Dealing with DMCs and the Unauthorized Practice of Law

Attorneys Christina McAlpin Taylor, Melissa Tulis, and Rachel Rogers discuss dealing with debt management companies - the risks and challenges they pose from the point of view of a collections attorney.Christina McAlpin Taylor is a partner at the Raleigh-based law firm of Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. An accomplished attorney known for handling a large volume of cases with precision and grace, she represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of creditor representation, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions. In her practice group, she actively leads approximately 75 employees, including two attorney associates, in addition to managing the leadership development of five direct reports. In 2016, she was named to the 25 Most Influential Women in Collections by Collection Advisor Magazine. Christina was named to the 2020 class of East Carolina University’s 40 Under Forty Leadership Awards. In 2021, she was appointed to serve a four-year term on the East Carolina University (ECU) Women’s Roundtable Board of Directors.Rachel Rogers is an associate attorney within the Consumer Collections group at Smith Debnam. Her practice experience includes Construction Law, Creditors’ Rights & Collections, Corporate & Business Law, and Business Litigation.Melissa Tulis is an associate in the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group, representing a broad range of businesses in North and South Carolina through all stages of the collection litigation process, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions.