Nathan D Willner

Bio – Nathan D. Willner, Esq.                                Revised 5/15

Even during his undergraduate years at Temple University, Nathan D. Willner showed a strong interest in public policy and advocacy. Nathan was elected to the office of President of Temple University’s Undergraduate Council of Arts and Sciences and participated as a member of the Dean’s Committee. That drive to serve others and affect change has only increased over the past 30 years. Currently Nathan Willner is in his second term as President of the Maryland-DC Creditors Bar Association (MDCBA) where he actively interacts with members of the legislature, judiciary, attorneys general, and local and federal elected officials advocating and educating on issues related to the credit industry.

Nathan Willner practices law at Law Offices of Lyons, Doughty and Veldhuis, P.C. a regional creditors’ rights firm with offices in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Mr. Willner works out of the Maryland office managing the firms’ legislative affairs division in addition to an active litigation practice where he appears before Courts throughout the State of Maryland. Nathan Willner was the attorney who prevailed on appeal in the case of Townsend v. Midland that ultimately came before the Maryland Court of Appeals and clarified the standard of proofs required in debt collection cases throughout the State of Maryland. Mr. Willner’ s commitment to his practice area is evident by the multiple years he has been an active member of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA), where he served on the board of directors, and held various Committee and Conference Chair positions. He is a featured speaker at many industry conferences where he has lectured on topics ranging from lobbying Congress and Attorney Generals, building bridges with the Judiciary to Ethics. He was recently recognized for his role as President of the MDCBA and for his commitment to financial literacy by the Maryland General Assembly.

Mr. Willner participates in a wide range of leadership activities in our community including serving as President of the Cheswolde Neighborhood Association, Co-Chairing the Community Conversations Leadership Team, Board Member of the Baltimore Jewish Council and Chairing their Metropolitan Issues Commission, Baltimore City Sherriff’s Office Community Liaison, member of Baltimore City Bench-Bar Committee, member and incoming board member of the Simon E. Sobeloff Jewish Law Society, and member of the Baltimore County Bar Association. Mr. Willner was a member of the Baltimore City Mayor’s Transition Team. He has maintained a close advisory role to the Mayor. Recently he could be seen nationally standing prominently behind the Baltimore City Mayor as a community leader and advisor during the City’s recent crises. Mr. Willner has traveled three times as part of missions taking business leaders, government appointees and elected officials to Israel. On his most recent of these trips, he accompanied Governor Martin O’Malley in 2014 on an economic development mission to Israel and Jordan. Mr. Willner’s community and professional advocacy has afforded him the ability to create personal relationships with members of the Judiciary, Legislature and U.S. Congress.

Willner earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland, School of Law in 1990.  Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Willner worked for several law firms before opening the firm of Willner and Associates, PA, where he had a general practice, focusing on Bankruptcy, Personal Injury, Criminal and Domestic Law. Mr. Willner remained in private practice before merging with the firm of Lyons, Doughty and Veldhuis, P.C. Mr. Willner received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with honors in 1986 and was elected Phi Beta Kappa upon his graduation. In addition to being student body President as previously mentioned, Mr. Willner was the President of the Political Science Major’s Association and founder of the Pre-Law Society during his undergraduate education. Before entering Temple University, Mr. Willner completed two years of course work in Talmudic Law at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College (1982-84).  He is a 1982 alumnus of The Talmudic Yeshiva of Philadelphia High School.

He is married to Rochelle Willner and has four daughters, Melissa, Ashley, Sara, Emily and a son-in-law Moshe Broder.