Law School
McGeorge School of Law, 1997
Great Distinction, Order of the Coif

Expertise
Litigation in Matters of:

Ms. Coleman is a partner in Ellis, Coleman, Poirier, LaVoie & Steinheimer, LLP. She has a wide range of experience in professional malpractice defense; complex civil litigation, including class actions; commercial litigation; creditor's rights; defense of consumer rights actions, including litigation involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act; commercial litigation; and litigation involving technology and electronic data. Ms. Coleman has also done appellate work on both the state and federal level, as well as some regulatory work and transactional work. She has defended clients in bench trials and jury trials.

Ms. Coleman also represents national clients in courts throughout the nation. Ms. Coleman believes that the representation of a national client in distant jurisdictions by the same firm provides consistency in litigation philosophy and legal positions as the firm represents the client in similar types of litigations. Consistency in legal positions and a global litigation philosophy allows a national client to potentially develop beneficial jurisprudence that can then be used effectively in similar cases in other jurisdicitions. The use of a single firm to represent a national client throughout the nation permits the client to retain a firm that the client knows has experience and knowledge about specific areas of the law, regardless of the jurisdiction. Additionally, economies of scale occur because the firm is familiar with all of the national client's policies and procedures, thereby allowing the firm to efficiently develop better defense strategies.

Professional & Civic Activities

Ms. Coleman is 2007-2009 State Chair of the Members Associate Program (MAP) of the American Collectors Association International. She serves as liaison between MAP at the national level and MAP members within California to promote the partnership between attorneys and their American Collectors Association International member clients. Ms. Coleman has been a frequent speaker regarding the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, especially for the California Association of Collectors. She has also provided training for collectors regarding the obligations set forth in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, California's Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Her other affiliations and activities include:

Education

Ms. Coleman received her Bachelor's Degree at California State University, Sacramento, in business with an emphasis in accounting. While at McGeorge School of Law, she was a member of the Traynor Honor Society each year. She graduated from McGeorge School of Law with great distinction, Order of the Coif, in 1997. She was admitted to the California State Bar that same year. She is licensed to practice in all of the courts in the State of California, all the United States District Courts in California and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

At McGeorge, Ms. Coleman published several articles, including various articles in "Review of Selected 1995 California Legislation," 27 PAC.L.J. 441 (1996), as well as "Playing God or Playing Scientist, A Constitutional Analysis of State Laws that Ban Embryological Research," 27 PAC. L.J. 1331 (1996). Ms. Coleman was also the managing editor for the Pacific Law Journal in 1996-1997.

Representative Published Opinions

Abels v. JBC Legal Group, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2006) 434 F.Supp.2d 763 (FDCPA, Rosenthal FDCPA)

Palmer v. Stassinos (N.D. Cal. 2006) 236 F.R.D. 460 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Abels v. JBC Legal Group, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2006) 233 F.R.D. 645 (FDCPA, Rosenthal FDCPA)

Palmer v. Stassinos (N.D. Cal. 2006) 233 F.R.D. 546 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Trevino v. ACB American, Inc. (N .D. Cal. 2006) 232 F.R.D. 612 (FDCPA)

Canlas v. Eskanos & Adler (N.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2006) 2006 WL 3227873 (FDCPA)

Palmer v. Stassinos (N.D. Cal. Sept. 14, 2006) 2006 WL 2642530 (FDCPA)

Carrizosa v. Stassinos (N.D. Cal. Aug 31, 2006) 2006 WL 2529503 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Carrizosa v. Stassinos (N.D. Cal. Jun 06, 2006) 2006 WL 1581953 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Camacho v. Bridgeport Financial, Inc. (9th Cir. 2005) 430 F.3d 1078 (FDCPA)

Abels v. JBC Legal Group, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2005) 428 F.Supp.2d 1023 (FDCPA, Rosenthal FDCPA)

Johnson v. AMO Recoveries (N.D. Cal. 2005) 427 F.Supp.2d 953 (FDCPA)

Palmer v. Stassinos (N.D. Cal. 2005) 419 F.Supp.2d 1151 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Roybal v. Equifax (E.D. Cal. 2005) 405 F.Supp.2d 1177 (FCRA, FDCPA, Fair Credit Billing Act)

Palmer v. Stassinos (N.D. Cal. 2005) 348 F.Supp.2d 1070 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Abels v. JBC Legal Group, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2005) 229 F.R.D. 152 (FDCPA, Rosenthal FDCPA)

Minnick v. Tate & Kirlin Associates (N.D. Cal. July 5, 2005) 2005 WL.566548

Abels v. JBC Legal Group, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2005) 227 F.R.D. 541 (FDCPA, Rosenthal FDCPA)

Abels v. JBC Legal Group, Inc. (N.D. Cal. Oct. 19, 2005) 2005 WL 3839308 (FDCPA, Rosenthal FDCPA)

Irwin v. Mascott (9th Cir. 2004) 370 F.3d 924 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Bracken v. Harris & Zide (N.D. Cal. 2004) 219 F.R.D. 481 (FDCPA)

Defenbaugh v. JBC & Associates, P.C. (N.D. Cal. Aug 10, 2004) 2004 WL 1874978 (FDCPA)

Littledove v. JBC, Inc. (E.D. Cal. 2001) 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Irwin v. Mascott (N.D. Cal. 2000) 112 F.Supp.2d 937 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Irwin v. Mascott (N.D. Cal. 2000) 94 F.Supp.2d 1052 (FDCPA, Unfair Business Practices)

Publications

Ms. Coleman authored "Is Your Attorney Meaningfully Involved in Your Collection Process?" which was published in both Collector's Ink, vol XLVI, no. 6 (Cal. Assoc. of Collectors July 2001) and MAPbulletin, vol 6, nos. 10 and 11 (Am. Collectors Assoc. Oct. & Nov. 2001). Ms. Coleman has most recently published "The Rosenthal FDCPA," Collector's Ink, vol. XLXI, no. 2 (Cal. Assoc. of Collectors Feb. 2006). Ms. Coleman has also reviewed and edited for publication Legal Guide for Women, published by the American Bar Association in 2004.