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Bernard Brown studied at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland (the “Great Books” school), before obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto (in Toronto, Ontario) and law degree from the University of Kansas. He has been in private practice in Kansas City since 1980. Between 1984 and 1996 his office focused on representing victims of car fraud -- such as the fraudulent sale of rebuilt wrecks and cars with odometer rollbacks. He also has worked on class actions relating to vehicle sales and financing, on mortgage fraud cases (with Legal Aid in Kansas City), and on “no title” car cases against finance companies. His cases have resulted in many notable jury verdicts and settlements, with a sizable number resulting in published court decisions of significance in these areas of the law. Mr. Brown's public interest work began when he was in college, with volunteer work for Common Cause in Washington, D.C. He has worked regularly with the National Consumer Law Center, the country’s leading consumer law think tank, for many years, and has written or contributed to many items relating to consumer law. He is a “contributing author” to the NCLC’s “Autofraud” manual, and received the NCLC's Countryman award in 2008. He also has served as an adjunct law school professor teaching consumer protection law. Mr. Brown helped lead the room in founding the National Association of Consumer Advocates (“NACA”) in 1992, was one of NACA's two original Co-chairs, has twice served on the NACA board, and served for years as chair of its Ethics Committee. He has also worked closely for many years on a number of issues with other leading consumer groups (such as Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen, and others), and has drafted proposed legislation and testified for these groups and on his own before Congress and state legislatures. He served on the U.S. Department of Justice's Advisory Board for the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System as consumer representative all of its years (2010 through 2016). He is involved in networking, idea-sharing, and direct advocacy efforts of consumer advocates across the country, and regularly gives presentations on various consumer law issues for other attorneys, consumer advocates, law enforcement personnel, and law students.