As successive waves of class action litigation have come crashing down on one industry after another, our national practice has evolved from primarily "firefighting" to include planning, prevention and industry education. From our industry-wide representation of debt collection firms in the mid-90s to our precedent-establishing representation of lenders and consumer products companies in recent years, we have emerged as a nationally known team of forward-thinking, aggressive opponents of the increasingly creative and far-reaching plaintiffs' bar. Through our participation in nearly 100 cases, including securities and employment class actions, and our leadership in the ABA Class Action Committee and our chairing of National Institutes, we have made numerous contributions to the development of the defense jurisprudence in this field, in precedent-setting decisions, in raising awareness of emerging threats, and in proposing both preemptive risk-redemption strategies and aggressive theories of defense.
The firm defends banks, credit card and finance companies, debt collectors, attorneys, and consumer product companies in courts around the country against class actions brought under both state and federal law. We have defended class claims brought under state consumer protection and unfair trade practices statutes in more than a dozen jurisdictions, as well as class claims brought under RICO, the FDCPA, RESPA and the Credit Repair Organizations Act, to name a few.
In addition, we have represented some of the country's leading lenders, servicers and other participants in the residential mortgage industry in courts in Illinois, Alabama, Washington and Montana in class claims alleging deceptive practices and other wrongs arising out of the origination and servicing of residential mortgages.
These cases sometimes generate regulatory inquiries as well as court proceedings, and our lawyers appear both in court and before regulatory boards representing a client's interests. Regulatory agencies with which the firm has experience include the Federal Trade Commission, the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, and the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
Our commitment to the area of class action defense has led to leadership positions for our principals in bar associations and relevant industries. For example, the head of this practice area for the firm is the co-chair of the American Bar Association subcommittee on consumer class actions, is on the Advisory Board of the BNA publication Class Action Litigation, and speaks frequently on this subject across the country. Another of our partners in this practice area is the chair of the Defense Research Institute committee that addresses consumer class actions.
For more information on our Class Action Defense Group, please contact
Frederick Cohen at 312.201.3929 or via email at frederick.cohen@goldbergkohn.com.