Houston Bar Association (HBA) President Barrett Reasoner established as one of his initiatives a Consumer Law Task Force (the “Task Force”) to study and implement ways in which the HBA could provide information and services to consumers in our current challenging economic times, where legal issues involving foreclosure, bankruptcy and credit are quickly rising. One only had to attend the Housing Foreclosure Prevention Workshop sponsored by Congressman Al Green and the Houston Foreclosure Prevention Task Force this fall at the Willie Lee Gaye Hall Campus of the Houston Community College to realize the relevance of this initiative for our community. In excess of 200 people were at the workshop to seek assistance with credit and mortgage issues. This number represents only one defined area of Houston. Multiply it by many similar areas in Houston and the magnitude of the need for legal assistance for consumers is self evident. Fortunately, as shown by this workshop, the Task Force soon realized that there were already resources available on which to build to fulfill Barrett Reasoner’s desire to assist low-income Harris County residents with consumer issues.

The term “Consumer Law” covers a number of legal issues, including credit liability, contracts, warranties, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, debt collection, insurance and landlord/tenant. However, with the current economic crisis, the Task Force is focusing on credit liability, including fair credit reporting, repairing credit and payday loans, debt collection, mortgage foreclosure, and, of course, bankruptcy and tax issues that arise when consumers are unable to meet their credit obligations. With this focus in mind, representatives were appointed to the Task Force not only from the Commercial and Consumer Law Section of the HBA but also from the tax and bankruptcy sections. It also reached out into the community to add representatives from the Houston Foreclosure Prevention Task Force and the Center for Consumer Law at the University of Houston. Both of these organizations already provide significant assistance for consumers, and the Task Force plans to expand and compliment these already existing valuable services.

The HBA Consumer Task Force includes Houston attorneys knowledgeable in consumer law (Dean Richard Alderman and Robert Johnson with the University of Houston Center for Consumer Law and Matthew Probus of Wauson Probus) and foreclosure issues (Rob Harlow of Jackson Walker, LLP and Diane Jasso, who is a foreclosure counselor with Avenue CDC). It is also fortunate to have attorneys from the HBA Tax Section (Mitchell Tiras of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP) and HBA Bankruptcy Section (Janet Northrup of Hughes Watters Askanase and Mark Wege of King & Spalding). Additional committee members include Barrett Reasoner; the Hon. Reece Rondon of the 234th District Court of Harris County; Randy Sorrels of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend; Joe Bill Whittenburg of Strasburger & Price, LLP; Tanya Garrison of Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber, PC; Suewan Johnson of The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, NA; and myself.

In the brief time that the Task Force has been operating, it has been incredibly busy. Shortly after its first meeting this summer, there was a call for an attorney to participate in a PBS special Town Hall meeting on “Facing the Mortgage Crisis.” Fortunately, Rob Harlow stepped up to the plate and did an outstanding job responding to the community’s legal questions on foreclosure. At the same time, the Task Force was busy working with the HBA staff, Family Law Section and Commercial & Consumer Law Section to update the Family Law Handbook by adding a Consumer Debt Section, and the Consumer Law Handbook by adding a section on Payday Loans.

As Barrett Reasoner promoted the consumer initiative in the community and through the media over the summer, the Task Force set about adding a consumer law focus to the Saturday Legal Advice Clinics sponsored by the HBA’s Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program. The goal was to have volunteer attorneys ready to provide brief legal consultation on consumer matters at these clinics starting with the November 7, 2009, Saturday clinic. Realizing that the consumer material used at the clinics needed to be expanded, various Task Force members worked on a handbook that would provide general assistance to volunteer attorneys. Diane Jasso provided information on “Foreclosure Prevention Counseling Basics.” Janet Northrup, with the assistance of Anabel Hernandez, provided a summary of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. Matthew Probus not only provided a flow chart to assist in determining a consumer’s credit status in order to better provide the right counseling, but also prepared summaries on Fair Credit Reporting and Payday Loans. The Task Force also obtained permission from the State Bar of Texas to reproduce Probus’ comprehensive article on payday loans from the Poverty Law Handbook, prepared by the State Bar’s Poverty Law Section.

In addition to providing materials to assist attorneys, the Task Force planned to offer either a seminar or clinic. Fortunately, we learned that the University of Houston Center for Consumer Law was sponsoring a Continuing Legal Education course titled “Consumer Law Basics – Know the Law!” prior to the November 7 Consumer Legal Advice Clinic date. The HBA advertised the course to its members and during the seminar Richard Alderman encouraged attendees to participate in the HBA Consumer Legal Advice Clinic. The course provided a great overview on consumer law for attorneys and potential volunteers.

At the same time it was working with the HVLP, the HBA Consumer Law Task Force was also working with the Houston Foreclosure Prevention Task Force (HFPT) to arrange for credit and foreclosure counselors to be available at the November 7 Clinic. The HFPT is comprised of mortgage service providers, as well as public and non-profit agencies dedicated to providing free counseling, support and resources for Greater Houston area residents who are in or potentially facing foreclosure. It sponsors various workshops, including the one referenced above with Congressman Green, to provide mortgage and credit counseling to homeowners in distress. HFPT readily agreed to provide counselors to participate in the first HBA Consumer Legal Advice Clinic on November 7. The Task Force plans to continue to work with HFPT to hold joint workshops and legal clinics to assist low-income citizens with their mortgage and credit issues.

As the day of the first HBA Consumer Legal Advice Clinic approached, Task Force members were concerned whether we would have enough lawyers to meet the client need and whether there would be enough clients for the lawyers that volunteered. But those concerns were unfounded! The morning of the event the volunteer lawyers were there (including Justin Hayes, one of the students from the Center for Consumer Law), credit and foreclosure counselors were there, and nearly 60 clients received assistance with consumer issues. The HVLP staff did an excellent job of modifying its regular clinic so that the clients with consumer issues were seen by the lawyers who volunteered specifically for the Consumer Legal Advice Clinic. The consumer legal problems varied from credit/foreclosure issues and bankruptcy to landlord/tenant and property disputes. The first Consumer Legal Advice Clinic was a big success and a great template for future clinics.

Where does the HBA Consumer Law Task Force go from here? The goal is to continue to recruit attorneys with an interest in handling consumer issues to volunteer for cases through the HVLP and to expand the availability of attorneys with consumer law knowledge at the Saturday Legal Advice Clinics. The Task Force also plans to identify ways volunteer lawyers can collaborate with the University of Houston’s Center for Consumer Law, and to expand the involvement of the Houston Foreclosure Prevention Task Force in our legal clinics, using its network to reach out to low-income citizens with credit and foreclosure issues. It also will look for opportunities to expand its outreach in the community to provide information and materials on consumer law issues. Would you like to join the Task Force in its efforts? Please contact Erum Jivani (erum.jivani@hvlp.org or 713-228-0735, ext. 122) at the HBA’s Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program if you are interested in handling a consumer law case or want to be informed of our next Consumer Legal Advice Clinic. .

Peggy Montgomery is counsel with Exxon Mobil Corporation and chair of the HBA Consumer Law Task Force.