NACA’s Business Development eCourse 101: Build a Successful Consumer Law Practice

Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in “lemon” vehicle lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other consumer law attorneys on how to win their cases.

Michael F. "Mike" Cardoza is a California Consumer Financial Protection Attorney who helps people regain control of their financial lives by getting the upper hand on creditors, debt collectors and credit reporting agencies. Trained as a trial attorney in the U.S. Marine Corps, Mike Cardoza has tried countless cases in federal and state courtrooms. Mike founded The Cardoza Law Corporation in order to share the truth about consumer credit and finance with clients and to be their “partner in prosperity.”

Russell Dombrow is an attorney and the owner of the Dombrow Law Firm in Syracuse, New York. He focuses his practice on dealer fraud, debt collection defense, foreclosure defense, and credit reporting issues throughout New York State and in federal court. Russell is also a 2022 graduate of Joshua Cohen’s Student Loan Law Workshop. He graduated from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2006. Russell has been a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates since 2018. He has won multiple awards from the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Central New York Volunteer Lawyers Project for his role in presenting Continuing Legal Education programs and pro bono legal services.

For over eighteen years, founder Christine A. Ferraris has worked relentlessly in the legal arena to help those hurt by fraud. As a business owner herself for most of those eighteen years, she understands the challenges small-business owners face.

Melissa A. Huelsman is the principal of Law Offices of Melissa A. Huelsman, P.S. Her practice involves plaintiffs’ civil litigation in the areas of predatory lending and mortgage loan servicing, foreclosure defense, fraud, and foreclosure rescue scams. Ms. Huelsman is a founder and vice chair of the board of directors, Northwest Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit dedicated to the representation of consumers on financial issues and she sits on the board of CENTS, financial literacy nonprofit. She was named King County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year in 2006 and was previously recognized by VLS as one of its Volunteers of the Year. She has been interviewed by foreign and domestic journalists regarding predatory lending, mortgage loan servicing, foreclosure rescue scams, and wrongful foreclosures, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and others. Ms. Huelsman received her B.A. in English from California State University at Fullerton in 1993 and her J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles in 1997. 

Suzanne Iazzetta is the Directing Attorney for the Consumer Law Unit. Suzanne is also an adjunct law professor at University of California at Irvine, teaching a course/clinic in Consumer Law.  Suzanne has been practicing since 2005, and is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and California.  She previously clerked for Judge Katharine S. Hayden of the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, and practiced civil litigation and bankruptcy at Lowenstein Sandler PC in New Jersey for many years. While at Lowenstein Sandler, Suzanne was granted a fellowship to work at Legal Services of New Jersey at the Newark, NJ office, which re-sparked her interest in working in Public Interest. While at LSNJ, Suzanne worked in the housing unit, assisting low-income clients obtain section 8 vouchers and defending voucher holders against HUD’s attempts to terminate the vouchers. Suzanne continued that pro bono work when she returned to Lowenstein, and was given a pro-bono attorney award every year that she remained at Lowenstein Sandler. She continually volunteered her services to assist people who needed legal help but could not afford traditional legal help.  Some of the areas of law that Suzanne has worked on in her career are consumer law, bankruptcy (business and personal), housing/eviction matters, foreclosure defense, FDCPA, FCRA, TCPA, and UDAAP claims, and debt collection defense. Suzanne also was a staff attorney for a chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee in New Jersey, and has had her own solo practice since 2012.

Matt Vocci is a partner at Santoni, Vocci & Ortega, LLC. The majority of his work relates in some way to housing. He represents tenants against landlords and property managers on a variety of cases, such as consumer protection and consumer debt collection issues, habitability, Fair Housing Act violations, illegal evictions, and personal injuries. Matt has served as class counsel on several class actions, including a recent case that resolved favorably for tenants against a large, out-of-state property management company. He is a member of the MSBA’s Delivery of Legal Services Committee Council and the ACLU of Maryland Committee on Litigation and Legal Priorities. Matt deeply believes in Santoni, Vocci & Ortega’s mission to provide high-quality legal representation to low-income Marylanders. He graduated cum laude from Temple University, Beasley School of Law in 2006.

Subhan Tariq regularly handles complex commercial litigation, with particular experience in consumer finance litigation in individual and class action cases in the areas of federal and state consumer protection laws. Mr. Tariq has successfully helped thousands of consumers exercise their consumer rights against large institutional banks, debt collectors, and consumer reporting agencies. Subhan also consults with other lawyers and law firms on blockchain automation, working towards a streamlined efficient network of client files, document automation, and cost-effective workflows.