Creditors’ Corner LEGAL TALK

Melissa Tulis Smith and Rachel Rogers discuss the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the banking and financial sectors. They explain that DEI involves creating a workplace where diverse individuals are represented, treated fairly, and valued. DEI is crucial for banks because it helps them better understand and serve their diverse customer base, fosters innovation, and enhances decision-making. Effective DEI practices can improve regulatory compliance, attract top talent, and reduce turnover costs. They emphasize the need for inclusive hiring, training, and promotion processes, and highlight that DEI initiatives can enhance customer service, client relationships, and overall business success.

If you practice in North Carolina or are involved in our court systems, you probably know that five counties have made the transition to e-filing. Those counties include Harnett, Johnston, Lee Mecklenburg, and Wake counties. In today's episode, we discuss what you need to know as we transition to E-Filing across the state.Rachel Rogers is an associate attorney within the Consumer Collections group at Smith Debnam. Her practice experience includes Construction Law, Creditors’ Rights & Collections, Corporate & Business Law, and Business Litigation.Melissa Tulis is an associate in the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group, representing a broad range of businesses in North and South Carolina through all stages of the collection litigation process, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions.

Today's topic is Family law, when to lawyer up, and why.We talk about why an attorney can be beneficial in a number of different family law situations, when you should consider getting an attorney involved, and why hiring a family law attorney from a firm with a multidisciplinary practice is a smart move.Landon Van Winkle is an associate within the firm's Construction Litigation practice group where he assists clients with pre-suit negotiations and litigation in matters involving construction, equipment leasing and financing, and bankruptcy. His areas of practice are Bankruptcy, Business Litigation, Appellate Law, Construction Law, and Equipment Leasing & Finance.Michael Denning is an accomplished jurist and former District Court Judge for Judicial District 10 in Wake County, North Carolina. In his capacity as Of Counsel in Smith Debnam's Mediation and Arbitration Practice Group, he focuses his mediation practice in the areas of Business Litigation, Corporate and Business Law, and Family Law. Michael is a certified family financial mediator through the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission and a North Carolina State Bar and Wake County Bar member. He is admitted to practice in all North Carolina State Courts and U.S. District Court in all North Carolina Districts.

Attorneys Christina McAlpin Taylor, Melissa Tulis, and Rachel Rogers discuss dealing with debt management companies - the risks and challenges they pose from the point of view of a collections attorney.Christina McAlpin Taylor is a partner at the Raleigh-based law firm of Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. An accomplished attorney known for handling a large volume of cases with precision and grace, she represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of creditor representation, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions. In her practice group, she actively leads approximately 75 employees, including two attorney associates, in addition to managing the leadership development of five direct reports. In 2016, she was named to the 25 Most Influential Women in Collections by Collection Advisor Magazine. Christina was named to the 2020 class of East Carolina University’s 40 Under Forty Leadership Awards. In 2021, she was appointed to serve a four-year term on the East Carolina University (ECU) Women’s Roundtable Board of Directors.Rachel Rogers is an associate attorney within the Consumer Collections group at Smith Debnam. Her practice experience includes Construction Law, Creditors’ Rights & Collections, Corporate & Business Law, and Business Litigation.Melissa Tulis is an associate in the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group, representing a broad range of businesses in North and South Carolina through all stages of the collection litigation process, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions.

In this episode, Smith Debnam attorneys Christina McAlpin Taylor and Melissa Tulis discuss how Post Judgment Collections work in North Carolina.Christina McAlpin Taylor is a partner at the Raleigh-based law firm of Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. An accomplished attorney known for handling a large volume of cases with precision and grace, she represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of creditor representation, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions. In her practice group, she actively leads approximately 75 employees, including two attorney associates, in addition to managing the leadership development of five direct reports. In 2016, she was named to the 25 Most Influential Women in Collections by Collection Advisor Magazine. Christina was named to the 2020 class of East Carolina University’s 40 Under Forty Leadership Awards. In 2021, she was appointed to serve a four-year term on the East Carolina University (ECU) Women’s Roundtable Board of Directors.Melissa Tulis is an associate in the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group, representing a broad range of businesses in North and South Carolina through all stages of the collection litigation process, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions.

In today's episode, Smith Debnam attorneys Landon Van Winkle and Garret Kirkpatrick discuss the growing issue of student loans in the U.S., including how those loans are treated in bankruptcy, and how recent regulatory and legislative developments may provide relief to student borrowers in the future. Landon Van Winkle is an associate within the firm's Consumer Financial Services Compliance & Litigation practice group where he assists clients with pre-suit negotiations and litigation in matters involving consumer financial services litigation and compliance and bankruptcy. His areas of practice are Consumer Financial Services Litigation & Compliance, Commercial Creditor Bankruptcy, and Commercial Litigation.Garret Kirkpatrick is a member of the firm's Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Compliance group. In his role, Garret focuses on assisting clients with pre-suit negotiations, litigation, and advocacy in matters involving consumer financial services litigation and compliance, bankruptcy, and commercial litigation.

