Welcome to the new format for the Consumer Financial Services Committee Newsletter. Over the past several months, the Publications Subcommittee has been working hard to try to improve the ways that the CFSC delivers content to its members. The first change has been to the CFSC Newsletter, which beginning in 2010, will be distributed to all CFSC members every two months. Each newsletter will follow this general format, with content in each of the six main headings, and rely on the participation of both the CFSC leadership and the membership at large to help make it a success. In this section, various members of the CFSC leadership will provide an update on what is going on with the CFSC and different ways members can get involved. Our hope is that you will find the CFSC Newsletter to be a valuable source for staying informed about the CFSC and keeping up with what is going on in the industry.

I also want to take a second to remind everyone about the CFSC website. My guess is that most of you either have no idea that the CFSC has a website or you visited it once and never bothered to visit again. Regardless of which category you fall in, I am pleased to inform you that we DO have a website and that it has been completely overhauled this fall to help make it more useful to the membership. In addition to general CFSC info, the website is also constantly being updated to notify the membership of recent legislation, regulations and court decisions impacting the industry. Because the CFSC membership covers the entire country and we do not always pick up on of the news, please let me know if you become aware of a recent court decision or legislative change that you think might be of interest to the group and I will make sure it gets posted on the website. You can reach the CFSC website by clicking here. Please check it out, add it to your list of favorites and let us know if you have any thoughts or ideas on ways that we can improve.

      R. Frank Springfield
      Publications Chair
      FSPRINGF@burr.com

Its not too late to sign up for the Winter Meeting at The Canyons in Park City, Utah, January 9-12, 2010. The Meeting will begin on Saturday, the 9th at 4:00 PM with Beer and Basics, sponsored by the Young Lawyers Subcommittee, and followed by the Welcome Reception at Park Meadows Country Club at 6:30 PM. Sunday through Tuesday will be filled with a range of presentations focusing on such "hot button" issues as the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act and the CARD Act Rules. Don't forget to sign up for the Committee Dinner (affectionately labeled "DonFest") on Saturday night at the Canyons at the Red Pine Lodge. In addition to the numerous skiing opportunities, other local activities include snow shoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, ice skating and even bobsledding at the Olympic Park! To sign up for the meeting, please visit the registration page here. We hope to see you in Park City!

The Consumer Financial Services Committee is composed of many different sub-committees, each focused on a different subject area in the consumer financial services legal realm. Once each year, the Chair or Vice Chair of each sub-committee will have the opportunity to spotlight their committee in this section of the newsletter, letting all of us know a little more about their sub-committee, resources available from the sub-committee's web site, and their plans for the coming year.

CFSC is filled with an interesting array of attorneys with a common interest - consumer financial services law. However, individuals within the Committee approach this common interest from diverse perspectives and experiences. In each issue, this section of the CFSC Newsletter will shed more light on one of these diverse groups and the role they play within the Committee.

There are many unsung heroes within CFSC who serve their communities in numerous ways. It might be through a special pro bono project, through time volunteered to improve financial literacy, or through another form of community service. This section of the newsletter will feature articles about these unsung heroes. We know these folks are out there, but we need you to point them out and make sure they get the recognition they deserve, but would not seek for themselves. Their service might be to their local community or on a national or even international scale. If you know a CFSC Committee member who is serving in a special way, please contact a member of the CFSC Newsletter Editorial Board. Better yet, volunteer to write an article about one of these deserving folks for us to publish here in CFSC Newsletter.

Each CFSC Newsletter will include article(s) authored by the CFSC members. We are always looking for volunteers to help with articles. Therefore, please let us know if you have an article that you would like to be featured in an upcoming newsletter. This edition's feature is: This article provides insight into the effect, or lack thereof, that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Cuomo v. Clearing House Association has had on lawsuits filed by state attorneys general against financial institutions in Post-Cuomo: The Floodgates Have Not Opened and Watters Still Predominates. The authors analyze the Cuomo decision and make observations regarding the remaining ability of attorneys general to file suits to enforce non-preempted state laws. To read the full article, click here.