Richard Cole (rcole3@gmail.com) and Jon Lieberman (jon.lieberman@sottileandbarile.com), co-chairs of the ABI Consumer Committee, would like to thank all of the committee members and leaders who have made 2019 a most productive and exciting year. Our committee officers are vital to the success of the committee throughout the year, and information about our committee leadership is listed below.
Michelle Bass (mbass@wolfsonbolton.com) serves as our Membership Relations Director. The committee has seen a substantial membership increase this year, and Michelle takes the time to personally send a welcome to new committee members. Michelle will be planning a committee reception at the Annual Spring Meeting in April 2020.
David Cox (david@coxlawgroup.com) serves as our Education Director. For the 2019 Winter Leadership Conference, the Consumer Committee partnered with the Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee to present “Consumer Attorney Fees: Everything You Always Wanted To Know: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.” The panel consisted of Cincinnati Chapter 13 Trustee Margaret A. Burks, Hon. Catherine E. Bauer of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Hannah W. Hutman of Hoover Penrod PLC in Harrisonburg, Va., and Committee Co-Chair Jon Lieberman. The panel addressed the differing approaches for attorney fees in chapter 13 cases across the country, and the allowance of debtor and creditor fees while examining and discussing the ABI Consumer Commission’s recommendation on fees in chapter 13 cases generally. For the 2020 Annual Spring Meeting, the Consumer Committee will partner with the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee to discuss the Small Business Reorganization Act’s effects on consumer practice.
Christopher Hawkins (chawkins@bradley.com) is our Newsletter Editor. This year’s newsletter articles have included “Regulation F Looks to Provide Clarity to the FDCPA, But What About Bankruptcy?,” “Litigation in the Bankruptcy Courts: Federal Practice Regarding Privilege and Expert Discovery,” “Legislative Update on Student Loans and Bankruptcy,” and “The Intersection of Bankruptcy and the FDCPA: The CFPB’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.” The committee is always accepting original articles for the committee newsletter. If you are interested in writing an article on a particular issue you find to be of regional or national interest, please e-mail Chris.
Heather Giannino (heathergiannino@hsbattys.com) is our Communications Manager and heads up our listserve, which is always active. Heather generated some lively discussion with her postings concerning ABI’s Comment to the CFPB’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding the FDCPA, and the case of In re Washington, 587 BR 349 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2018). We encourage everyone to make use of the listserve; it is also an excellent source for referrals when you need out-of-state counsel. Join the listserv on abi.org.
Our Special Projects Leaders are Keith Larson (larson@derbycitylaw.com) and John Bollinger (jrbollinger@bolemanlaw.com). With the considerable assistance of Chris Hawkins, our Special Projects team successfully undertook the major project of preparing and submitting Comments to the CFPB’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding the FDCPA. In connection with this project, Chris Hawkins, Keith Larson and Jon Lieberman held a webinar concerning those proposed Comments and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The Special Projects team is currently working on two upcoming webinars for 2020. The first will concern student loans and bankruptcy, and is being organized with the assistance of Richard Cole. Register Now. The second webinar will concern the HAVEN Act and is being organized with the assistance of Jay Bender, the recent recipient of ABI’s inaugural Service to Veterans Award.
Another major project that the committee is working on is an update to ABI’s publication Thorny Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy Cases. Each committee officer has been assigned to write a chapter of this new volume, which is set for publication in 2020.
The committee is always looking for contributors to the newsletter, suggestions for webinar or seminar topics, and individuals looking to get more involved. If you are interested in contributing to the committee, please reach out to any of the aforementioned leaders.
2019 Consumer Bankruptcy Committee
