Less Than Six Degrees of Separation Loonin
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I Page lof2 Copyright 1998 by National Clearinghouse for Legal Services. All Rights Reserved. I I Less Than Six Degrees of Separation: Consumer Law onnections t o Your Practice (Part I) I By Deanne Loonln an d Elizabeth Renua rt Deanne Loonin is a staff attorney at the Nation al Consumer Law Center (NCLC) Boston office, 18 Tremont St., Suite 400, Boston, MA I I 02108;617.523.8010. Elizabeth Renuart is a staff attorney at NCLC s Washington. D.C., office. 1629 K St. NW. Washington. DC 20006; 202.986.6060. They thank Margot Saunders, also of NCLC, for her contribution to the discuss ion on the electronic transfer of state and federal benefits. I I Due to welfare reform and econo mi changes, more and more welflUC recipients, new immigrants. and other low-income individuals are entering the wor k force and confronting the complex consumer marketplace. often for the flI St time. Unfortunately the same forces of competition that effectively fuel the national economy tend to work loss well for these low-income con sumers. This population is also selectively targeted for some of worst consumer abuses by the exploitati ve fringe marke tplac e. More importan t than ever, l ega l services advocates must recognize consumer la w issues in their practices and understa nd basic co nsu mer law remedies. I 11:rls flI St part of a two-part article gives an overview of the connections between Consumer law and other practice areas. It focuses on consumer l aw for welf are advoc ates. family and domestic violence advocates, and advocates with immigrant clie nts. The second pa rt, to be published here also. will dis cuss housin g. health. and I . enior issues. I Read together. the two parts are intended to give all practitioners a greater appreciation for how consumer law can help addreSs a variety of legal problems and an understanding of how developments in the private marketplace affect the lives · of low-income people. I I I. Welfare Advocates: Helping Clients Out of Poverty The ultimate goal of a legal s r i ~ practice is to help clients get out of poverty. At the most basic level this means helping people maximize their in come s and reduce their expenses. Th e work of oth welfare advocates I and consumer advocates is Critical in helping clients attain this goal. I A Th e Holi stic Approach I Consumer law problems often sUrface in what at first glance appears t be straightforWard public benefit cases. hi some caSes a client may be ineligible fot education benefit s due to preVious student-loan defaults. Problems with repossessions. pr ior debts. and neg ative credit ratin gs also can arise i n public benefit cases. I Consi der this example of how an expanded knowledge of consumer law can help a public benefits specialist solve a problem that is presented as a welfare issue. I I 355
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