MORNING MUSINGS: The Czar is BACK– And Right Again!

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My goodness, what a ride.

So I have been out of the office–either between appearances, conferences or a wild spring-break roadtrip with my kids–for all but 5 of the last 36 days. What an incredibly challenging (but fun) time.

But I am FINALLY back in the office today and won’t hit the road again for over a week. Very exciting.

Quite a bit has changed since I disappeared. For one thing Trump is apparently facing 34 counts of feloniously falsifying his books in the most ill-fated effort to hide hush money payments in history. And I just can’t help but find delicious tie-ins to Al Capone going down for tax evasion of all things.

Somewhat related, lots of folks saying the FCC may pull the plug on Fox News if the Dominion lawsuit results in a finding that Fox intentionally mislead Americans on the election results. While it sounds wild that a major network might lose their broadcasting license, if Fox was intentionally spreading lies to destabilize the nation for profit–a fact that has not yet been proven but, which is headed to the jury– its tough to see how they are broadcasting in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.”

But would the FCC really take action here? Not weighing in just yet, but more to come on this very interesting story…

Oh, speaking of the FCC– HOW MANY OF YOU FELL FOR MY EPIC APRIL FOOL’S DAY PRANK? So, so many. Hope you enjoyed the chuckle. But it could happen. Keep your eyes peeled.

Also, unrelated to anything Queenie and I officially have drinks named after us as the Wrong Number bar out in Winston-Salem:

The Czar Cocktail
A favorite of a certain telemarketing attorney and newfound friend of the bar, this is classically made Blanton’s Old Fashioned that you just have to try.
$25.00 USD

The Queenie Cocktail
We can’t tell you the origins of this, but if you like whiskey sours, this is a drink for you. Angel’s Envy shaken with our house made sour mix, made without egg whites.
$21.00 USD

Per the bar’s owner: “We’ve had more than a few people come to try The Czar after listening to the NPR podcast.”

Its weird being famous. Going to get this guy on the podcast soon.

100% chance we will be heading out there to try one of these very soon though.

Also we added two new members to the team last week–Mila and Jess–and I’ve barely even mentioned them, which is SO unlike me. Promise to get more love headed their direction shortly.

Last, it turns out I was right (again)–this time about Florida’s headfake on autodialer amendments. Its not going anywhere after all (as predicted.) The House went one way. The Senate went another. Same thing that happened last year. Sure, they could still reconcile on an amendment. But they won’t. So the FTSA is here to stay.

Great. But also, I was right. 

Again.

Lots more great content to come this week. (Starting today.) Much love..

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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.

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