MAURICE WUTSCHER - Key Persons
Alan Hochheiser is a leading practitioner in the areas of creditors' rights and bankruptcy law. He advises and represents businesses, regional and national banks, credit unions, equipment lessors and other lenders, as well as secured and unsecured creditors.
Among his accomplishments, he has successfully resolved non-dischargeable claims based upon fraud conversion and breach of fiduciary issues and has successfully handled the assumption of leases in the bankruptcy of a major airline.
Al is the Chair of the ABA Business Law Section Consumer Bankruptcy Committee. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bankers Association, ACA International, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Receivables Management Association International.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Member of the American Bankers Association
primarily focuses his practice on regulatory compliance and the defense of consumer law claims. He has experience representing financial institutions, debt buyers, and law firms. He has defended claims involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Truth In Lending Act, and various state law claims asserted against lenders and their assignees. Brent has also provided compliance advice on matters related to the FDCPA, UDAAP, and state debt collection and privacy laws.
Brent is a frequent speaker on topics related to consumer financial services regulation and litigation. His recent presentations, podcasts and webinars include:
Brent is a member of the American Bankers Association, ACA International, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Receivables Management Association International (RMAI).
Eric Rosenkoetter is a principal at Maurice Wutscher LLP, where he provides counsel to businesses and consumer financial services firms nationwide. For many years, he has focused his practice on various aspects of financial services law.
Eric has substantial litigation experience, in a wide variety of cases. As a litigation attorney, he has conducted every aspect of the litigation process, including countless depositions, motion proceedings, bench and jury trials, and appeals in various courts.
In addition, Eric also has significant experience as a compliance and transactional attorney, providing strategic, business growth, legislative, compliance and regulatory advice to national corporations and trade associations. For example, he has drafted consumer contracts and disclosures designed to state-specific statutory requirements, and developed "Best Practices" guides and state-by-state compliance grids, for national financial services companies. He also conducted research and crafted a metrics report for a national trade association with analysis designed to counter the claims of advocacy groups.
Eric's experience also includes working for a national corporation as Executive Counsel, Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, and Director of Legislative Affairs, and as a federal lobbyist and Director of Government and Public Affairs for a national financial services trade association. In the government sector, Eric presided over approximately 6,000 state administrative hearings, served as a staff attorney for the Missouri Senate, and handled litigation in 33 counties as a regional managing attorney.
Eric frequently speaks and writes on topics relevant to the financial services industry including regulatory compliance, data privacy law and related advocacy initiatives. His recent speaking engagements, podcasts and articles include:"
John McGinnis focuses his practice on all levels of commercial litigation, including land title and commercial real estate financing disputes, construction and mechanics lien disputes, commercial mortgage foreclosures, intellectual property and trade secret disputes, and enforcement of creditor's rights in bankruptcy and otherwise.
John was a partner in an international law firm for 21 years, and has more than 30 years of experience in all levels of commercial litigation. Some recent highlights in John's practice include the following matters:
Hector E. Lora manages the firm's Florida office and has substantial experience in all phases of complex commercial litigation, including bench and jury trials as well as appellate practice.
Hector represents lenders, servicers, debt collectors and debt buyers in complex mortgage foreclosure actions, quiet title actions, federal TILA, RESPA, TCPA, and FDCPA actions and Florida FCCPA actions brought by borrowers or debtors. He also represents creditors in bankruptcy litigation, purchasers of accounts receivable or factoring companies that provide revenue-based financing to small and mid-sized businesses in collection actions, and landlords in commercial and residential evictions.
Hector's broad litigation experience includes over a decade of defending civil enforcement actions filed by the Federal Trade Commission as well as real estate contract disputes and partition actions, contested mortgage foreclosure and condominium lien foreclosure actions and the foreclosure of UCC Article 9 security interests.
