The Blewett Consumer Law and Protection Program’s mission is to support the development of consumer law and increasing access to justice through clinical study, research, scholarship, symposia, and student internships.
We are all consumers, and at its heart, consumer law strives to ensure that the marketplace for consumer transactions is both fair and transparent. For example, many consumer laws require sellers to provide truthful and accurate information to consumers so the consumers can make the right decisions for themselves and their families. Other laws protect consumers from predatory practices or require sellers to develop compliance systems to ensure that they comply with the law. By making sure people have equal access to information that they can actually use to make financial decisions and by trying to address imbalances in the marketplace, consumer law becomes another form of public service.
Lawyers engage with consumer law in many ways. You can represent plaintiffs who have been harmed; you can work in-house for a company, helping to ensure it operates in the best way possible; or you can represent companies facing government investigations or private lawsuits. You can also tackle policy questions and legislative issues. The field of consumer law offers many different options for legal practice.