I look at being sued by a debt collector like this: If you are going to sue me, you better have the proof and documentation to validate it. I will fight and tooth and nail if the attorney or law firm can't or won't show proper proof. It doesn't matter if I owe the debt or not. I am not an “easy money target†and after you read my book neither will you.
In class actions, attorneys effectively hire clients rather than act as their agent. Lawyer-financed, lawyer-controlled, and lawyer-settled, this entrepreneurial litigation invites lawyers to act in their own interest. John Coffee’s goal is to save class action, not discard it, and to make private enforcement of law more democratically accountable.
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.
Creditors and collectors seek to recover consumer debts through the use of litigation and arbitration. But, neither litigation nor arbitration currently provides adequate protection for consumers. The system for resolving disputes about consumer debts is broken. To fix the system, federal and state governments, the debt collection industry, and other stakeholders should make a variety of significant reforms in litigation and arbitration so that the system is both efficient and fair. Contents of this report: Introduction; Litigation and Arbitration Proceedings; Conclusion. Appendices: Debt Collection Roundtable (DCR) Panelists; Contributors to DCR; Agendas for DCR; DCR Public Comments; Sample State Debt Collection Checklists. Illustrations.
The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints about rogue debt collecting than about any activity besides identity theft. Dramatically and entertainingly, Bad Paper reveals why. It tells the story of Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive, and Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber, who become partners and go in quest of "paper"—the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Aaron and Brandon learn, the world of consumer debt collection is an unregulated shadowland where operators often make unwarranted threats and even collect debts that are not theirs. Introducing an unforgettable cast of strivers and rogues, Jake Halpern chronicles their lives as they manage high-pressure call centers, hunt for paper in Las Vegas casinos, and meet in parked cars to sell the social security numbers and account information of unsuspecting consumers. He also tracks a "package" of debt that is stolen by unscrupulous collectors, leading to a dramatic showdown with guns in a Buffalo corner store. Along the way, he reveals the human cost of a system that compounds the troubles of hardworking Americans and permits banks to ignore their former customers. The result is a vital exposé that is also a bravura feat of storytelling.
The legal landscape, and litigation, have changed markedly in the last decade.This book identifies the key issues related to ESI--pre-litigation management, preservation, collection, processing, review, production, and use in deposition and at trial--and provides clear, practical guidance to litigators. The book is divided into eight parts that follow the sequence from the pre-litigation stage through trial.
