Douglas A. Crowder's 30 year legal career has spanned many fields, including criminal defense, business and corporate law, divorce and family law, various types of civil litigation, as well as bankruptcy and its alternatives. He has argued before the Washington State Supreme Court and New Mexico Court of Appeals, and won two reported appellate decisions.

He has represented hundreds of bankruptcy clients since the early 1980’s, and has been doing debt settlement as an alternative to bankruptcy since 1989. The early 90's saw the proliferation of a great number of non-attorney debt settlement companies, and the birth of the "debt settlement industry." A number of Mr. Crowder's business clients were among the founders of the first debt settlement companies, and he provided them with occasional advice and assistance, as well as continuing with his own debt settlement practice.

In the early 2000's, he served as the in-house attorney for a debt settlement company with more than 50 employees and over 2,500 clients. Later, he helped build a multi-jurisdictional law firm providing debt settlement and other debt related services. In just over a year's time, that firm grew from one attorney and no clients to three full-time attorneys and over 30 part time attorneys, and over 2,000 clients.

He is currently working with a number of debt settlement companies and law firms, and is providing education and instruction to the debt settlement industry. He serves as General Counsel for USOBA (United States Organization for Bankruptcy Alternatives), the leading trade organization of the debt settlement industry. As one of a handful of attorneys who have studied the laws of all 50 states regarding debt settlement, Mr. Crowder has recently reviewed and revised, and provided some commentary to the 2008 edition of the USOBA State Law Summary.

He is a frequent speaker at debt settlement trade association conferences, and a frequent contributor of newsletter articles. Some of his presentations include:

• Helping the Debt Settlement Industry Avoid the Unauthorized Practice of Law
• What Members of the Debt Settlement Industry Should Know About Bankruptcy
• A Summary of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• Reducing Creditor Harassment
• Defending Collection Lawsuits
• Ethical Concerns For Attorneys Involved In Debt Settlement.

The best way to reach Mr. Crowder is by email at dcrowder@crowderlaw.com.

("Of Counsel" is a designation for an attorney who practices part time in association with a law firm, but not as a partner or an associate, and frequently continues his or her own law practice as well as assisting the firm.)

William Johnson graduated from Brigham Young University in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese language, and earned his Juris Doctor from Columbia University in 1981. He also attended Harvard Law School from 1979 -1980 where he was an editor of the Harvard International Law Journal. His practice includes corporate and business law, litigation, intellectual property and creditor-debtor law.

Clarke Balcom attended the Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, where he earned both his Juris Doctorate and Certificate in Federal Tax Law. During law school, he was also Executive Editor on the Law Review and went to national finals in the Tax Moot Court competition. His practice includes debt collection defense, Chapters 7 and 13 Bankruptcy, tax problem resolution, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act suits against debt collectors, and administration of estates in Oregon. During the 1970's, he took some time off before completing college and traveled to 48 states and Canada. He runs with a team of 12 people every year in the Hood to Coast Relay - 197 miles from Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood to Seaside, Oregon. He has also volunteered in activities supporting human rights, and establishing and preserving trails.