National Association of Consumer Advocates' Lifetime Achievement Award; the William J.
Proxmire Lifetime Achievement Award by the American College of Consumer Financial
Services Lawyers; and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Massachusetts Bar Association.
Scott Owens
Scott D. Owens was raised in Amherst, New York and attended SUNY at Buffalo. Fed up with
the snow, Scott eventually made his way down to sunny South Florida in 2001 after graduating
from the New England School of Law in 2000. In 2011, Scott founded the law firm of Scott D.
Owens, P.A., a consumer law practice located on the beach in Hollywood, Florida. As one of
Florida’s most recognized consumer advocates, Scott has represented consumers for the past
eight years with regard to: violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA);
violations of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA); violations of the
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA); and violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act (FACTA). Scott has certified more than twenty class actions since becoming a
member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) in 2007, including
several multi-million dollar class action settlements in 2015. Additionally, Scott has successfully
argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on several occasions, including Breslow v.
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 755 F.3d 1265 (11th Cir. June 9, 2014) (affirming partial summary
judgment in TCPA action) and overturning four district court decisions on the issue of whether
an unaccepted Rule 68 Offer of Judgment could moot a class action. See generally Keim v. ADF
MidAtlantic, LLC, 586 Fed.Appx. 573 (11th Cir. Dec. 1, 2014); Barr v. Harvard Drug Group,
LLC, 591 Fed.Appx. 928 (11th Cir. Jan. 29, 2015).
Dennis D. Parker
Dennis D. Parker is the Director of the ACLU National Office's Racial Justice Program (RJP).
Concentrating on issues of the school-to-prison pipeline which funnels children of color from
the educational system into the criminal justice system, racial profiling, affirmative action,
indigent representation and felon enfranchisement, the RJP seeks to remove barriers to equal
opportunity for communities of color through litigation, public education, community
organizing and legislation. Prior to joining the ACLU, he was the Chief of the Civil Rights
Bureau of the Office of the New York State Attorney. Mr. Parker also worked for fourteen
years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund litigating and supervising the
litigation of scores of cases involving elementary and secondary education, affirmative action in
higher education and equal educational opportunity. Other positions included work at the
employment firm of Vladeck, Waldman, Elias and Engelhardt and the New York Legal Aid
Society, Criminal Defense Division in Brooklyn, New York. He has published a book and
numerous chapters and articles on a range of civil rights issues including housing
discrimination, educational equity, and affirmative action and testing. Mr. Parker lectures
extensively on civil rights issues and is an adjunct professor at New York Law School. He is a
graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard Law School.
Andrew Pizor
Andrew Pizor is a Staff Attorney in the National Consumer Law Center's Washington, DC
office where he works on issues related to mortgage financing and defending homeowners from
foreclosure. He is a contributing author to Foreclosures, Truth In Lending, and a co-author of
Mortgage Lending and Consumer Credit Regulation. Andrew also serves as an expert witness
on mortgage origination and servicing issues. He was previously an attorney at the Connecticut
Fair Housing Center, the Consumer Law Group, LLC, and Legal Services Corp. of Delaware.
He is a graduate of Georgetown University and Fordham University School of Law.
Katherine Porter
Professor Porter specializes in commercial and consumer law, including bankruptcy, mortgage
foreclosure, and credit cards. Her research focuses on empirical studies of consumer bankruptcy
and has been published in journals including the Texas Law Review, the Georgetown Law
Journal, the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, and the Cornell Law Review. She is currently
Professor of Law at the University of California Irvine School of Law, where she is Director of
the Transition to Practice program.
She has conducted several original empirical studies and is a principal investigator in the
ongoing Consumer Bankruptcy Project, the most comprehensive study of people in bankruptcy.
She has testified several times before Congress and is a frequent speaker at judicial education
and continuing legal education programs. She blogs about credit and debt issues at
www.creditslips.org.
In March 2012, Professor Porter was appointed by California Attorney General Kamala Harris
to be the state’s independent monitor of banks in a nationwide $25 billion mortgage settlement.
