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Nicholas J. Prola
Attorney
Nicholas J. Prola
Attorney
Class Action/Multidistrict Litigation, Business and Commercial Litigation, Consumer Finance, Corporate and Transactions, Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
Credit and Collection Industry, Financial Services Industry, Health Care Industry
Overview
Nicholas Prola is an experienced litigator who focuses his practice on consumer finance defense. He is dedicated to defending financial entities, law firms, healthcare providers, and other organizations against consumer financial protection claims. Nicholas also advises organizations on privacy and data security issues and defends related regulatory and class action claims.
Nicholas acts as outside general counsel to entities in the ARM space, providing guidance on compliance with state and federal regulations, policies and procedures, contracting, vendor management, employment issues, and litigation. He is also involved in advocating for the ARM industry at the state legislature, drafting many of the more recent legislation passed in Colorado under Colorado’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Nicholas recently served as a board member for the ACA of Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico’s Executive Committee.
EDUCATION & ADMISSIONS
Education
- University of San Diego School of Law, J.D., 2010
- University Merit Honors Scholarship
- Honors: Lawyering Skills I, Legal Research, and Writing
- Best Oral Advocate, Lawyering Skills I, 2008
- Student Delegate, Student Affairs Committee of Board of Trustees, 2007-2008
- Associate Member, Constitutional Reform Committee, 2008-2009
- Executive Board Member, Fundraising, Phi Alpha Delta, 2008-2009
- University of Illinois, B.A., 2005
Bar Admissions
- U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
- Illinois
- Not licensed in Minnesota
EXPERIENCE
Representative Cases
Credit and Collection
Successfully defended agency against FDCPA claims and obtained motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
Successfully defended agency against FDCPA claims and obtained motion to dismiss because the plaintiff’s motion was not brought within a reasonable time from the entry of judgment and plaintiff did not demonstrate excusable neglect or any other basis under Rule 60(b) for seeking to vacate the judgment.
Successfully defended agency and obtained order dismissing the plaintiff’s claims for alleged ineffective service of a complaint.
Successfully defended hospital system and obtained order dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice in class-action counterclaims and crossclaims based on the hospital system’s chargemaster.
Cybersecurity and Data Breach
Representation of agency in ransomware attack targeting nearly 2 million individuals, resulting in a nationwide class action.
PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC
Bar Associations
- Illinois State Bar Association
Professional Associations
- ACA International, Inc.
- Associated Collection Agencies, Inc., past Board Member
- Receivables Management Association International
Seminars
AccountsRecovery.Net Webinar Presenter
- How to Establish an Effective Root Cause Analysis Program, presenter, September 26, 2024
- How to Establish an Effective Non-Conformities Process, presenter, August 27, 2024
- How to get Your Applications for Text Messages with Aggregators Approved, presenter, July 3, 2024
- Compliance Q&A about Webchats and Chatbots, presenter, May 9, 2024
- An Update on Medical Debt Collection & Credit Reporting Laws and Regulations, presenter, March 27, 2024
- The Difference Between Direct Disputes and Indirect Disputes and How Each Should be Handled, presenter, February 2, 2024
- Are Your Dispute Investigation Policies & Procedures Adequate?, presenter, December 21, 2023
- Best Practices in Handling Payment Processing Fees, presenter, December 11, 2023
- The Intersection Between Credit Reporting and ID Theft – When Consumers Say a Debt is Not Theirs, presenter, November 8, 2023
- Ask the Credit Reporting Expert, presenter, November 23, 2023
- Ask the Credit Reporting Expert, presenter, August 24, 2023
- Dispute Best Practices in the Wake of Recent Enforcement Orders, presenter, July 19, 2023
ACA International Presentations
- Regulation F, 108 Days Later, presenter, March 2022
- Incorporating Regulation F Into Your Training Program, presenter, November 2021
- Wi-Fi Cellphone Services and the TCPA, presenter, July 2017
Radiological Business Management Association | Paradigm
- A Closer Look at Legislation Impacting Medical Billing, presenter, February 2022
Healthcare Financial Management Association
- Patient Interactions and Payment Trends Amidst the Pandemic, presenter, October 2021
- The Vendor Management Rut, presenter, June 2018