Tom Hudson, expert legal advisor to the automotive industry, will be available to answer regulatory and compliance questions in the First American Automotive Solutions booth at the 2004 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention and Exposition in Las Vegas, Jan. 31 through Feb. 3.

Hudson, the editor-in-chief of industry legal publication CARLAW® and a frequent speaker to industry groups and trade associations, as well as "Legal Corner" columnist with F&I Management and Technology Magazine, will be available at First American’s booth

(#4363) to shed light on many of the new laws and regulations that will affect automotive dealers and their profitability in 2004.

Hudson will field questions on topics such as the USA Patriot Act, Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) compliance, fraud and the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new Safeguards Rule.

“We are proud to host Mr. Hudson at the 2004 NADA Convention,” said Patrick Colbert, a senior vice president with First American CREDCO, part of the Automotive Solutions group. “This will be a great opportunity for dealers to get their questions answered by one of the most widely respected legal experts in the industry and learn more about the legal issues they will have to face in the coming year.”

Hudson’s message to dealers in 2004 is simple: the government is paying attention, and dealers need to be sure they are in compliance with new regulations. “While 2003 was a relatively quiet year on the federal front, 2004 could be a very different story,” said Hudson. “One good example is the federal Safeguards Rule. In 2003, the FTC merely sent letters to dealers who were identified as noncompliant with the new rule. In 2004, the FTC has indicated that it plans to start taking direct action against dealers that aren’t yet compliant. Rest assured, the consequences of noncompliance in 2004 will be more severe than a ‘friendly reminder’ from Uncle Sam.”

In addition to hosting Hudson, First American Automotive Solutions will exhibit its menu of risk-assessment, scoring, fraud detection and customer identity verification solutions at the NADA Convention.

First American Automotive Solutions, a provider of specialty credit reporting and related information products to the automotive industry, is comprised of First American CREDCO, First American CMSI and TitleGuard Vehicle Title Insurance, all members of The First American Family of Companies. The group also holds equity positions in DealerTrack, Inc., and VINtek, Inc.

First American Automotive Solutions says it serves automotive retailers and lenders nationwide with the tools and services needed to complete retail transactions including credit reports and scores, fraud detection, OFAC screening, loan submission and decisioning, electronic lien and titling, and title insurance coverage.

More information about the First American Automotive Solutions companies can be found at www.credco.com, www.cmsinc.com, and www.autotitleguard.com.