A new regulation has gone into effect this year that has altered the itemization and disclosures to consumers that banks, financial service providers, and creditors have to provide. In this podcast, we'll discuss those changes. Specifically - we discuss what type of itemization credit card providers are required to disclose to the consumer periodically, how much transaction history a credit card provider is required to retain, and for how long.We’ll also get into what type of itemization debt buyers are required to disclose to consumers. In particular, we discuss why debt buyers need to pay attention to the North Carolina statute related to debt buyers. We also talk about the type of itemization debt collectors are required to disclose to consumers. At the conclusion of this podcast, you'll have a better understanding of what itemization is and how it's defined by Reg F, and how it's defined by the North Carolina Debt Buyer Statute. Christina McAlpin Taylor is a partner at the Raleigh-based law firm of Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. An accomplished attorney known for handling a large volume of cases with precision and grace, she represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of creditor representation, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions. In her practice group, she actively leads approximately 75 employees, including two attorney associates, in addition to managing the leadership development of five direct reports. In 2016, she was named to the 25 Most Influential Women in Collections by Collection Advisor Magazine. Christina was named to the 2020 class of East Carolina University’s 40 Under Forty Leadership Awards. In 2021, she was appointed to serve a four-year term on the East Carolina University (ECU) Women’s Roundtable Board of Directors.Melissa Tulis is an associate in the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group, representing a broad range of businesses in North and South Carolina through all stages of the collection litigation process, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions.

In today's episode, attorneys Garret Kirkpatrick, Ron Jones, and John Sperati explore what creditors need to know in order to remain fully compliant with the Uniform Commercial Code when sending pre-and post-sale deficiency notices to debtors in North Carolina and South Carolina. Garret Kirkpatrick is a member of the firm's Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Compliance group. In his role, Garret focuses on assisting clients with pre-suit negotiations, litigation, and advocacy in matters involving consumer financial services litigation and compliance, bankruptcy, and commercial litigation.Ron Jones is a partner at Smith Debnam and a certified specialist in bankruptcy and debtor-creditor law by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Ron concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial law and bankruptcy, including all areas of creditors’ rights, such as the Uniform Commercial Code, Consumer Protection Code, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Claim and Delivery, Replevin, Foreclosure Law, Real Estate and Bankruptcy. Ron represents both secured and unsecured creditors, lenders, lessors, investors, asset purchasers, creditors’ committees, and occasionally, debtors.John Sperati is a partner and member of Smith Debnam’s Creditors’ Rights Practice group. He concentrates his practice in commercial creditor bankruptcy, foreclosure and real estate litigation, structured settlement transfer, judgment domestication and enforcement, construction litigation, commercial litigation, equipment leasing and finance, and creditors’ rights. 

In today’s episode, attorneys Melissa Tulis and Christina McAlpin Taylor discuss what the new debt collection rule says about communicating with consumers via email. Our discussion will cover the handoff letter, opt-out options, and how best to verify a consumer’s email address.Christina McAlpin Taylor is a partner at the Raleigh-based law firm of Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. An accomplished attorney known for handling a large volume of cases with precision and grace, she represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of creditor representation, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions. In her practice group, she actively leads approximately 75 employees, including two attorney associates, in addition to managing the leadership development of five direct reports. In 2016, she was named to the 25 Most Influential Women in Collections by Collection Advisor Magazine. Christina was named to the 2020 class of East Carolina University’s 40 Under Forty Leadership Awards. In 2021, she was appointed to serve a four-year term on the East Carolina University (ECU) Women’s Roundtable Board of Directors.Melissa Tulis is an associate in the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group, representing a broad range of businesses in North and South Carolina through all stages of the collection litigation process, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions.

As we emerge from the pandemic and business gets back to normal, we thought today would be a great time to talk about some of the big do's and don'ts for filing proofs of claim in bankruptcy. Featured speakers today include attorneys Jeff Rogers, Caren Enloe, and John Sperati. **Jeff Rogers leads the firm’s Foreclosure and Collateral Recovery Section. He joined Smith Debnam in 1994 and concentrates his practice in areas affecting the financial services industry. His practice includes commercial litigation, real property litigation, foreclosure, collateral recovery, bankruptcy, title reformation, and consumer finance litigation. His clients include banks, credit unions, commercial lenders, loan servicers, finance companies, title insurance companies, and other similar businesses.His experience has afforded him the opportunity to frequently speak on topics of interest to secured creditors, including residential and commercial foreclosure, compliance and regulatory issues, collections, collateral recovery, and title reformation. Jeff has spoken at programs and continuing legal education courses sponsored by Campbell University School of Law, the North Carolina Assistant Clerks of Court Conference, the North Carolina Bar Association, the North Carolina Creditors Bar Association, the North Carolina Bankers Association, and the North Carolina School of Government.**Caren Enloe leads Smith Debnam’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Compliance group. In her practice, she defends consumer financial service providers and members of the collection industry in state and federal court, as well as in regulatory matters involving a variety of consumer protection laws.  Caren also advises fintech companies, law firms, and collection agencies regarding an array of consumer finance issues.Caren oversees a blog titled: Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Compliance dedicated to consumer financial services and has been published in a number of publications including the Journal of Taxation and Regulation of Financial Institutions, California State Bar Business Law News, Banking and Financial Services Policy Report and Carolina Banker. **John Sperati is a partner and member of Smith Debnam’s Creditors’ Rights Practice group. He concentrates his practice in commercial creditor bankruptcy, foreclosure and real estate litigation, structured settlement transfer, judgment domestication and enforcement, construction litigation, commercial litigation, equipment leasing and finance, and creditors’ rights.