I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5082 

To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude law firms and 

licensed attorneys who are engaged in activities related to legal proceedings from the definition of a debt collector, to amend the Consumer 

Financial Protection Act of 2010 to prevent the Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection from exercising supervisory or enforcement authority 

with respect to attorneys when undertaking certain actions related to 

legal proceedings, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2018 

Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia (for himself and Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude 

law firms and licensed attorneys who are engaged in 

activities related to legal proceedings from the definition 

of a debt collector, to amend the Consumer Financial 

Protection Act of 2010 to prevent the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection from exercising supervisory 

or enforcement authority with respect to attorneys when 

undertaking certain actions related to legal proceedings, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Practice of Law Tech3 nical Clarification Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF LAW FIRMS AND ATTORNEYS FROM 

5 THE DEFINITION OF DEBT COLLECTOR WHEN 

6 ENGAGED IN THE PRACTICE OF LAW. 

7 Section 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 

8 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as sub10 paragraph (G); and 

11 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(F) any law firm or licensed attorney, to 

14 the extent that— 

15 ‘‘(i) such firm or attorney is engaged 

16 in litigation activities in connection with a 

17 legal action in a court of law to collect a 

18 debt on behalf of a client, including— 

19 ‘‘(I) serving, filing, or conveying 

20 formal legal pleadings, discovery re21 quests, or other documents pursuant 

22 to the applicable statute or rules of 

23 civil procedure; 

24 ‘‘(II) communicating in, or at the 

25 direction of, a court of law (including 

26 in depositions or settlement conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Feb 27, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5082.IH H5082

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1 ferences) or in the enforcement of a 

2 judgment; or 

3 ‘‘(III) any other activities en4 gaged in as part of the practice of 

5 law, under the laws of a State in 

6 which the attorney is licensed, that re7 late to the legal action; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) such legal action is served on the 

9 defendant debtor, or service is attempted, 

10 in accordance with the applicable statute 

11 or rules of civil procedure; and’’. 

12 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO BUREAU AUTHORITY WITH RE13 SPECT TO PRACTICE OF LAW. 

14 Section 1027(e)(2)(B) of the Consumer Financial 

15 Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5517(e)(2)(B)) is 

16 amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 

17 ‘‘, unless such financial product or service is provided by 

18 a licensed attorney who is not a debt collector as described 

19 under section 803(6)(F) of the Fair Debt Collection Prac20 tices Act.’’. 

Æ 


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