A conference on Teaching Consumer Law in the New Economy organized by the Centre for Consumer Law of the University of Houston was again a success. It is a great opportunity to meet fellow practicioners and academics working in the same field, to exchange interesting ideas and to try to find problems to new issues in consumer law (or in teaching consumer law).
In the afternoon of the first day (Friday, 21 May) the first session concerned the collection of debts, litigation and settlements. Some time was devoted also to secured financing and payment systems. Another mixed session approached consumer behavior issues in law. Within this session I gave a short presentation on various functions of warnings and how they may influence the liability of a service provider (e.g. a builder in the construction sector).
On Saturday (22 May) the presentations and the discussion focused on arbitration and consumer credit issues. A session was devoted to teaching consumer law via clinical studies, which sounds like a great way to make students not only study textbooks but also gain some practical knowledge of consumer law. Maybe one day we will be able to introduce that sort of teaching into our courses.