The National Creditors Bar Association awarded this year’s Donald Kramer Award to the ABA for “tirelessly working to preserve the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary along with the long-standing tradition of the governance of the practice of law by state supreme courts and the state bar associations.”
The award, named after the association’s founder, is presented each year to an individual or group whose efforts “have made a substantial and lasting impact for the benefit of the credit and legal collection industry.” In recognizing the ABA, the group stated it is especially grateful for the ABA’s recent efforts to help advance H.R. 1849, which would exempt creditor lawyers engaged in litigation activities from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s regulatory jurisdiction under the Dodd-Frank Act.
ABA President Hilarie Bass designated Honolulu lawyer Marvin S.C. Dang to accept the award on behalf of the ABA at an Oct. 13 ceremony in Washington, D.C. Dang is chair-elect of the ABA Senior Lawyers Division, a member of the ABA Day Planning Committee, and a leader in various ABA entities. He also serves as the National Creditors Bar Association’s parliamentarian, an officer position.
After expressing the ABA’s gratitude for receiving the award, Dang said it has been “our pleasure to work with the National Creditors Bar Association to advance H.R. 1849 − the Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017 − a critical piece of legislation that would restore traditional state court regulation and oversight of creditor lawyers who file legal actions on behalf of their clients.”