Spread the Word
Want to get engaged on social media? Use these pre-written texts and images to get your colleagues to get off the sideline and join the discussion.
Protect Creditor Attorneys
Creditor attorneys currently face unfair lawsuits and regulations, but Congress is trying to fix that. Use the tools below to send a message directly to your elected official urging them to Protect Creditor Attorneys.
Take Action Now
Email Tool: Contact Your Representative Directly
We have designed this tool so you can send an email directly to your Member of Congress. Simply input your name and address, and a pre-formatted email will be ready to send to your specific Representative. Keep in mind the more personalized, the more effective, so include your own perspective.
Send Email - HereABA Fact Sheet
The ABA put together a one-pager outlining the major tenents of H.R. 5082 including why there is a problem and how the Bill would resolve these matters.
Want to Send a Traditional Letter?
Use these pre-written letters to personalize your own message and send from your own channels.
Consumer Protections Still Stand
Proposal Doesn't Affect Consumer Protections
The narrowly tailored bill doesn't affect consumer protections. H.R. 5082 would only clarify that while the FDCPA and the CFPB's regulations would not apply to attorneys’ filing of lawsuits and other litigation activities already subject to judicial oversight, both the Act and the CFPB regulations would still apply to attorneys’ non-litigation collection activities, such as demand letters and phone calls to debtors.
Send Us Your Story
In an effort to progress the bill in Congress, the ABA sent an action alert to the various state, local, and specialty bar associations asking them to send letters to Congress in support of the bill. However, before taking action, your bar needs to know this issue is important to you. So, please take a moment, and share your story below. Let us and our affiliates know this issue is important.
Other Useful Resources
The ABA believes that primary regulation and oversight of the legal profession should continue to be vested in the court of highest appellate authority of the state in which the attorney is licensed, not federal agencies or Congress, and that the courts are in the best position to fulfill that important function. Therefore, the ABA supports legislation like H.R. 5082 that would preserve traditional state court regulation and oversight of the legal profession by clarifying that neither the FDCPA nor the CFPB’s regulatory authority under the Dodd-Frank Act applies to the litigation activities of creditor attorneys. For more information, please see the ABA's FDCPA Reform web page below.
ABA Washington Letter
The ABA Washington Letter published an article outlining the House Panel's approval of the bill to exempt creditor Lawyers engaged in litigation from FDCPA, CFPB regulations
ABA Resolution Opposing CFPB Regulation of Lawyers Engaged in the Practice of Law
View the ABA's letter opposing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversight in place of trial judges
ABA Resolution Opposing Legislation Eliminating the Attorney's Exemption from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
In 1985, the ABA opposed the elimination of the attorney exemption from fear of the exact same costly and unnecessary lawsuits going on today.