• Former President and Founding Member, American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers
• Founding Member and Counsel to the, National Association of Dealer Counsel, 2004 to 2020
• Chair, Subcommittee on Personal Property Finance, Consumer Financial Services Committee, Business Law Section, American Bar Association, 1991-95; Vice Chair, 1988-91
• Chair, Task Force on Forfeiture Provisions of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Business Law Section, American Bar Association, 1990
• Member, American Bar and Maryland State Bar Associations
• Former Member, District of Columbia Bar Association
• Founder and former Senior Editor, CARLAW, a monthly review of current federal and state developments in automobile finance, including activities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and other Dodd-Frank related activity
• Former Senior Editor of Spot Delivery, a monthly legal newsletter for car dealers

Books

• Cokie’s Chronicles, The Adventures of a Pandemic Puppy, 2025
• CARLAW® F&I Legal Desk Book (8th Edition), 2018
• CARLAW® F&I Legal Desk Book (7th Edition), 2017
• CARLAW® IV – The Federal Government’s War on Car Dealers, 2017
• CARLAW® F&I Legal Desk Book (6th Edition), 2014
• CARLAW® F&I Legal Desk Book (5th Edition), 2013
• CARLAW® F&I Legal Desk Book (4th Edition), 2011
• Tales from Acworth and Other Stories, a Southern Journey, June 2010
• CARLAW® F&I Legal Desk Book (3rd Edition), 2010
• CARLAW® III – Reloaded, May 2010
• CARLAW® F&I Legal Desk Book (2nd Edition), June 2008
• CARLAW® II – Street Legal, January 2008
• CARLAW® F&I Legal Desk Book (1st Edition), December 2006
• CARLAW® A Southern Attorney Delivers Humorous Practical Legal Advice on Car Sales and Financing!, April 2006

Recent Speeches

2018

• Co-Presenter, “BHPH 101: Basic Building Blocks for Success” – National Independent Automobile Dealers Association/National Alliance of Buy Here Pay Here Dealers (NIADA/NABD), Las Vegas, NV, October 8-11, 2018

2017

• Co-Presenter, “Legal Regulatory Update” – Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association (GIADA), Stone Mountain, GA, July 14, 2017
• Co-Presenter, “Navigating a Century’s Worth of Auto Law” – NIADA, Las Vegas, NV, June 14, 2017
• Co-Presenter, “Compliance Hot Spots and What To Do About Them” – NABD, Las Vegas, NV, May 23-25, 2017
• Co-Presenter, “Legal Regulatory Update” – NABD, Las Vegas, NV, May 23-25, 2017
• Co-Panelist, “A Century’s Worth of Compliance Advice” – NADA, New Orleans, LA, January 26-28, 2017

2016

• Co-Panelist, “A Compliance Conversation” – SubPrime Forum, Las Vegas, NV, November 15, 2016
• Co-Presenter, “Compliance Issues/Ways to Protect Your Operation” – NABD East Coast Conference, Orlando, FL, November 3, 2016
• Co-Presenter, “Making Your Deal Jackets Compliant” – NABD East Coast Conference, Orlando, FL, November 1, 2016
• Co-Presenter, “Building a Culture of Compliance” – DealerSocket User Summit, San Antonio, TX, October 5, 2016
• Speech, “Does Size Matter? When It Comes to the CFPB, it Doesn’t. Understand Why Compliance Should be a Priority No Matter your Size” – DealerSocket User Summit, San Antonio, TX, October 4, 2016
• Webinar Presenter, “What Recent Federal Enforcement Actions Mean for Dealers” – Nextgear Capital, Inc., August 25, 2016
• Co-Presenter, “You’re Busted!” – Carolinas Independent Automobile Dealers Association (CIADA), Myrtle Beach, SC, August 12, 2016
• Co-Presenter, “Life After Herbies: Cash vs. Credit Pricing and the CFPB” – Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association (TIADA), San Antonio, TX, July 26, 2016
• Co-Panelist, “Handling Customer Complaints – Big Brother is Watching . . . what’s your process?” – Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association (TIADA), San Antonio, TX, July 25, 2016
• Co-Presenter, “Pitfalls In Pricing and Finance Charges” – NIADA, Las Vegas, NV, June 14, 2016
• Co-Presenter, “How Regulators are Changing Your Business” – NABD, Las Vegas, NV, May 26, 2016
• Co-Presenter, “Deal Jacket Reviews” – NABD, Las Vegas, NV, May 25, 2016
• Speech, “Subprime and BHPH Dealers: How Regulators Have Changed Your Business Model” – Dealer Summit, Tampa, FL May 4, 2016
• Co-Panelist, “Busting Compliance Myths” F&I Think Tank Panel – Dealer Summit, Tampa, FL May 3, 2016

