Prentiss Cox ’90

  • Professor of Law
190J Mondale Hall

Degrees

  • Oberlin College, B.A.
  • University of Minnesota Law School, J.D.

Expertise

  • Business Law
  • Clinical Legal Education
  • Consumer Law
  • Consumer Protection
  • Lawyering Skills & Negotiation
  • Predatory Lending

Professor Prentiss Cox ’90 writes and teaches in the areas of consumer protection law, public civil law enforcement, and legal practice skills. Prior to joining the faculty in 2005, Cox was Manager of Consumer Protection at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, where he continues to hold a Special Assistant Attorney General appointment.

Cox has prosecuted numerous nationally recognized cases involving subprime mortgage lending, foreclosure, banking regulation, state attorney general enforcement authority, consumer fraud, and related matters. Cox has drafted numerous consumer protection statutes and rules, and he has and testified several times before Congress and state legislatures. He also is co-founder of Law in Practice, which is a required 1L course that teaches integrated doctrinal and professional skills learning.

Cox has served as a trainer and consultant for national non-profits, state and federal government agencies, and for developing nations. He was a member of the inaugural Consumer Advisory Board of the U. S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been a Reporter for the Uniform Law Commission, and has served on numerous other boards and advisory commissions.

Consumer Protection Clinic


Civil Procedure


Books

Law in Practice (West Academic Publishing, 2014; 2d ed., 2018)
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practice Regulation in Minnesota (Minnesota State Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education, 1st ed., 2007; 2d ed., 2009) (editor)

Journal Articles

Public Compensation for Public Enforcement, 39 Yale Journal on Regulation 61 (2022)
(with
Christopher L. Peterson
)
Student Loan Reform: Rights Under the Law, Incentives Under Contract, and Mission Failure Under ED, 58 Harvard Journal on Legislation 357 (2021)
(with
Kathleen Engel
)
Forgotten Borrowers: Protecting Private Student Loan Borrowers Through State Law, 11 UC Irvine Law Review 43 (2020)
(with
Judith Fox
and
Stacey Tutt
)
Fractured Justice: An Experimental Study of Pretrial Judicial Decision-Making, 88 University of Cincinnati Law Review 365 (2019)
Strategies of Public UDAP Enforcement, 55 Harvard Journal on Legislation 37 (2018)
(with
Amy Widman
and
Mark Totten
)
Public Enforcement Compensation and Private Rights, 100 Minnesota Law Review 2313 (2016)
Keeping PACE?: The Case Against Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing Programs, 83 University of Colorado Law Review 83 (2011)
State Attorneys General's Use of Concurrent Public Enforcement Authority in Federal Consumer Protection Laws, 33 Cardozo Law Review 53 (2011)
(with
Amy Widman
)
The Invisible Hand of Preacquired Account Marketing, 47 Harvard Journal on Legislation 425 (2010)
The Importance of Deceptive Practice Enforcement in Financial Institution Regulation, 30 Pace Law Review 279 (2009) (Symposium on Real Property, Mortgages, and the Economy: A Call for Ethics and Reforms)
Foreclosure Reform Amid Mortgage Lending Turmoil: A Public Purpose Approach, 45 Houston Law Review 683 (2008)
Foreclosure Equity Stripping: Legal Theories and Strategies to Attack a Growing Problem, 39 Clearinghouse Review 607 (2006)
Goliath Has the Slingshot: Public Benefit and Private Enforcement of Minnesota Consumer Protection Laws, 33 William Mitchell Law Review 163 (2006)
Social Security Netting Regulations: Balancing Administrative Convenience with the Rights of Beneficiaries, 73 Minnesota Law Review 1143 (1989), reprinted in 28 West's Social Security Reporting Service 887 (1990) (note)

Book Chapters

Statutory Fraud Laws, in Minnesota Business Torts Deskbook (Edward T. Wahl, ed., Minnesota State Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education, 2008; 2d ed., 2009)

Editorials, Commentary & Letters

You’re Giving Away Your Rights in Those Online Contracts You Don’t Read, Baltimore Sun, Jan. 1, 2024
(with
Jeff Sovern
,
Myriam Gilles
and
David Vladeck
)
Why We Must Not Gut Consumer Protections, Star Tribune, June 12, 2017
(with
Jose Quinonez
and
William Bynum
)
Hillary Clinton’s VP Pick Should Be Rich Cordray, o, June 14, 2016

Other Publications

Keeping the Baby, If Not the Bathwater: Learning the Right Lessons from the Subprime Crisis, 22:3 Communities & Banking 16 (Summer 2011)
Will Consumer Protection Actually, if Partially, Prevail?, Insurance and Financial Services Committee Newsletter (American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law) (Feb. 2010)
Preacquired Account Marketing and the OCC, The Advocate (National Association of Consumer Advocates) (Jan. 2010)
Foreclosures: Defenses, Workouts, and Mortgage Servicing (National Consumer Law Center, 2d ed., 2008 supp.) (contributor)
Teacher's Manual for Roger S. Haydock, David F. Herr & Jeffrey W. Stempel, Fundamentals of Pretrial Litigation (Thomson West, 6th ed., 2007) (contributor)
The Cost of Credit: Regulation, Preemption, and Industry Abuses (National Consumer Law Center, 3d ed., 2008 supp.) (contributor)
Regulatory Perspectives & Initiatives: State Attorney General Case Selection and Investigation, in 12th Annual Consumer Financial Services Litigation Institute (Practising Law Institute, 2007)
Regulatory Perspectives & Initiatives: State Attorney General Case Selection and Investigation, in 11th Annual Consumer Financial Services Litigation Institute (Practising Law Institute, 2006)
Government Enforcement Actions and Regulatory Oversight, in 10th Annual Consumer Financial Services Litigation Institute (Practising Law Institute, 2005)
(with
Tom James
)