Distinguished Consumer Law Attorneys Join NCLC Board of Directors 

September 14, 2026 — Press Release

Boston Lawyer Jonathan Kravetz Elected Board President

BOSTON – Prominent consumer law attorney Jim Kowalski Jr. and eminent law professor Patricia McCoy have been named to the board of directors of the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). 

In addition, Jonathan Kravetz, formerly a partner at the Mintz law firm in Boston, was elected board president, succeeding Missouri lawyer Michael Ferry, who served as board president for 21 years.  

“NCLC is very fortunate to add these two nationally recognized consumer law experts to our Board of Directors,” said Richard Dubois, executive director of NCLC. “An NCLC partner for decades, Jim Kowalski brings deep experience in both legal aid and private litigation, as well as sound governance experience. Patricia McCoy’s academic and regulatory expertise add an additional layer of intellectual capital to NCLC’s board. In addition, both are well known in the consumer law community as collaborative, public-minded, and committed to economic justice.”

Jim Kowalski is president and chief executive officer of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid in Florida. He previously worked as a trial attorney specializing in consumer protection litigation. He is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law and the University of California, Berkeley and is a recipient of UC Berkeley’s Haas Public Service Award.

“NCLC was an integral part of both my introduction to and continued development as a consumer protection attorney, first in private practice and now at civil legal aid,” said Jim Kowalski. “Each one of the clients I’ve helped owes a debt to NCLC, as do I, and I welcome the opportunity to give back as a member of NCLC’s Board.”   

Patricia McCoy is the Liberty Mutual Insurance Professor at Boston College Law School, where she is Faculty Director of the Rappaport Center for Law & Public Policy and teaches classes on consumer finance law, and banking, insurance, and securities regulation. She was founder of the Mortgage Markets group of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and Oberlin College. 

“I started my legal career at Legal Services in rural Kansas, serving low-income workers and two tribal reservations. Years later, NCLC’s treatises proved essential in helping me unknot the legal landscape of subprime mortgages,” Patricia McCoy said.  “To join NCLC’s board is the deepest honor and signifies coming full circle.”

The NCLC board has also elected Jonathan Kravetz as its president. Recently retired from a distinguished career as partner at Boston’s Mintz law firm, Kravetz has served on the NCLC board since 1990. 

He succeeds Michael Ferry, who served on the NCLC board since 1995 and as its president for the past 21 years. His career in civil legal aid spanned over 40 years, including 20 as executive director of Gateway Legal Services in St. Louis. 

“Both Jon Kravetz and Mike Ferry have shared extraordinary leadership and guidance on NCLC’s board for decades. I have been so grateful for Jon’s unwavering commitment to NCLC’s mission, and we are incredibly fortunate that he is assuming the board presidency,” Dubois said. “Mike Ferry has had an immeasurable impact on NCLC in his more than two decades as Board President. I will miss his steady guiding hand and his wisdom, but know that his leadership has put NCLC in a strong position for future success.”