CLOSING THE LOOP: R.E.A.C.H. Completes its TCPA Advocacy Work With Final Meeting With FCC Chairwoman’s Office

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So R.E.A.C.H. finished its advocacy work before the FCC in connection with the recent “lead generator loophole” NPRM last week.

Members of R.E.A.C.H. met with FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s office to discuss the massive risks of shutting down the entire lead generation industry–tens of thousands of jobs lost and a potential upheaval in many sectors of the economy, such as among independent insurance brokers who rely on leads to survive.

The meeting was R.E.A.C.H.’s sixth of the year as it connected with the offices all five FCC Commissioners as well as with numerous representatives of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.

R.E.A.C.H. and its members are deeply grateful to the Commission and its staff for devoting so much time and so many resources into this proceeding and for taking the time to meet with it and other industry participants to gather information needed to make an informed and appropriate decision on the NPRM.

In the end there is no debate that the lead generation industry needs clear standards and regulation, but shutting down the industry–especially with a retroactive ruling that would create trillions in exposure and shut down an industry–is definitely not the answer.

You can read R.E.A.C.H.’s ex parte filing here. 

Coinciding with R.E.A.C.H.’s meeting last week, three independent real estate broker agents associated with eXp Realty also met with the Commission to advise of the impact lead generation has on that industry. The Bureau was told that these agents may need to lay off half of their staff–or more–if third-party leads were suddenly made illegal.

You can read the eXp ex parte filing here.

This is a very big deal, of course, that really has the potential to crush small business in this country. We here at Troutman Amin, LLP are proud of how hard we have fought to both stop billions of unwanted calls, on the one hand, and prevent crushing overregulation–on the other.

Recall we were the FIRST to bring news of this issue to the industry and the FIRST to advise of just how big of a deal this all was–even when others were playing it down foolishly.

We advocated to the FTC. We advocated to Congress. And we have lead the charge before the FCC.

And the amazing lawyers at Troutman Amin, LLP have done it all  for free!!! 

We have not received a single penny for our advocacy work. Instead we support the efforts of R.E.A.C.H. and its advocacy work on a pro bono basis–because it is the right thing to do and we believe in the mission.

So even while other law firms duck out on the industry and other trade organizations crumble we keep fighting. No quit in this team.

Here for you folks. Now and always. Chat soon.

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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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