Stephen Turner

Partner

Stephen.Turner@lewisbrisbois.com

Stephen Turner is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois and chair of the Consumer Financial Services Practice. He has extensive experience representing financial institutions and professionals including collection agencies, credit grantors, and debt collection law firms in actions involving claims of unlawful collection practices, intentional misconduct, violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Rosenthal Act and unfair competition statutes. He obtained the largest judgment under the FDCPA against a plaintiff for having brought a case against a debt collector in bad faith and for purposes of harassment. Mr. Turner has represented numerous financial institutions including mortgage brokers, payday lenders and national banks against claims of breach of fiduciary duty, unfair lending practices, breach of contract, unfair business practices, unlawful foreclosure and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Mr. Turner has handled more than 5,000 cases involving allegations of unfair debt collection practices from initial pleadings to trial and appeal; of those matters, nearly 200 were putative class actions. He has handled cases involving validation notices, debtors’ right to dispute debts, misleading and deceptive collection practices, agencies’ affiliations with credit bureaus, overshadowing issues, and various threatening and harassing activities by debt collectors. He has defended over 100 class actions involving allegations of unfair debt collection practices, violation of the TCPA, the FCRA and the California Penal Code.

Mr. Turner also represents clients with regard to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. He assists clients in preparing for audits and complaints.

Primary Area(s) of Practice

  • Consumer Financial Services

Additional Experience

Admissions

California

Associations

  • California Bar Association
  • ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals
  • California Association of Collectors

Education

University of Southern California

Juris Doctor, 1979

University of California at Davis

Bachelor of Arts, with honors, 1976

Publications

Mr. Turner has written articles on various issues including a recent article published by the ACA regarding a collection agency’s obligation to independently verify a debt and an article published by Collector Inc., the magazine for the California Association of Collectors, regarding time limited settlement offers.