Overview
Banks, debt collection firms, background screening companies and financial institutions have benefited from our counsel, whether struggling to communicate with current and potential customers without running afoul of federal law or dealing with ensuing claims and regulatory enforcement.
When the smallest technical infraction can result in substantial statutory damages – especially when multiplied by a large number of “robocalls,” broadcast faxes or collection dunning letters – it is important to enlist experienced counsel who can preempt consumer protection violations or manage their consequences, if they occur.
As companies increasingly – and often unknowingly – run the risk of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Fair Debt Collections Practice Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and related state laws, Wilson Elser offers assistance through a cadre of attorneys deeply familiar with these statutes and their accompanying regulations. In several instances, we have headed off class actions that could have become unmanageable, crippling – or worse.
Wilson Elser’s Statutory Consumer Protection Defense Practice offers our clients a distinctly powerful combination of benefits specific to debt collection defense:
- We investigate claims immediately, and if a violation is uncovered, make every effort to reach a quick settlement designed to contain damages including potential fees of opposing counsel. Unlike many law firms unfamiliar with the underlying legal theories of consumer protection statutes, we do not endlessly litigate claims. We are ready to move quickly and decisively to evaluate a company’s potential liability to a statutory infraction and head off an expensive commitment to litigation with no realistic upside. Our commitment to early resolutions, combined with our efficient use of resources, acknowledges our clients’ financial parameters and typically results in decreased legal spend.
- Acknowledging that many of these claims escalate to class actions, one of Wilson Elser’s hallmarks is its Class Action Defense Practice. As best advances our clients’ objectives, we frequently collaborate with practice colleagues, reaching swift and favorable resolutions through motions to dismiss, moving for early summary adjudication, proactively defeating class certification through effective and focused early discovery, and obtaining early stays of the proceedings.
- Our Statutory Consumer Protection Defense attorneys similarly draw on other resources within the broader firm. Given the nature of debt collection and related defense claims, this often involves members of our Employment & Labor Practice familiar with applicable state and federal regulations.
- Many of our clients benefit from Wilson Elser’s broad reach. There is no need to spend precious time and resources assembling a network of law firms to defend TCPA-related claims. With offices strategically located in most major markets throughout the United States, we can be the single source for on-the-ground legal services in almost every jurisdiction, which often translates into significant savings for our clients.
Our in-depth knowledge of the TCPA, FDCPA, FCRA and related state law combined with extensive experience in class actions and employment and labor defense contribute to the wide following of clients who count on Wilson Elser to help ensure compliance with these exacting statutes, and if provisions are nonetheless violated, mitigate potentially serious damages.