Peter Holland is licensed to practice law in Maryland, where he has been helping clients for over 25 years. He is recognized nationally as a leading consumer rights lawyer, with a special emphasis on debt buyer lawsuits and debt collection defense. 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 conferences for consumer rights lawyers, 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.

Mr. Stern focuses his practice on defending collection actions and pursing debt collector’s violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). His extensive trial and appellate experiences include the first decision in the country holding a collection attorney violates the FDCPA when the representations implied from him signing a collection complaint are false and the Appellate Division decision delineating the evidential record which a debt buyer must establish to meet its burden when moving for summary judgment. In addition to matters in NJ state courts, he has handled cases throughout the US including arguing appeals in the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 9th Circuits. He has taught appellate advocacy at Seton Hall Law School and is a frequent panelist and presenter at national, state, and local conferences on consumer law. In addition, he sits on the NJ State Bar Association’s Consumer Protection Law Committee and was a member of the Supreme Court’s Ad Hoc Committee addressing attorney-client agreements in fee-shifting cases.