Orlando, FL

Fort Lauderdale Counsel John Chiles moderated a panel discussion entitled "Policy By Twitter: Is the Demise of Consumer Finance Regulation Merely a Hoax?" for the Fisher Memorial Program. With a new director of the CFPB, Michael Mulvaney, and given the Trump Administration's regulatory reform priorities, less regulation (and more industry-friendly regulatory interpretations) and less aggressive administrative enforcement from the CFPB may be the result. The panelists explored whether a less-aggressive regulatory environment will benefit financial services companies and increase access to credit, or create a new race to the bottom, and if the states will fill the perceived gap to impede a return to the wild, wild west.

Birmingham Partner Heather Lee served on a panel "The 'New' (Not So New) Uniform Assignment of Rents Statute - A Sign of Better Things to Come?" The program explored real estate financing, with particular attention to the current ways in which a lender may take a security interest in and perfect such interest in rents generated from the property. The panelists discussed how a lender effectuates its rights in the rents when the borrower defaults and the impact and effect of the commencement of a bankruptcy case by a borrower on the lender's rights and remedies. The program concluded with a deep dive into the "new" Uniform Assignment of Rents Statute, first proposed in 2005, and recently enacted in 5 states and analyzed the impact and effect that adoption of this statute would have on real estate financing.

Birmingham Partner Alan Leeth moderated a program that explored trends in debt collection litigation with a focus on debt collection letters and appropriate disclosures of interest and other fees, as well as a discussion of recent enforcement actions (both federal and state) involving debt collection.

Nashville Partner Zach Miller served on a panel addressing the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit's ruling regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that will have an impact on compliance programs and litigation strategy for years to come. The panelists discussed new compliance challenges posed by the ruling, new litigation strategies and answered questions about what may be coming down the pike from the FCC.