The Term in Review: The Biden Administration and Consumer Protection

Featuring:

• Richard Cordray (COO of Federal Student Aid, Department of Education, and inaugural director, CFPB)
• Seth Frotman (General Counsel, CFPB)
• Christine Hines (Senior Policy Director, National Association of Consumer Advocates)
• Thomas Dahdouh (Attorney Advisor to FTC Chair Lina Khan; former Regional Director of the FTC’s Western Region)
• Lisa Donner (Executive Director, Americans for Financial Reform)
• Lee Hepner (Senior Legal Counsel, American Economic Liberties Project)
• Kerry O’Brien (Regional Director, Western Region San Francisco, Federal Trade Commission)
• Aissa Canchola Bañez (Policy Director, Student Borrower Protection Center)
• Elizabeth Jensen (Assistant Section Chief, U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division)
• MacKenna Alvarez ’25, Lynn He ’25, Jordan Hefcart ’25, and John Kauffman ’25
• and Berkeley Law Professors Abbye Atkinson, Jonathan Glater, Ted Mermin, and Prasad Krishnamurthy.

As the current presidential term comes to a close, the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice invites you to join us for an examination of the Biden Administration’s consumer protection work over the past four years. Although often overlooked, the scale and ambition of what the Biden Administration has attempted – and accomplished – in the field may match or exceed that of any administration in living memory.

From canceling hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt; to bringing the “new Brandeis” to bear in antitrust suits against tech giants (and Boeing, Albertson’s & Live Nation); to taking on “junk fees,” customer service wait times, and other consumer issues that weren’t even on the agenda of its predecessors, this Administration has reached remarkably broadly in its efforts to protect consumers and advance economic justice.

So what has driven this Renaissance and what has been achieved? What have the efforts looked like from inside the relevant agencies, and from the outside to interested experts? And what – after judicial actions blocking or threatening some of the most far-reaching administrative and enforcement efforts – will be the lasting effect?   

To explore these questions, the Center is hosting an all-day gathering featuring discussions with leading Biden Administration officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and the Department of Education. They will be joined in conversation by prominent legal scholars in the fields of consumer finance, consumer protection policy, antitrust, and higher education, as well as advocates who practice before these agencies.

Please join us for an eye-opening day of recognition, critique, and exploration of a remarkable four years.

Date, Time & Location

Thursday, September 26, 2024
10:00 am – 4:30 pm PT, with reception to follow
Berkeley Law (Booth Auditorium)

RSVP HERE by 9/24