Consumer Law
Exempt Lawyers from ‘Red Flags Rule’ in FACT Act, ABA Urges
Posted Jun 22, 2009, 04:15 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Lawyers should not be considered creditors under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act and hence should not be subject to the red flags rule that requires creditors to detect warning signs of identity theft during day-to-day operations, the president of the American Bar Association urges in a press release today.
"Congress intended the FACT Act to apply to financial institutions and other businesses that extend credit, not to lawyers who merely bill for services after they are performed," says ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr. in the release. "Regardless of the specifics of billing arrangements used in client-lawyer relationships, lawyers cannot ethically charge for legal services until they are rendered."
Related coverage:
Federal Trade Commission: "New ‘Red Flag’ Requirements for Financial Institutions and Creditors Will Help Fight Identity Theft"
Ventura County Star: "Doctors may soon have to check patient IDs"