As Monitor, she oversaw the banks’ implementation of the settlement reforms and conducted
extensive community outreach and education. Under her leadership, the California Monitor
Program handled over five thousand homeowner complaints, conducted more than four dozen
outreach or education events, and issued six policy reports.
Her work has garnered several awards: the InnovAction Award by the College of Law Practice
Management, recognizing innovation and ingenuity in the delivery of legal services, academic
recognition for the best article in the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, practice excellence by
selection as one of the top 100 lawyers in California by the Daily Journal, and advocacy merit
with the Champion of Consumer Rights honor by the National Association of Consumer
Bankruptcy Attorneys.
Professor Porter previously was on the faculty at the University of Iowa College of Law and has
been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, UC Berkeley Law, the University of Illinois
College of Law, and the UNLV Boyd School of Law. She practiced bankruptcy law in Portland,
Oregon, and clerked for the Honorable Richard S. Arnold of the Eighth Circuit. She earned her
J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. from Yale University.
John Rao
John Rao is an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, Inc. Mr. Rao focuses on
consumer credit and bankruptcy issues and has served as a panelist and instructor at numerous
bankruptcy and consumer law trainings and conferences. He has served as an expert witness in
court cases and has testified in Congress on consumer matters. Mr. Rao is a contributing author
and editor of NCLC's Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice; and a co-author of NCLC’s
Foreclosures and Bankruptcy Basics. He is also a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy
and the Collier Bankruptcy Practice Guide. Mr. Rao served as a member of the federal Judicial
Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules from 2006 to 2012, appointed by Chief
Justice John Roberts. He is a conferee of the National Bankruptcy Conference, fellow of the
American College of Bankruptcy, vice-president of the National Association of Consumer
Bankruptcy Attorneys, member of the editorial board of Collier on Bankruptcy, and former
board member for the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Joseph Rebella
Joseph Rebella is a Staff Attorney in MFY Legal Services, Inc.’s Foreclosure Prevention
Project and represents homeowners in foreclosure and in affirmative litigation. Joseph practices
in both state and federal court, recently arguing an important foreclosure standing case before
the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department. He co-created and manages MFY’s FHA
Waterfall Worksheet and HAMP and GSE Waterfall Worksheet, both of which are nationally
prominent resources among homeowners’ advocates. Because of his knowledge of FHA loss
mitigation rules and HAMP regulations, Joseph has served as an expert in federal and state
cases alleging violations of FHA or HAMP rules. Before joining MFY Legal Services, Inc., he
served as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow for the Consumer Law Project of
the Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Rebella is a graduate of
University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Law School.
Ira Rheingold
Ira Rheingold is Executive Director and General Counsel of the National Association of
Consumer Advocates (NACA), an organization dedicated to protecting consumers from unfair
and deceptive business practices. At NACA, Ira has testified before both Houses of Congress on
various mortgage lending and consumer finance issues, offered commentary before federal
agencies charged with regulating financial service industries and protecting consumers, and
helped draft amicus briefs on issues of great concern to consumers before the nation's highest
courts. Before coming to NACA, Ira worked at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago as
a supervisory attorney in charge of the Foreclosure Prevention and Senior Housing Projects. His
responsibilities included community outreach and education, legal and policy advocacy and the
development of impact litigation against predatory mortgage lenders. Ira also worked for three
years as a legal services attorney in suburban Washington D.C. At that job, his primary work
included welfare advocacy and homelessness prevention. He is a graduate of Georgetown
University Law Center.
Stuart Rossman
Stuart Rossman is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and has
served as director of litigation since 1999. Stuart is the co-editor of NCLC’s Consumer Class
Actions and coordinates NCLC's annual Consumer Class Action Symposium. Stuart currently is
the co-chair of the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) Board of Directors.
Since 1992, he has been a member of the adjunct faculty at the Northeastern University School
of Law where he teaches courses in Civil Trial Advocacy and was appointed the 2010 Givelber
Distinguished Lecturer on Public Interest Law. He also is a member of the adjunct faculty at the
Suffolk University School of Law. Previously, he was a private trial attorney in Boston and
served as Chief of the Trial Division and Chief of the Business and Labor Protection Bureau at
the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. Stuart has received numerous honors and awards,
including the Thurgood Marshall Award by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. He is a 1975
graduate of the University of Michigan, summa cum laude and graduated from Harvard Law
School, cum laude in 1978.
