WCP: Defending the Working Class from Financial Abuse

Posted in Visiting Scholars  |  Tagged Big Banks, Consumer Protection, Dodd-Frank, Financial Crisis, John Russo, Marc Dann, Regulation, Sherry Linkon, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives

Recent regulations help consumers hire lawyers, defend against lawsuits, and win favorable decisions in court against big businesses and corporations. In Working-Class Perspectives, attorney Marc Dann breaks down how Dodd-Frank and the federal agency it birthed, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, help working-class people get justice.

These laws, regulations, and rulings create financial incentives for private attorneys and consumers to take on big banks and predatory lenders. Those incentives include forcing financial firms to pay the attorney fees of consumers who have been wronged, eliminating forced arbitration clauses that make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for lawyers to file class action suits against the bad actors in the financial services industry, and making it possible for borrowers to collect significant monetary damages from lenders who violate their rights.

Much like the contingency fee system and class action suits that improved auto safety, forced pharmaceutical companies to remove dangerous drugs from the market place, and held polluters accountable for damaging the environment, the new rules and regulations make it economically feasible for private attorneys to grapple with the teams of high-paid lawyers who represent banks and other lenders. That will bring much needed stability and accountability to the nation’s consumer credit market.

Take a moment to read the post in its entirety (new window) and check out other Working-Class Perspectives posts on our website.