The
Consumer Financial Services Group at Barrett McNagny LLP represents financial
service providers, including retail installment sellers, in connection with
their provision of consumer financial services. Members of the group have
significant experience in all aspects of consumer credit compliance, consumer
credit agreements, and documentation.
Consumer Credit Compliance
Our
attorneys assist clients with the various state and federal consumer compliance
laws. On the federal level, we regularly provide advice with respect to the
laws of general application, including the Truth-in-Lending Act and Regulation
Z, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the
Electronic Funds Transfer Act, and the privacy provisions of the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Due to the variety of institutions that we represent,
we are familiar with the consumer finance aspects of the federal statutes and
regulations which are applicable to specific types of institutions and
businesses.
Providing
advice on state regulatory matters is also a key part of our practice. We
handle all types of issues that arise under Indiana's version of the Uniform
Consumer Credit Code, including usury limitations, limitations on fees and
charges, and licensing concerns. We also provide guidance respecting
limitations under Indiana's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act and with
respect to the various Indiana statutes that relate to specific institutions or
industries.
Consumer Credit Agreements and Documentation
The
Consumer Financial Services Group focuses on the preparation of all types of
consumer financial services agreements and documentation. We have significant
experience in the preparation of promissory notes, loan agreements, mortgages,
retail installment sales contracts, disclosure documents, and other
documentation relating to the relationships between financial institutions and
consumers. We also regularly review agreements and documentation prepared by
others for compliance with applicable law.
The
combination of commercial and consumer financial law experience within the
group makes us uniquely qualified to negotiate and draft agreements between the
various participants in the financial services industry. Specifically, we have
negotiated and drafted joint venture agreements between financial service
providers, agreements between financial service providers and dealers or other
originators, and agreements between service providers looking to outsource
certain aspects of their operations and the providers of such services.
The
experience we have developed in connection with document drafting, including an
intimate working knowledge of Articles 2 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code
and various state lien laws, also allows us to serve clients in other ways. For
example, we have been involved in providing legal opinions in connection with
securitization transactions and have assisted financial institutions with
perfection and remedy issues arising under the Uniform Commercial Code.
Consumer Collections
The
Consumer Financial Services Group handles mortgage foreclosure actions on
behalf of mortgage lenders and collections under motor vehicle retail
installment sale contracts. We focus on mortgage foreclosures in Northeast
Indiana and are generally willing to handle such services on a fixed fee basis.
We also
provide advice to others, including attorneys, on various aspects of the Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act and, as part of our litigation practice, defend
those that are sued for violations of the Act. We have assisted financial
institutions in developing their internal collection practices and can help
navigate the Indiana statutes relating to collection agencies and collection
activities.
Practice Development
The laws respecting consumer finance are often
changing. The lawyers of the Consumer Financial Services Group are committed to
keeping up with these changes and assisting clients in conforming to the latest
standards and requirements.