Susy Rotkis
Susan M. Rotkis has practiced law in Virginia since 1996. As part of the team at Consumer
Litigation Associates, she represents consumers in litigation against financial institutions,
consumer reporting agencies, employers, and debt collectors in federal courts throughout the
country. Ms. Rotkis started her legal career at the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children in Alexandria, Virginia, as legal and legislative counsel. She served as general
counsel and corporate facility security officer of Total Immersion Software, Inc., (now Intific).
She served as a law clerk at the elbows of two judges: the Hon. Michael S. McDonald (retired)
in the Western District of Texas and the Hon. Dennis W. Dohnal (deceased) in the Eastern
District of Virginia. As a student at Georgetown University Law Center, she was a member of
the American Criminal Law Review and a founding member of the GULC Disability Rights
Council. She represented disability applicants, consumers and tenants as part of the Center for
Applied Legal Studies and the D.C. Law Students in Court Program. During law school, Ms.
Rotkis also served on the staff of the Hon. Dennis DeConcini, United States Senator (Arizona).
Ms. Rotkis is graduated from Arizona State University (B.A. 1989) and Georgetown University
Law Center (J.D. 1996). She is currently serving a gubernatorial appointment as a
Commissioner on the Hampton Roads Sanitation District Commission, and an appointment to
the Hampton Federal Area Development Authority. She is also a member of the parish
leadership council of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, and an immediate past member
of the Virginia National Guard Family Advisory Council and the American Red Cross,
Hampton Roads Chapter. When she isn’t working or volunteering, she can usually be found on
a boat with her husband and two kids.
Richard J. Rubin
Richard J. Rubin is a private attorney in Santa Fe, New Mexico, whose federal appellate
practice is limited to representing consumers in federal consumer credit protection cases,
including credit reporting and debt collection abuse litigation, and to consulting for other
consumer rights specialists around the country.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has acknowledged Mr. Rubin as a
"nationally known consumer-rights attorney" (Bass v. Stolper, Koritzinsky, Brewster Neider,
S.C., 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 41397, *5 (June 6, 1997)). He and his solo practice were the
subject of a profile published in the January 1993 ABA Journal. Mr. Rubin is the past chair of
the National Association of Consumer Advocates and in 2000 was the recipient of NCLC’s
Vern Countryman Award. In 2006 he was named to Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs'
Lawyers in America.
Mr. Rubin has taught consumer law at the University of New Mexico School of Law, is a
regular contributor to the Consumer Credit and Sales Legal Practice Series manuals published
by NCLC, and presents continuing legal education and attorney-training programs nationally in
the areas of consumer credit, warranty law, and debt collection abuse.
Sasha Samberg-Champion
Sasha Samberg-Champion is a counsel in the civil rights law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax,
PLLC, where his practice focuses on civil rights litigation. He has argued dozens of appeals and
has briefed cases covering a wide variety of topics before trial courts, appellate courts, and the
U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to joining Relman, Dane & Colfax, Sasha served as an appellate
lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, as an assistant solicitor
general with the New York Office of the Attorney General, and as a law clerk for the Hon. Jed
S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Hon. Robert
A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Sasha is a graduate of
Haverford College and Columbia Law School. He has taught classes at Columbia Law School
and at American University’s Washington School of Law.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg
Sasha Samberg-Champion is a counsel in the civil rights law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax,
PLLC, where his practice focuses on civil rights litigation. He has argued dozens of appeals and
has briefed cases covering a wide variety of topics before trial courts, appellate courts, and the
U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to joining Relman, Dane & Colfax, Sasha served as an appellate
lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, as an assistant solicitor
general with the New York Office of the Attorney General, and as a law clerk for the Hon. Jed
S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Hon. Robert
A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Sasha is a graduate of
Haverford College and Columbia Law School. He has taught classes at Columbia Law School
and at American University’s Washington School of Law.
Jane Santoni
Jane Santoni has been a practicing litigator since 1988 and has been practicing consumer law
since 2002. She has successfully tried and settled automobile fraud, mortgage fraud, warranty,
illegal repossession, insurance denials and debt collection cases in state circuit, district, and
appellate courts and in federal court. She has handled both individual and class cases. Ms.
