NARCA Swears In Joann Needleman as President; Elects New Officers and Board

Joann Needleman, Vice President and Managing Attorney of the Philadelphia office of Maurice & Needleman, P.C., was sworn-in as President of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA) on October 18, 2013, at the Association’s 2013 Fall Collection Conference in Washington, DC.

Louis Freedman, NARCA’s Immediate Past President and attorney with the law firm Freedman Anselmo Lindberg LLC, stated “Joann brings a new perspective to the position of NARCA President. With much of her practice dedicated to consumer litigation defense, including FDCPA and TCPA, her strength in the area of compliance is very timely with increased regulation of our member firms and clients.  She has proven over the past year to have tremendous relationship-building skills, especially with her outreach success to the CFPB. There is no one better at this time to represent and protect the interests of NARCA members.”

Ms. Needleman will serve as NARCA’s 11th President for the next two years.  She has previously served as Board Member, Secretary, Chair of the Advocacy Pillar and Chair of the NARCA Legal Symposium Task Force.

Ms. Needleman is a graduate of Temple University and Widener School of Law and is admitted to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bars, the U.S. District Court for New Jersey, Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and United States Supreme Court.

Other memberships include the American Collectors Association (MAP Attorney), American Bar Association (Business Law Section), Pennsylvania Creditors Bar Association (Past President), Pennsylvania Bar Association, and Debt Buyers Association.

NARCA also announced that it held elections for Board Members, Treasurer and Secretary at the NARCA 2013 Fall Collection Conference.  While the Secretary and Treasurer positions were uncontested, ten NARCA members ran for six Board Member seats.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION RESULTS

Brian C. Block is a partner with the law firm Javitch Block & Rathbone, LLC and will be serving his fourth term as a NARCA Board Member.  He has served as the Chair of the NARCA Membership Community Pillar which oversees five NARCA committees.  Mr. Block is also a member of the Northern Ohio Creditors Association, Ohio Creditors Attorneys Association, Debt Buyers Association and the Cuyahoga County Metropolitan Bar Association.  Mr. Block received his J.D. from Cleveland Marshall College of Law and his B.A. from Indiana University.

Michele R. Gagnon is with the law firm Lyons, Doughty & Veldhuis P.C./P.A.  and currently serves as the Chair of NARCA’s State Government Affairs Committee.  Ms. Gagnon has also served NARCA as Chair of the Professional Standards Committee and Elections Committee and is a member of the Conference Advisory Committee and Member Grievance Committee.  Ms. Gagnon is Past President of the Maryland/DC Creditors Bar Association.  She graduated cum laude from the University of Toledo with a B.A. in Political Science and graduated cum laude from the Syracuse University College of Law with her J.D.

Steven Markoff is a partner with the law firm Markoff Law LLC and is Chair of the NARCA Membership Services Committee.  His service to NARCA includes membership in the Leadership Development Committee and Professional Standards Committee, Co-Champion of the Mentorship Program and Co-Chair of the D.C. Conference Planning Committee.   Mr. Markoff received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003 and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Ronald C. Miller is a partner with Miller & Steeno, P.C. and is a member of NARCA’s Grievance Committee, Membership Promotions Committee and Strategic Planning Committee.  He is Treasurer of the Missouri Creditors Bar Association and has represented collection law firms on a Missouri Supreme Court Subcommittee.  Mr. Miller received his J.D. with distinction from the University of Missouri and a B.S.B.A with honors from the University of Illinois.

Ken Seidberg started Seidberg Law Offices, P.C. in 1988 and previously served on the NARCA Board of Directors from 1994 to 2001 and 2005 to 2009.  Mr. Seidberg is a founding and active Board Member of the Arizona State Creditor’s Association and is a member of the Association’s Legislative Committee which supports the Association’s lobbying efforts in the Arizona Legislature.   Mr. Seidberg received his B.A from Hamilton College and his J.D. from Syracuse College of Law.

Brent Yarborough is with the law firm Zarzaur & Schwartz, P.C. and was first elected to the NARCA Board of Directors in 2007.  He is Chair of NARCA’s Federal Government Affairs Committee and has served as Chair of the Bylaws Committee, Chair of the NARCA Collection Conference Committee and as Co-Chair of the Newsletter, Education and Attorney Workshop Committees.  Mr. Yarborough received his undergraduate degree from Birmingham-Southern College and his J.D. from Cornell University.

OFFICERS ELECTION RESULTS

Thomas L. Canary, Jr. is a shareholder in the Louisville office of Mapother & Mapother, P.S.C. and will continue to serve as NARCA Secretary.  Mr. Canary has been Chair of the NARCA Strategic Planning Committee since 2009 and was previously a NARCA Board Member and Parliamentarian.  He is admitted to the bars of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia and is author and editor of Kentucky Collections, a treatise on collections and creditors’ rights.  Mr. Canary received both his B.S. and J.D from the University of Kentucky.

Bill Hicks is a shareholder in the law firm Messerli & Kramer P.A. and is Chair of the firm’s Collection Department.  He will be serving his fourth term as Treasurer for NARCA and is a previous NARCA Board Member.  Mr. Hicks is licensed in Minnesota and Wisconsin and is a founding board member of the Minnesota Creditors’ Rights Association and the Wisconsin Creditors’ Rights Association. He also serves as a Committee Member of the Asset Buyer Division of the ACA.  Mr. Hicks graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School and magna cum laude from Gustavus Adolphus College.

The National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (“NARCA”) is comprised of over 700 skilled debt collection law firms which are required to adhere to NARCA’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.   Attorneys employed by NARCA member law firms are committed to the fair and ethical treatment of all participants in the debt collection process and are required to practice law in a manner consistent with their responsibilities as officers of the court.  As attorneys, they must adhere to applicable state and federal laws, rules of civil procedure, state bar association licensing and certification requirements and the rules of professional conduct. www.narca.org