Tom Buiteweg is a partner in Hudson Cook's Ann Arbor, Michigan Office. His practice focuses on helping financial institutions, sales finance companies, motor vehicle dealers and manufacturers to establish and maintain national consumer automobile finance and leasing programs, mortgage and other credit programs. His areas of concentration include matters involving federal and state consumer credit law, vehicle titling and security interests/liens, collection practices, repossession and other enforcement activities, and electronic commerce.
GMAC Financial Services Legal Staff, 1993 - 2008.
Tom provided legal support for consumer vehicle financing and leasing operations. From 2005 to 2008, he managed the staff's consumer automotive finance group and served as General Counsel of GMAC's wholly-owned subsidiary that serviced vehicle sales finance and lease accounts in the United States. His work focused on regulatory and legal compliance matters relating to consumer automotive finance and lease operations, including those related to: Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Article 2 (Sales), Article 2A (Leases), and Article 9 (Secured Transactions); the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA and Federal Reserve Board Regulation Z); the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA and FRB Regulation B); the Consumer Leasing Act (CLA and FRB Regulation M); the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and state collection practices acts; the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) , the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), state installment sales and sales finance acts (RISA), state consumer leasing acts, state certificate of title acts, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA and FRB Regulation E), and Bankruptcy.
Coopers & Lybrand, 1988 to 1990.
Tom worked on financial statement audits and accounting due diligence activities. He was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant by the State of Michigan in 1990 (His license is currently inactive).
Governmental Accounting Standards Board, 1987 to 1988.
Tom performed pension accounting research as a post-graduate intern.
Education
Tom is a 1993 magna cum laude graduate of University of Michigan Law School.
Tom received a BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame in 1987. He graduated withhighest honors.
Professional Memberships and Activities
Tom was admitted to practice in Michigan in 1993. His other professional memberships and activities include:
Michigan Uniform Law Commissioner, NCCUSL, 2004 to Present.
Member, American Law Institute, 2009 to Present.
Adjunct Professor, University of Michigan Law School, 2009 to Present.
Vice-chair, Uniform Commercial Code Committee, Business Law Section, American Bar Association, 2009 to Present.
Chair, General Provisions and Relations to Other Law Subcommittee of the Uniform Commercial Code Committee, Business Law Section, American Bar Association, 2009 to Present.
Member, NCCUSL Joint Review Committee on Uniform Commercial Code Article 9, 2008 to Present.
Chair, Personal Property Subcommittee of the Consumer Financial Service Committee, Business Law Section, American Bar Association, 2005 to 2008.
Member, Governing Committee of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2005 to Present.
Member, NCCUSL Uniform Certificate of Title Act Drafting Committee, 2004 to 2005.
Member, Consumer Issues Task Force of the National Conference of Commissioners for Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) UCC Article 9 Drafting Committee, 1994-1998.
Member, X9C1 Electronic Contracting Working Group for ANS X9.103-2004 Standard for Motor Vehicle Retail Sale and Lease Electronic Contracting 2003-2004.
Member, Consumer Financial Services Committee, Business Law Section, American Bar Association, 1995 to Present.
Member, Uniform Commercial Code Committee, Business Law Section, American Bar Association, American Bar Association, 1995 to Present.
Speeches and Publications
Tom's speaking engagements and publications include:
Speaker on UCC Article 9 Developments, 2010 Housing and Auto Finance Workshop sponsored by CounselorLibrary.com and Hudson Cook, LLP.
Speaker on Legal Ethics for the In-House Lawyer, 2010 Housing and Auto Finance Workshop sponsored by CounselorLibrary.com and Hudson Cook, LLP.
Speaker on UCC Updates for Motor Vehicle Creditors at the 2009 Consumer Credit Conference presented by the Conference on Consumer Finance Law.
Speaker on Case Law Developments under the Bankruptcy Code's Hanging Paragraph at the 2009 Debt Collection, Loan Servicing, Foreclosure and Consumer Bankruptcy Conference presented by the Conference on Consumer Finance Law.
Speaker on Hot Vehicle Financing Issues under UCC Article 9, 2009 Housing and Auto Finance Workshop sponsored by CounselorLibrary.com and Hudson Cook, LLP.
Author, UCC Article 9 Joint Review Committee: Issues in Motor Vehicle Finance, Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Vol. 62, No. 3-4, 201-204 (Fall-Winter 2008).
Co-author, Federal and state Laws Impacting Lessors and Motor Vehicle Leases of Military Servicemembers, Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Vol. 62, No. 3-4, 156-169 (Fall-Winter 2008).
Co-author, Developments in Personal Property Finance: GAP Waivers -- Is A Trend Toward Clarity Beginning?, The Business Lawyer, Vol. No. 64 Issue No. 2 (February 2009).
Speaker on UCC Article 9 Joint Review Committee activities at 2008 Consumer Credit Conference presented by the Conference on Consumer Finance Law.
Speaker on Consumer Credit Issues under the Uniform Commercial Code, 2008 Housing and Auto Finance Workshop sponsored by CounselorLibrary.com and Hudson Cook, LLP.
Speaker on Consumer Issues under Revised Article 9 at various seminars sponsored by the Conference on Consumer Finance Law and at the 2000, 2001, and 2002 Uniform Commercial Code Institute in Washington, DC.
Speaker on "Developments in Electronic Chattel Paper: New Standard for Electronic Motor Vehicle Retail Sale and Lease Contracts" at 2004 E Records and E Signatures, Glasser LegalWorks Conference in Washington, DC.
Author, The New Consumer Provisions in Revised UCC Article 9, Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Vol. 54, No. 3, 185-191 (Summer 2000).
The legal minds behind these industry standard products
734-222-6025