Santoni has been interviewed and quoted on consumer issues by major news sources, including
the New York Times, Fox, CBS and NBC, The Baltimore Sun, The Daily Record, The
Baltimore Business Journal, and the Scripps Howard news. She has taught consumer law and
personal injury seminars locally and nationally. She is on the board of directors of Civil Justice,
Inc., and is the past Maryland state chair of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.
She is a member the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition and the Baltimore County Bar
Association. She has been named a Super Lawyer in Maryland repeatedly and in 2013 was
named as one of the Daily Record’s “Leaders in the Law” for her work in consumer protection
and personal injury law.
She is grateful to be part of this heroic organization and to be able to practice an area of law
which helps people obtain justice.
Lauren Saunders
Lauren Saunders is Associate Director at NCLC's Washington, DC office and serves as its
Managing Attorney. She directs NCLC's federal legislative and regulatory work. Lauren
regularly speaks, writes and testifies in areas including the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau, prepaid cards, mobile payments, small dollar loans, credit cards, bank accounts, and
preemption. She contributes to NCLC legal treatises, including Consumer Banking and
Payments Law, Consumer Credit Regulation, and Fair Credit Reporting, and has authored
several reports and white papers. She previously directed the Federal Rights Project of the
National Senior Citizens Law Center; was Deputy Director of Litigation at Bet Tzedek Legal
Services; and was an associate at Hall & Phillips. She graduated magna cum laude from
Harvard Law School and was an Executive Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and holds a
Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a B.A., Phi Beta
Kappa, from Stanford University.
Margot Saunders
Margot is currently “of counsel” to the National Consumer Law Center, after serving as
Managing Attorney of the Center’s Washington office from 1991 to 2005. Margot has testified
before Congress on dozens of occasions regarding a wide range of consumer law matters,
including predatory lending, payments law, electronic commerce, and other financial credit
issues. She is a co-author of NCLC’s Consumer Banking and Payments Law and a contributor
to numerous other manuals. Margot regularly serves as an expert witness in consumer credit
cases, providing opinions on predatory lending, electronic benefits, servicing, and credit math
issues. Prior to joining NCLC she was the consumer law specialist for North Carolina Legal
Services. In 1991, Margot was the second recipient of the Vern Countryman Award. She is a
graduate of Brandeis University and the University of North Carolina School of Law.
Rachel Scott
Rachel Scott is an attorney with the Senior Citizens Law Project of the Atlanta Legal Aid
Society, focusing on foreclosures, mortgage lending, and real estate issues affecting seniors.
Most recently, Rachel has been an advocate for non-borrowing spouses of reverse mortgages
who have been facing foreclosure following the death of the borrower spouse, in violation of
federal law. Rachel successfully litigated against HUD and a reverse mortgage lender on behalf
of a widow who was facing foreclosure after her husband’s death, and secured a resolution
giving her client the right to remain in the home. Prior to joining Atlanta Legal Aid, Rachel
clerked for the Honorable Henry Coke Morgan, Jr., U.S. District Court for Eastern District of
Virginia, Norfolk. Rachel received her B.A. in mathematics from Agnes Scott College and her
J.D. from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, where she graduated first in her class.
David Seligman
David Seligman is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center whose focus includes
forced arbitration, alternative payment systems, and auto finance. Previously, he was a Harvard
Law School Irving Kaufman Fellow at NCLC. David served as a law clerk for Judges Robert D.
Sack and Susan L. Carney of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and
Judge Patti B. Saris of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He has
worked for Make the Road New York and a union-side labor law firm in San Francisco. Before
law school, he was a New York City Urban Fellow in the New York City Police Department.
David is a graduate of the Harvard Law School.
Steven Sharpe
Steven Sharpe is a Senior Attorney in the Hamilton office of the Legal Aid Society of
Southwest Ohio, LLC, where he represents borrowers facing foreclosure and children in child
protective services cases. He has been active in national efforts to address problems with the
servicing of FHA-insured and USDA-guaranteed mortgage loans.
