Bring the FCRA into Your Legal Services Practice

Your clients are being subjected to more and more background screening reports – for private rentals, jobs, and subsidized housing programs – and this has made the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) a crucial tool for legal services attorneys. High error rates in these reports often lead to inaccurate or outdated information, which can significantly impact your client’s access to housing, credit, employment, or public benefits.

Learn how to integrate the FCRA into your practice, starting with introductory steps for issue spotting and case development. This webinar will be geared to beginners and to those thinking about integrating the FCRA into their legal aid practice.

What You Will Learn:

• How to use or adapt your existing intake process to screen for and issue spot potential cases under the FCRA that fit within traditional legal aid priorities
• How to assist clients with first steps in addressing inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information in a consumer report
• How to identify key elements of an FCRA claim, including the legal standards for accuracy and completeness.
• How to develop partnerships with private lawyers to refer and co-counsel FCRA cases.

Speakers

Adam Thoresen is the Division Chief of the Consumer Advocacy and Litigation Unit at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. (JALA). He has a passion for credit reporting and background check issues and currently works in JALA’s main office in downtown Jacksonville. Adam joined JALA in 2009 shortly after his graduation from law school. He currently represents consumers and tenants in state and federal litigation and is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. In addition, Mr. Thoresen is an active participant with the Florida Legal Services Housing Umbrella Group.

John Ukegbu is a senior staff attorney at Northeast New Jersey Legal Services, where he represents low-income consumers. He has served as a member of the District Ethics Committee and as a trustee for the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. He served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Special Civil Part Practice and is the second vice-president of the Hudson County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Western New England University School of Law.

Please note that live webinars are free to all NACA members. After the webinar has aired, registrants will need to purchase the webinar if they want to view it. Non-members who purchased the webinar and higher level/firm members with full access to the Training Library will have access to the webinar after it has aired.

If you have purchased the webinar, you can click here to watch it on the day of the webinar.