St. Louis Atty Completes ABA Consumer Protection Laws Update

ST. LOUIS – A major update of consumer protection laws in all 50 states is completed and the St. Louis attorney who edited the treatise has been selected to edit the 2015 update.  Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. attorney Erwin Switzer coordinated and edited research by more than 40 of the nation’s leading consumer protection law attorneys for an American Bar Association (ABA) treatise entitled Consumer Protection Law Developments.  Greensfelder attorney Michael Schwalbert assisted Switzer in the 2013 update and will join him in the update for 2015.   The treatise is an important ABA reference guide for attorneys throughout the country examining changes and compliance issues in each state’s consumer protection laws.

            “This is a very robust area of law that is constantly changing as states enact laws designed to curb unfair and deceptive practices,” said Switzer.  “Companies that do business in multiple states need to carefully monitor their advertising, pricing structure, protection of customer data, and product safety to ensure they are in compliance with an array of ever-changing state regulations.” 

Since the treatise was last updated in 2011, Switzer says some major issues impacting state consumer protection laws have been:

·The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, that expands the ability of businesses to use arbitration clauses to prevent class action lawsuits;

·A ripple effect in the enforcement of Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that puts greater burdens on business privacy obligations; and

·Ongoing impacts from the housing mortgage crisis as plaintiff homeowners continue to bring lawsuits against banks that provided a mortgage or foreclosed on their property.

Switzer has been engaged in consumer protection law compliance for more than 15 years. Before joining Greensfelder, he served as a chief counsel for the Missouri Attorney General for 11 years.  At Greensfelder, Switzer is an officer in the litigation practice group where he represents clients in commercial litigation, including governmental regulatory affairs and appellate practice.

He was a contributor to the 2011 update of the Consumer Protection Law Developments for the ABA.

Switzer is a cum laude graduate of the Saint Louis University School of Law.  He also received a degree in political science from Saint Louis University.

Schwalbert is an associate in Greensfelder’s litigation practice group. He works with clients on a variety of litigation matters, including class action defense, securities litigation and corporate shareholder litigation. He is a cum laude graduate of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia where he earned a degree in political science.

Greensfelder offers comprehensive legal solutions in 17 practice groups for clients locally, nationally and internationally.   Areas of legal practice include communications and media; construction; corporate; creditor’s rights and bankruptcy; educational, religious and tax-exempt organizations; employee benefits; environmental; franchise & distribution; health care; immigration; intellectual property; labor and employment; litigation; real estate; tax; technology transactions; and trusts and estates. Greensfelder is the exclusive Meritas law firm for metro St. Louis.  An international alliance of business law firms, Meritas member firms offer access to the experience and legal knowledge of nearly 200 business law firms throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, China and more than 50 countries worldwide.

Find out more at www.greensfelder.com.