By Bill Atkinson
Editor's note: While talking to credit union attorneys for an upcoming Credit Union Management magazine article about when to hire an in-house lawyer for your credit union, our writer also asked his sources what they see as the most common and the most pressing legal issues CUs face today. Here's what he learned.
According to Robert Rutkowski, a partner with the firm of Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. LPA, Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, the two most common legal issues credit unions must deal with are regulation compliance deadlines and vendor contract negotiation.
"Beyond that, other common topics are HR issues, real estate issues, collection, bankruptcy, and foreclosure," he says. He identifies some of the more "esoteric" topics as trademarks, employee benefit planning, and collective bargaining.
Faith Anderson, VP/legal/compliance and general counsel for $5 billion American Airlines Federal Credit Union, Fort Worth, Texas, sees similar issues. She specifically identifies the most common legal topics CUs face as including legislative compliance, contract review, bankruptcies, mergers, mortgage demand letters, and personnel issues.
Are there any particularly "hot" topics these days? These vary, according to Anderson. "There seems to be a new one every couple of months, but nothing consistent," she replies. "The hot topics are often based on legislation and regulation deadlines, such as credit card changes, mortgage changes, student loans, and privacy issues."
For Bill Donovan, a partner with Venable LLP, Washington, D.C., popular legal issues are contract review, compliance audits and charter expansion.
What are the hottest legal issues your CU is facing?
Bill Atkinson is a free-lance writer based in Illinois. This post is a bonus from "Your Legal Eagle," due out in the September issue of Credit Union Management magazine.
Check out CUES Skybox's archive of "Current Issues in Credit Unions" podcasts led by Rutkowski and Anderson.
