How to Do the Right Thing When Collecting in a COVID-19 Environment
Briefing Call
How do you balance the morality of collecting during the COVID-19 environment? Are you still sending letters, making outbound calls, suing or enforcing judgments? Join our panel as they explore issues of attorney professional responsibility and ethics for creditor rights attorneys in a time of national crisis and provide tools you can use to resolve these concerns. The panel will discuss the short-term versus long-term economic impact, the potential of legislative action to stop debt collection, and potential liability under FDCPA for collecting during this time. They will also discuss how to handle aggressive clients, and competitors that are continuing to seek active collections. This 45-minute discussion will raise perspective on a lot of the tough questions that our industry is facing as we balance the moral vs. economic impacts that the Coronavirus is causing us to stress about on a daily basis.
Speakers:
Don Maurice, Maurice Wutscher LLP
Donald Maurice focuses his practice primarily on representing consumer and commercial financial services companies, including financial asset buyers and sellers, depository institutions, third-party debt collectors, and other financial services providers. He successfully litigates for the financial services industry in state and federal courts. He has provided defense in individual and class action claims brought under the Truth in Lending Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act and various state consumer protection laws. Don also assists clients before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and in the development and testing of debt collection compliance systems. He provides advice and counsel to attorneys in matters of professional responsibility and attorney ethics.
He is peer-rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the worldwide guide to lawyers. His prior firm was named a “Go-to Law Firm for the Top 500 Companies” and a “Go-to Financial Law Firm” by Corporate Counsel.
Don has been retained as counsel for amicus curiae, in the United States Supreme Court and in federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, authoring briefs for a number of cases, most recently Crown Asset Management LLC v. Mary Barbato, No. 19-100 (U.S. Supreme Court 2019); and Rotkiske v. Klemm, No. 18-328 (U.S. Supreme Court 2019).
He is outside counsel to RMAI, serves on the governing Board of Regents of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers and is a member of the Governing Committee of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law. Don is a Fellow of the ABA’s American Bar Foundation and served as chair of the ABA’s Debt Collection Practices and Bankruptcy Subcommittee, Business Law Section from 2014 to 2017. Don has provided testimony on behalf of the receivables management industry before state legislatures.
Don is a frequent author of articles and other publications regarding consumer lending and litigation developments. In addition to publishing, Don speaks to national audiences on topics relevant to the financial services industry.
Don earned his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University. He is a member of RMAI, ACA International, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and the American, New York, New York City and District of Columbia Bar Associations.
Scott Morris, Stephen Einstein & Associates, P.C. (Moderator)
Scott Morris is a Principal and the Chief Compliance Officer of Stephen Einstein & Associates, P.C. Scott recently joined the firm after a seven year career at Midland Credit Management, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Encore Capital Group, where he helped design, implement and optimize Midland’s internal legal department. Both at Midland and Stephen Einstein & Associates he has worked on matters involving the CFPB, State Attorney General, federal, state and local regulations, in addition to, implementing Compliance Management Systems, improving operational and technological processes and providing management and leadership to numerous employees.
He earned his J.D., cum laude, in 2004 from New York Law School, his B.L.A, in 1998 from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is admitted to the bars of the State of New Jersey and New York.
He is a member of the NCBA Board of Directors and is Co-Chair of the Communications Pillar, Subcontractor Oversight Task Force, and Legal Recoveries Promotion Task Force, while he Chairs the Compliance Certification Program and the NCBA Political Action Committee (PAC).
Nathan Willner, National Creditors Bar Association
Nathan D. Willner serves as the Government Affairs Officer of the National Creditors Bar Association (NCBA). Prior to representing the NCBA in Federal, State and Regulatory matters and advocacy he was of Counsel for 11 years for the regional creditor’s rights firm of Lyons, Doughty & Veldhuis, P.C. where he managed the firm’s Legislative Affairs and concentrated his Maryland law practice in the area of consumer retail litigation. Mr. Willner is the immediate past President of the Maryland-DC Creditors Bar Association and is a member of various other legal, community and service board organizations. He earned his undergraduate degree at Temple University and law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. Mr. Willner has been a member of the Maryland Bar since 1990.