James W. (Jay) Speer has been practicing law since graduating from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at William and Mary in 1983. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. He was a legal aid attorney in Richmond Virginia for thirteen years where he assisted thousands of low-income clients with consumer, housing and elder law issues. He became a staff attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center in 2000 and the Executive Director in 2006. Jay specializes in consumer law with the goal of giving low-income Virginians access to fair and open consumer marketplaces. In addition to his policy work, he has done hundreds of presentations at state and national conferences on consumer rights and he has assisted hundreds of Virginians that call the predatory loan hotline for assistance.