Harry Shulman
Harry Shulman is an experienced consumer attorney in San Francisco. He learned the trade in
15 years at Holland & Hart in Colorado, where he was a partner for eight years and led the
litigation practice in one of the firm’s branch offices. He moved to California in 2000, where he
began focusing on consumer class actions. He has participated in, and led, many class actions
since then including Klussman v. Cross Country Bank (class action against predatory credit
card lender), Boltz v. Buena Vista Home Entertainment (class action against DVD
manufacturers for DVDs without closed captioning), and Amador v. California Culinary
Academy (class action against Le Cordon Bleu culinary school).
Harry formed Shulman Law in 2010, where he now focuses on litigation and arbitration against
for-profit schools. He has successfully arbitrated and litigated cases against UEI schools,
Kaplan schools, Art Institute schools, and other miscellaneous schools since then. He is a
graduate of Dartmouth College (1980, cum laude) and University of Virginia Law School (J.D.
1985). He is admitted in California and Colorado, the federal district and circuit courts in those
states, and pro hac vice in many jurisdictions.
Jennifer Sinton
Jennifer Sinton is the Director of the Foreclosure Prevention Project at South Brooklyn Legal
Services (SBLS). She is also co-chair of the New Yorkers for Responsible Lending (NYRL)
Mortgage Working Group. Ms. Sinton joined the SBLS Foreclosure Prevention Project in
2007. SBLS represents Brooklyn homeowners at risk foreclosure in mandatory settlement
conferences, good faith motions and hearings, foreclosure defense, and litigation challenging
abusive and discriminatory lending and servicing practices.
Prior to joining SBLS, Ms. Sinton specialized in civil rights litigation for people with HIV,
public benefits, and tenant rights. Ms. Sinton received her J.D. magna cum laude from Brooklyn
Law School and a B.A. from Brown University.
Lisa Sitkin
Lisa Sitkin is Managing Attorney at Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) in
Oakland, CA. She has been practicing law since 1997. Prior to joining HERA, Ms. Sitkin
litigated civil rights, media law and intellectual property cases and provided advice and
counseling to reporters, publishers, businesses and individuals. At HERA, Ms. Sitkin counsels
individual clients, serves as a consumer advocate with lenders, loan servicers and legislative
bodies, and assists with mortgage servicing, predatory and unfair lending litigation. Since
joining HERA, Ms. Sitkin has conducted numerous workshops and trainings regarding
mortgages, foreclosures, loan modification and foreclosure rescue scams, including programs
produced by the Practicing Law Institute and the National Consumer Law Center. Ms. Sitkin
has also testified several times before the California State Legislature and other governmental
bodies regarding mortgage servicing and foreclosure. She was one of the original drafters of the
bill that ultimately became the California Homeowner Bill of Rights.
Larry Smith
Larry Smith is the founding and managing partner at SmithMarco, P.C. in Chicago, Illinois
which focuses on consumers’ rights matters ranging from FDCPA and FCRA to Lemon Law
and UDAP cases. Larry has been practicing law since 1993, and has turned his focus solely to
consumers’ rights since 1998. Larry earned his undergraduate degree from the University of
Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and his law degree from The John Marshall Law School in
Chicago. Larry has handle numerous jury trials in the area of auto fraud, and has successfully
argued a number of appeals leading to some pro-consumer decisions, such as Miller v. William
Chevrolet (Illinois Appellate 2nd District - holding that representing a vehicle as a single owner
vehicle while failing to disclose its prior rental history is fraud); Vassilkovska v. Woodfield
Nissan (Illinois Appellate 1st District defeating dealership arbitration agreement and holding
that separate agreement not supported by consideration is void); and Stone v. Clifford Chrysler
(Illinois Appellate 1st District – holding that facts remain as to cost of repairs to new vehicle
being sold as new so as to require disclosure of any pre-sale damage); Larry also successfully
tried federal cases under the FCRA and FDCPA. Particularly, Larry successfully handled a
FCRA case against the United States Department of Agriculture at both trial and appeal to the
Seventh Circuit (Talley v. U.S. Dept. of Ed, 07 C 0705 – N.Dist. IL – holding that the United
States government is not entitled to immunity under the FCRA). Larry is admitted to the
Seventh and Eighth Circuit Appellate Courts, and currently serves as a NACA state chairman
for the state of Illinois.
