San Antonio Bar Association | Litigation Section

Consumer & Commerical Law Section

Andrew E. Sattler
Chair
210.736.1772

The Consumer & Commercial Law Section is relatively new. It is not plaintiff oriented or defendant oriented, but rather strives to encourage the understanding of legal issues from the perspective of both sides. To this end, the section has made a concerted effort to maintain this neutral role by selecting its chairpersons alternatively from the business and consumer sides of the docket. The incoming chairperson, Andrew Sattler, is representative of the consumer point of view.

In this age of consumer awareness, the Consumer & Commercial Law Section of the San Antonio Bar Association is on the cutting edge of developing law, which affects many other sections of the bar. Over this past year, the Consumer & Commercial Law Section has hosted numerous speakers covering a variety of topics from an interactive seminar on the Texas Residential Construction Commission and its impact on consumer rights in residential construction (presented by Gary Javore and Jesse Murphy) to a primer on the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by John Dwyre. The Attorney General’s office offered seminars on the rights of the aged (elder law) as well as a riveting presentation on identity theft. William Lemons of the ADR Section offered his insights and statistical analysis as to the similarity in outcomes of arbitrations, jury trials and bench trials and provided an introductory course for lawyers in arbitrating cases. Following his presentation, one might conclude that in some respects, the consumer is better off in arbitration than in litigation. Daniel Kustoff spoke to trends and developments in insurance case law. It is anticipated that during the upcoming year, the section will offer additional seminars in the area of consumer and commercial law that impact other areas of the law. The Consumer & Commercial Law Section has historically met on the second Tuesday of every month. Meetings provide an opportunity for attorneys to engage in dialogue about developments in the law as well as to serve as a sounding board, to discuss issues we each encounter on a daily basis.

The website for the Consumer & Commercial Law Section (www.saba.ccl.org) is an excellent reference source for attorneys engaged in consumer/commercial transactions, as well as other areas of the law. It provides links to State and Federal statutes and ordinances, the Bexar Appraisal District, Bexar County and other local government sites, I.D. theft links as well as numerous consumer protection sites. The site also provides data bases for locating an attorney who specializes in the consumer and commercial law areas.

If you would like to be a guest at our next luncheon or if you would like more information about joining the section, please contact Andrew Sattler or the Bar Association at 210.227.8822.