Petter A. Holland
Peter A. Holland
Peter Holland is licensed to practice law in Maryland, where he has been helping clients for over 25 years. He is recognized as a national authority on consumer protection law, with a special emphasis on debt buyer lawsuits. Notable cases include class actions against auto finance companies and debt buyers which resulted in the dismissal of over 20,000 lawsuits and judgments.
He took a 5 year break from his 25 years in private practice when he ran the Consumer Protection Clinic at the University of Maryland Law School from 2009-2014. While teaching at the law school, he published several groundbreaking articles which have been cited by scholars and courts, including by Justice Sotomayor in the United States Supreme Court.
He has trained scores of law students and hundreds of pro bono lawyers in debt defense and consumer protection litigation. He is a frequent lecturer at state and national consumer protection conferences, and is regularly sought out by other lawyers as a mentor, adviser and co-counsel.
His scholarship on debt buyers has been cited by courts and academics alike, and he is a frequent commentator in the media on consumer litigation issues.
Peter has been quoted in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the American Banker, the Baltimore Sun, Maryland’s Daily Record and other major media outlets, including the following coverage:
The Doctors TV, December 12, 2019: Should Medical Debt be Treated Different Than Other Debt?
Pro Publica, October 16, 2019: When Medical Debt Collectors Decide Who Gets Arrested
NBC Washington, August 19, 2016: quoted in “The Wrong Peter Whitford: $25,000 Judgment Issued Against Maryland Man”.
Human Rights Watch, January 20, 2016: quoted and cited in “Rubber Stamp Justice: US Courts, Debt Buying Corporations and The Poor”.
NPR’s The Takeaway, December 23, 2015: featured in “How Debt Buyers Created a $100 Billion Industry”.
American Bar Association Journal, December 23, 2015: quoted in “Debt buyers use courts to collect, then cite arbitration clauses to deflect legal challenges”.
New York Times, December 22, 2015: quoted in “Sued Over Old Debt, Blocked From Suing Back”.
American Bar Association Journal, November 1, 2015: quoted in “Debt-buying industry and lax court review are burying defendants in defaults”.
ProPublica, October 8, 2015: credited in “Racial Disparity In Debt Collection Lawsuits: A Study of Three Metro Areas.”
Naked Capitalism blog, March 12, 2014: featured in “New In-Depth Study Shows How Debt Collectors Abuse Legal System and Borrowers”.
Public Citizen’s Consumer Law and Policy Blog, March 10, 2014: featured in “Peter Holland Study of Debt Buyer Collection Suits Finds Mass Produced Default Judgments“.
American Banker, February, 11, 2014: quoted in “Courthouse ‘Rocket Dockets’ Give Debt Collectors Edge Over Debtors”.
American Bar Association Journal, May 1, 2013: quoted in “Attorneys Push for Change in Debt Collection“.
Baltimore Sun, October 25, 2012: featured in “Annapolis Consumer Attorney to Receive Legal Service Award“.
Maryland Daily Record, September 9, 2012: featured in “Judge Approves Debt Collection Settlement”.
ABC News, August 18, 2012: featured in “Top 5 Tips to Fight Junk Debt Lawuits”
Credit Slips blog, August 14, 2012: featured in “Learn How to Defeat Debt Collection cases Involving Junk-Debt-Buyers and Other Robo-Signers”.
ABA Journal, August 13, 2012: quoted in “Consumer Lawyer Says Credit Card Debt Collection Suits Are A ‘Robo-Signing Redux’”.
Baltimore Sun, March 10, 2011: featured in “Midland Funding to Drop Over 10,000 Debt Collection Cases”.
Baltimore Sun, October 9, 2008: featured in “Promises of Help Added to Woes”.
Listen to Peter discussing collection abuse and harassment as a featured panelist at the “Life of a Debt: Data Integrity in Debt Collection” joint FTC-CFPB roundtable, and on the Diane Rehm Show (here and here).
Bar Admissions
- Maryland