Executive Change: Noted Collections Compliance Attorney Gary Becker Joins Ballard Spahr in Atlanta

Ballard Spahr is pleased to announce that Gary W. Becker, an attorney and business leader who has worked in the collections industry for nearly 30 years, has joined Ballard Spahr as of counsel in our Atlanta office. As a member of the firm’s nationally recognized Consumer Financial Services Group, Mr. Becker will advise banks, creditors, and collections industry clients on compliance with federal and state collections laws during a time of unprecedented scrutiny by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and other regulators.

Mr. Becker is the former CEO, chairman, and general counsel of the national collection agency DCM Services; a founding partner of one of the country’s largest collection law firms; and a founding board member of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys. His background gives him a unique operational understanding of regulatory compliance in the collections industry that will be invaluable to our clients.

The CFPB and other government agencies, including state attorneys general, are increasingly focused on debt collection by creditors, third-party debt collectors, debt buyers, and collections law firms. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act imposes liability on primary creditors for their own collections practices as well as derivative liability for the practices of their collection agencies and law firms.

Attorneys in Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group advise clients in various sectors of the financial services industry on matters involving the CFPB. On the compliance side, attorneys develop and implement compliance programs to mitigate risk, including conducting mock CFPB examinations to bolster readiness. The Group also is actively involved in defending dozens of clients being investigated by the CFPB and other government agencies. Many of these investigations focus on debt collection practices.

Mr. Becker will advise on issues involving UDAAP, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and state law compliance. In addition, he is a pioneer in the application of technology to collections and has developed and helped implement compliance management systems for a variety of collections industry clients.

Mr. Becker is a member of Ballard Spahr’s Business and Finance Department and its Consumer Financial Services Group (CFS). The CFS Group publishes CFPB Monitor, an ABA award-winning blog dedicated to bringing news, guidance, and insightful perspectives to companies affected by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.