Robyn Smith
Robyn Smith currently works as half-time Of Counsel with the National Consumer Law Center,
where she concentrates on student loan and for-profit school issues. She also works half-time on
these issues as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Prior to this, Ms.
Smith worked at the California Attorney General's office where she investigated and prosecuted
businesses engaged in consumer fraud and unlawful business practices. Ms. Smith also
represented low-income consumers in a wide range of consumer law matters as the Directing
Attorney of the Consumer Law Project at Public Counsel in Los Angeles and as the Managing
Attorney of the Windward Branch of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii on the island of Oahu.
She received her J.D. from University of Southern California
Robert Sola
Robert S. Sola is the founding member of Robert S. Sola, P.C., a consumer law firm based in
Portland, Oregon. He has been handling Fair Credit Reporting Act cases since 1996. He
represents consumers across the country, and has litigated FCRA cases in more than 20 states as
co-counsel with many NACA and NCLC members. Mr. Sola has obtained jury verdicts against
all three major credit reporting agencies. In 2002, he was lead counsel in Thomas v. Trans
Union, where the jury awarded the consumer $5.3 million. In 2007, he was co-counsel in
Williams v. Equifax, which resulted in a judgment of $3.4 million. Mr. Sola was named Trial
Lawyer of the Year in 2003 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates. He is a
regular speaker on credit reporting litigation for the National Consumer Law Center, the
National Association of Consumer Advocates, various state bar organizations and private
groups.
Amy E. Tabor
Amy E. Tabor likes nothing better than getting fair compensation for people who have been
wronged and holding abusive companies responsible for their actions. She has represented
consumers and small businesses against some of the largest companies and law firms in the
United States. She has experience in complex cases, including class actions, commercial
litigation, and antitrust matters involving the automotive, technology, energy, construction, and
airline industries. She also has extensive experience in Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”)
matters. She has appeared for clients in state and federal court in both Texas and California,
before arbitral tribunals, and at the Texas Court of Appeals.
Ariana J. Tadler
Ariana J. Tadler specializes in securities fraud and consumer class action litigation as well as
complex litigation and is an elected member of the Executive Committee of Milberg LLP. Ms.
Tadler is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on electronic discovery
and chairs Milberg’s E Discovery Practice Group. She serves on the Board of Directors, is
Chair Emeritus and a member of the Steering Committee of The Sedona Conference®’s
Working Group 1 on Electronic Document Retention and Production. Ariana Tadler also serves
on the Advisory Boards of Georgetown University Law Center’s Advanced E-Discovery
Institute, Cardozo Data Law Initiative, and Bloomberg BNA’s eDiscovery Board.
Tara Twomey
Tara Twomey is currently Of Counsel to the National Consumer Law Center and the Project
Director for the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center. She has previously been a
Lecturer in Law at Stanford, Harvard and Boston College Law Schools. Tara is a former
Clinical Instructor at the Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School where
her practice focused, in part, on sustainable homeownership for low- and moderate-income
homeowners. She is a contributing author of several books published by the National Consumer
Law Center, including Foreclosures and Bankruptcy Basics.
Dominic Valerian
Dominic Valerian is a partner of Gallo LLP in San Rafael, California, where his practice
focuses on representing consumers and employees in class, mass, and other complex actions
involving fraud, breach of contract, and statutory violations. He regularly represents victims of
the for-profit education industry, including thousands of defrauded culinary students in lawsuits
and arbitrations against three for-profit culinary schools, fifteen licensed vocational nursing
students in individual arbitrations against their nursing program, and a class of Sallie Mae
student loan borrowers who were assessed excessive 25% collection charges upon default.
John Van Alst
John Van Alst is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center whose focus includes
deceptive practices law, automobile fraud, rural issues, warranty, and manufactured home
issues. Prior to joining NCLC John was an Attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina. He was
also the Chair of the North Carolina Consumer Law Task Force. He spent one year as a Visiting
Clinical Supervisor at the University of North Carolina School of Law's Civil Clinical Program
supervising law students representing low-income clients. He is a graduate of the University of
North Carolina School of Law. He is co-author of NCLC's Automobile Fraud, Consumer
Warranty Law, and Repossessions.
