In today’s competitive market place, companies face an increasing level of scrutiny. Many of their policies, practices, and marketing strategies are subject to complex state and local consumer protection laws as well as oversight by both federal and state administrative agencies. To help our clients navigate this complicated landscape, Cohen Seglias formed the Consumer Protection & Regulatory Defense Group.
The Group, led by partners Chris Carusone, Jonathan Cass, James McNally, and Steve Williams, works with clients of all sizes, from small privately held business to Fortune 500 companies, and across a variety of industries such as financial services, real estate, and manufacturing. With experience in both government investigations and defense litigation, our attorneys help clients stay compliant with relevant consumer protection laws and regulations and provide creative and cost-effective defense strategies when corporate investigations are launched or when litigation becomes necessary.
We counsel businesses that are the targets of consumer protection investigations conducted by state attorneys general and governmental agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Group has particular experience representing clients who operate in Pennsylvania and are the subject of corporate investigations by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General (PAOAG) under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL). Practice Chair Chris Carusone is a former Chief Deputy Attorney General in the PAOAG and his experience gives us unique insight into how government attorneys and investigators think, the goals they hope to achieve, the tactics that they employ, and the limitations to which they are subject. We put this experience and knowledge to work for our clients, developing strategies to respond to investigations, preventing the expansion of such investigations into broader areas of the company’s operations, and minimizing the financial losses, changes to business practices, and adverse publicity that frequently accompany consumer protection investigations.
Our consumer protection attorneys also represent companies that are the subject of private lawsuits brought by consumers. We have successfully defended individual and class action claims alleging a variety of state and federal consumer protection laws, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Pennsylvania Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Truth-in-Lending Act, and the UTPCPL, as well as common law claims alleging deceptive trade practices and invasion of privacy.
For more information on the Group, please contact Chris Carusone at 717.480.5306 or ccarusone@cohenseglias.com, Jonathan Cass at 267.238.4736 or jcass@cohenseglias.com, James McNally at 412.227.5947 or jmcnally@cohenseglias.com, or Steve Williams at 717.480.5302 or swilliams@cohenseglias.com.