SECTION Spotlight

The Houston Bar Association’s Commercial & Consumer Law Section is dedicated to all aspects related to the practice of commercial and consumer law. The membership of the HBA Commercial & Consumer Section encompasses many practice areas and sides of the bar. We count among our members commercial attorneys representing major corporations, solo consumer law practitioners, attorneys from both the plaintiff and defense debt collection bar, landlord and tenant attorneys, commercial real estate practitioners, receivers, and government consumer protection attorneys.

The Commercial & Consumer Law Section holds our monthly lunch CLE meetings on the first Thursday of every month at The Downtown Club at Houston Center. The Commercial & Consumer Law Section works hard to find speakers who are experts in their fields to present at these CLEs, and we are always looking out for new legal developments of interest to our membership. Our section CLEs are a great way to keep up with new developments in case law and legislation associated with our specialties. In the past year, we have hosted CLEs on a wide variety of topics and issues such as: A Plaintiff’s Lawyer’s Perspective on Presenting Damages; Post-Judgment Remedies in Texas; Landlord/Tenant Law after Hurricane Harvey; Updates for Article 9; Partnership by Conduct; A Guide to The Texas Turnover Statute; Contempt for Civil Attorneys; Mortgage Litigation in Texas; and Attorney Debt Collectors. We encourage our members to ask questions at all of our CLEs. The Commercial & Consumer Law Section has a core group of regular members who are subject-matter experts Commercial & Consumer Law Section: Programming Encompasses Many Practice Areas By Ste phanie Eberhardt

themselves and these experts do not shy away from adding their thoughts during CLEs, which makes for thought-provoking and entertaining discussions. Some members have even resolved cases after the CLE presentations. We also encourage law students to attend our CLE meetings free so that they have the opportunity to meet and learn from practicing attorneys.

The Commercial & Consumer Law Section has an annual happy hour for members—this year held at 8th Wonder Brewery in East Downtown—to provide members an additional opportunity to network. This year, we will be hosting a spring happy hour for members as well. Our Section contributes to the Houston Bar Foundation for the Harvest Celebration, volunteers at LegalLine, and this year will be giving to the HBA Habitat for Humanity home. The Commercial & Consumer Law Section also co-hosts the Annual Holiday Reception Honoring the Judiciary alongside the ADR Section, Federal Practice Section, and Litigation Section. You may have seen some of our section members handing out name tags at this year’s reception.

The Commercial & Consumer Law Section is always looking for members who are interested in contributing, and we have opportunities for section leadership in the upcoming bar year. Please contact our section chair, Katharine Allen, if you are interested. Stephanie Eberhardt is an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. She is the chair-elect of the HBA Commercial & Consumer Law Section. The Section presents experts in all areas of commercial and consumer law at monthly luncheon meetings.