TCPAWORLD AT THE AIRPORT: TCPAWorld Goes Over 1,000,000 Hits And Let’s Talk About Boys and Girls Real Quick

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So hanging out at the airport (again) flying out to Florida today to do a call center review.

Pause.

Yes Troutman Firm is not just an ultra-powerful world class litigation shop. We do a TON of compliance reviews, TCPA audits, etc. And–for the right client–the Czar himself will even fly out to visit YOUR call center to make sure everything is operating precisely the way it MUST in order to stay compliant.

But that’s not what this blog is about. Its about two other things.

First, the BIG brag. 1,000,000 hits for TCPAWorld.

Like, wow.

And I know, I know, some 11 year old just got 1,000,000 hits on YouTube for unwrapping a PS5 in the time it took me to write this sentence, but for a legal blogger–particularly one focused solely on the TCPA–this is a pretty big accomplishment. I feel good about it, but now we’re after 10,000,000. Thanks to all of you who helped make this happen.

But now let’s talk about something else real quick.

Boys and girls.

Girls are super smart and valuable. But boys are listened to way more. Don’t believe me? (You do, but I was teeing up the punchline).

Takes LeadsCon.

Cool conference. Smart folks throw it. Smarter folks attend it.

But amongst the 64 people lined up to speak this year only 10–ten–were women.

Less than 16% of speakers at LeadsCon were going to be ladies.

Like… why?

And I am asking that question holistically.

Is it that there are not enough women in this industry more broadly? Doesn’t seem to be true.

Is that there are not enough women leaders, CEOS, visionaries in this space? Again…really does not seem to be true. I know a bunch of them.

In fact, I dare say this industry actually has an unusually LARGE group of very powerful very thoughtful innovative women leaders. The industry as a whole, I believe, does a GREAT job of making room for and learning from great lady leaders–and I think LinkUnite is a clear testament to that.

So..what gives? Like why is it that one of the industry’s biggest events was CLEARLY not even trying to have certain VERY VALUABLE voices on stage.

its weird to me. Like sincerely. I know I like to throw shade by feigning confusion on a topic I really know everything about, but this one I really don’t understand at all.

So many of you know that I promised 4 years ago to never to do a panel without at least one woman on it. Just one small piece of my commitment to make sure that the BEST TALENT AVAILABLE fills every position–I am building the meritocracy folks–regardless of gender or background (just check out my diverse and talented team if you want to see another example of my commitment to POWER and TALENT in action.)

And understand the point here isn’t that men should overly promote or save women somehow– totally speaks of needless paternalism and I hate that. Its the opposite. Men just need to make sure that TOTALLY WORTHY (if not superior) lady voices are not being ignored and overlooked just because… you know… not boys.

One easy way for all MEN out there is to not be on a panel without at least one lady. TRUST ME whatever topic it is that you are qualified to speak on there is also a lady out there qualified to speak on it as well. So make sure the event sponsor knows a woman must be included–amazing how powerful the impact is.

My panel at LeadsCon–for example–has two women on it. And these folks–an FCC staffer and the head of the Reassigned Numbers Database–are super powerful and WAY more qualified to be discussing critical TCPA topics than your humble Czar.

Anyway, I am going to hop on a plane now. Love you ALL. Do good things.

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Published by Eric J. Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

1 Comment

  1. Please tell us the names of the two ladies on each side of you in the photo leading this article. Obviously, we all are familiar with who you are.

    Reply

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