Battle for Consumer Protections: Using Lessons from New York's UDAAP Campaign to Inform Other Advocacy Efforts

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New York is known for groundbreaking legislation on discrimination, public health, environmental protection, and many other areas. Yet remarkably, it also has one of the nation’s weakest consumer laws. New York’s law is one of the only consumer statutes in the country that contains no prohibition against unfair and abusive practices with respect to claims by private consumers. Furthermore, the law fails to mandate attorneys’ fees and limits statutory damages to a paltry $50.
A coalition of advocates has relentlessly fought to change this law; last year we came close but were ultimately stymied by the headwinds of politics and special interests. As we continue to press forward for meaningful change, we invite you to join us for a conversation about how lessons from our New York battle can inform advocacy efforts everywhere.

What You Will Learn
• Why strong state consumer laws are so important in the present time
• Strategies for addressing common challenges to enacting economic justice reform
• Whether new messaging can be used to curb negative perceptions

Carolyn E. Coffey

Director of Litigation for Economic Justice

Mobilization for Justice, Inc.

Carolyn E. Coffey is the Director of Litigation for Economic Justice at Mobilization for Justice (MFJ), a civil legal services organization that provides advice, counsel, and representation to New Yorkers with low incomes. She supervises MFJ’s Consumer Rights Project and engages in consumer policy advocacy. Carolyn co-chairs the New York City Consumer Advocates Taskforce and is a former co-chair of the board of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

Hashim Rahman

Hashim Rahman runs a consumer law practice based in New York City. He specializes in cases pertaining to credit reporting, identity theft, debt collection harassment, tenants’ rights, banking fraud, home-improvement fraud, product misrepresentations, and environmental law. He has litigated cases in federal and state courts under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and other statutes. He is a graduate of Pace Law School, where he earned his JD, and the University of Chicago, where he earned a BA in sociology