Jennifer S. Wagner
Jennifer S. Wagner is Managing Attorney at Mountain State Justice, a non-profit, public interest
law firm in West Virginia. Jennifer litigates on behalf of low-income consumers, focusing on
combatting predatory mortgage lending and abusive mortgage servicing. Jennifer also engages
in other consumer and civil rights litigation, including access to appropriate medical care,
worker's health and safety, and the humane treatment of prisoners. She has given numerous
trainings on consumer litigation. Prior to joining Mountain State Justice, Jennifer clerked on the
U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and worked at the Partnership for the Homeless and in
city government in New York City. She graduated with honors from New York University
School of Law and Harvard College.
Luke Wallace
Luke Wallace is a father, husband, and trial lawyer from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a partner in
the consumer protection law firm, Humphreys Wallace Humphreys, P.C. Along with his
partner, David Humphreys, he has tried consumer protection jury trials across the country with
jury verdicts for consumer fraud, FDCPA, collection abuse, predatory lending, auto fraud, and
identity theft. Luke very much enjoys training other lawyers in the areas of trial practice and
consumer law. He speaks to national, state, and local bar associations on FDCPA, wrongful
collection, identity theft, false credit reporting, predatory lending, automobile fraud, wrongful
foreclosures, trial skills, and maximizing damages in consumer law cases. Luke is a 2001
graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College, Dubois, WY. In 2004, the college
recognized him and his partner, David Humphreys, as Co-Warriors of the Year for the 18-state
South Central region of the country. Luke is a faculty member of the college. He has been
named an Oklahoma Super Lawyer since 2006. In 2002, The National Association of Consumer
Advocates awarded him and his partner, David, the Trial Advocates of the Year Award.
Geoffry Walsh
Geoffry Walsh is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) who focuses
on foreclosure prevention, consumer bankruptcy, and other consumer credit issues. He has
provided written testimony and engaged in policy advocacy at the federal and state levels on the
topic of foreclosure mediation. He has served as a panelist and instructor at trainings and legal
education seminars on foreclosure prevention and bankruptcy topics, and is an active member
of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. Walsh is co-author of
Foreclosures, Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Foreclosure Prevention Counseling,
Student Loan Law, and Credit Discrimination. Walsh previously worked as an attorney with
Vermont Legal Aid, Inc. in Springfield, Vt. from 1991 to 2008, specializing in housing,
consumer, and bankruptcy areas. From 1980 to 1991, he worked as a staff attorney with
Community Legal Services, Inc. in Philadelphia, Pa., where he also specialized in housing and
consumer litigation. Walsh earned his B.A. from University of Michigan and is a graduate of
Temple University Law School.
Odette Williamson
Odette Williamson has been a staff attorney at NCLC since July, 1999. Prior to this she was an
Assistant Attorney General in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General where she
concentrated on civil enforcement actions against individuals and businesses for violation of
consumer protection and other laws. As an AAG she also served on the Elder Law Advocates
Strike Force to combat unfair and deceptive acts against elderly citizens. She attended Tufts
University and Boston College Law School where she was a staff writer and editor for the
Uniform Commercial Code Reporter-Digest. She is also admitted to the Massachusetts bar.
She is co-author of NCLC's Foreclosures, and Foreclosure Prevention Counseling.
Chi Chi Wu
Chi Chi Wu has been a staff attorney at NCLC for over a decade. Chi Chi focuses on consumer
credit issues at NCLC, including legislative, administrative, and other advocacy. Chi Chi's
specialties include fair credit reporting, credit cards, refund anticipation loans, and medical
debt. Before joining NCLC, Chi Chi worked in the Consumer Protection Division at the
Massachusetts Attorney General's office and the Asian Outreach Unit of Greater Boston Legal
Services. Chi Chi is a graduate of Harvard Law School and The Johns Hopkins University.
Chi Chi is co-author of the legal manuals Fair Credit Reporting Act and Collection Actions, and
a contributing author to Consumer Credit Regulation and Truth in Lending.