2015

• Speech, “Looking to the Future: How laws and regulations will change the way you do business” – SubPrime Forum, Scottsdale, AZ, November 17, 2015
• Co-Panelist, “How Regulatory Issues May Change BHPH” – NABD East Coast Conference, Orlando, FL, November 5, 2015
• Co-Panelist, “Is LHPH Better? A 30,000-foot Level View” – NABD East Coast Conference, Orlando, FL, November 5, 2015
• Co-Panelist, “Affordable Compliance Resources” – NABD East Coast Conference, Orlando, FL, November 4, 2015
• Co-Panelist, “What BHPH Can Learn from the Small Loan Industry” – NABD East Coast Conference, Orlando, FL, November 3, 2015
• Co-Panelist, “CFPB Rule-Making and Consumer Arbitration Update” – NADC Conference, Chicago, IL, November, November 2, 2015
• Speech, “Looking to the Future: Where is Auto Finance Heading the Next 5 Years” – Innovate Conference, Fort Worth, TX, September 20, 2015
• Speech, “The Definitive Word on the Use of Text Messages and How to Avoid a Federal or State Advertising Enforcement Action – The Rules for Text Messages, Online Ads, Radio, TV and Social Media” – Industry Summit, Las Vegas, NV, September 9, 2015
• Speech, “Looking to the Future: Where is Auto Finance Heading the Next 5 Years” – Industry Summit, Las Vegas, NV, September 8, 2015
• Speech, “Will You be Selling and Financing Cars in 2020?” – Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association (GIADA), Lake Lanier Islands, GA, July 24, 2015
• Speech, “Federal Enforcement Efforts – Meet the 800-pound Gorilla” – Alabama Consumer Finance Association, Orange Beach, AL, July 13, 2015
• Speech, “Federal Enforcement Efforts – Meet the 800-pound Gorilla” – Georgia Industrial Loan Association, Jacksonville, FL, June 13, 2015
• Speech, “Federal Enforcement Efforts – Meet the 800-pound Gorilla” – Independent Consumer Finance Association, South Carolina Educational Seminar, Savannah, GA, June 9, 2015
• Speech, “The Fault in Our Starts”, “The Practice of Corporate, Banking and Securities Law in 2015” and “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Auto Finance Marketplace – A Cautionary Tale” – South Carolina Bar Association, Columbia, SC, January 23, 2015
• Co-Panelist, “Regulatory Update” and Legal Q&A” – NABD Buy Here Pay Here, Dallas, TX, January 18-20, 2015

Frequent writer on auto dealership and auto finance issues. Published in:

• World of Special Finance
• Auto Dealer Monthly F&I Magazine
• eDealerNews.com Auto Finance Update
• F&I Management and Technology, Auto Lending and Marketing Magazine, Spot Delivery and others

Frequent presenter/speaker on legal topics for organizations including:

• The American Financial Services Association
• The National Automotive Finance Association
• The National Vehicle Leasing Association
• The American Bar Association
• The National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers
• Northwood University
• The Banking Law Institute
• Others, including:
• State Auto Dealer Associations
• State Independent Auto Dealer Associations
• Auto Dealer Twenty Groups