Hector also has advised a variety of types of businesses regarding their compliance with applicable federal and state consumer protection laws, including the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Controlling the Assault of Nonsolicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, and Florida laws governing telephone solicitation and communication.
Hector received his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center, and his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Florida.
Hector is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida and is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, the District of Arizona, and the Central District of Illinois.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Member of the Employment Practice Committee for the Claims
Keith Wier focuses his practice on the defense of individual and class action suits under state and federal consumer statutes, professional liability defense, and compliance issues for members of the collection industry.
He has substantial experience defending collection agencies, law firms, debt buyers, and creditors in consumer litigation in Texas and is certified as a specialist in Consumer and Commercial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
His professional liability defense work includes defense of realtors, insurance agents and brokers, lawyers, and other professionals.
Keith is a frequent lecturer and author on defense and compliance issues facing the legal malpractice, collection, credit, and debt buying industries and has taught at the University of Houston Law Center.
His published articles include:
Keith is a past member of the board of directors for ACA International and the past chairman of ACA's Members' Attorney Program. In addition, he has served as Defense Bar Committee chair for NARCA - The National Creditors Bar Association.
Keith is an initial member of the Employment Practice Committee for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM).
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Financial Services Advisor for the Thompson Reuters
Ralph also serves as outside General Counsel for a software development company. He previously served for several years as outside General Counsel for a leading "software as a service" company for the medical industry.
Ralph is a Financial Services Advisor for the Thompson Reuters "Consumer Financial Services Law Report" publication.
Ralph is a frequent speaker on consumer lending and litigation developments.
Shannon Miller focuses his practice on various aspects of financial services law, with an emphasis on consumer financial services litigation.
He has successfully represented healthcare and financial institutions and law firms throughout the country for claims filed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, and various state consumer protection statutes.
Shannon has first-chaired more than 100 jury trials. He is a former prosecutor for the Delaware County Office of the District Attorney, where he investigated and prosecuted white collar crimes, and other felonies.
Shannon's speaking engagements and publications include:
Stephen Sherman is Of Counsel to Maurice Wutscher LLP in Washington, D.C. and serves as General Counsel - Americas for BSI Group based in Reston, Virginia. He has advised corporate and non-profit enterprises on a broad variety of transactional and commercial matters for more than two decades. He also has substantial experience in all aspects of employment law, and compensation and benefit plan design and related compliance matters.
Throughout his career, Steve has provided legal support, strategic advice and counsel to domestic and international businesses, from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups, in virtually every industry sector, ranging from manufacturing to professional and IT services, from telecommunications to health care and from aerospace to government contracting. He has represented and counseled public companies, entrepreneurs, boards of directors and corporate and investment fiduciaries in connection with a wide range of business transactions, regulatory compliance initiatives, Congressional investigations and hearings and commercial disputes.
Prior to joining the firm, Steve served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for SGS North America, Inc. in Rutherford, New Jersey, the regional affiliate of publicly-traded Swiss-based SGS Group, one of the world's oldest and largest testing, certification and authentication companies. He also previously was a partner with Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, D.C, an AmLaw 100 global law firm and served as a Senior Attorney with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in Washington, D.C.
In addition, Steve served as an Adjunct Professor of Law in the Master of Laws in Taxation program at Georgetown University Law Center. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Graydon Manor in Leesburg, Virginia, a not-for-profit residential and outpatient facility dedicated to treating children and adolescents with serious emotional problems.
Steve received his Master of Laws in Taxation degree from Georgetown and his Juris Doctor from Penn State University - Dickinson School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the Dickinson Journal of International Law. He received his undergraduate degree in Accounting from Drexel University, graduating with high honors. Stephen is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel.
He is licensed to practice in a number of jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Stephen is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Tax Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the District of Maryland, the District of Columbia, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Tom served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Graham T. Ross, P.J.F.P., Superior Court of New Jersey, Somerset County.
Tom is a frequent author of articles and other publications, and a frequent speaker, regarding consumer lending and litigation developments.