BIOGRAPHY & CREDENTIALS | Data last verified: August 2026
Nashville, Tennessee
Reviewed by: Randall McCathren, Esq. — President & Principal Consultant, BLC Associates, Inc.
Randall McCathren, Esq. is an automotive expert witness, consultant, mediator, and arbitrator based in Nashville, Tennessee.
He has more than 40 years of experience in management consulting, litigation support, regulatory compliance, and financial analysis across vehicle financing, leasing, insurance, and dealership operations. He has served as President of BLC Associates, Inc. since 1982.
Attorneys and businesses researching Randall McCathren's background can schedule a confidential consultation to discuss expert witness or consulting needs for an active matter.
President & Principal Consultant
Professional Summary
Randall McCathren is an automotive expert witness, consultant, mediator, and arbitrator based in Nashville, Tennessee.
He provides automotive finance, vehicle leasing, litigation consulting, mediation, and arbitration services to attorneys, businesses, and other clients nationwide.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nationwide Engagements
Serving attorneys, businesses, courts, and consumers across the United States from BLC Associates, Inc.
Law, Regulation & Industry
Mr. McCathren has more than 40 years of experience in management consulting, litigation support, regulatory compliance, and financial analysis across wholesale and retail vehicle financing and leasing, vehicle insurance, and dealership.
As President of BLC Associates, Inc. since 1982, he has served as a consultant to major banks, subprime finance, and auto manufacturer captive finance companies, as well as major insurance, remarketing, collections, information technology, dealership, and portfolio servicing vendors on wholesale and retail vehicle financing and leasing programs.
He advises on dealer and finance company compliance, including Regulation Z and Regulation M compliance, loss projections, residual value insurance, and program management.
His experience spans program design and pricing models, economic analysis, litigation preparation, and tax and accounting analysis.
Mr. McCathren founded and served as Managing Director of the Association of Consumer Vehicle Lessors (ACVL) from 1993 to 2024, managing the trade association's work on litigation, regulatory compliance, residual risk management, operations, and collections.
The ACVL represents the major domestic and import captive finance companies, banks, and independent lessors.
Related Services
Randall McCathren holds degrees from Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley, and carries a Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating.
Education
B.S. Engineering & Applied Science, magna cum laude · 1971
Education
J.D. · 1974, Associate Editor, California Law Review
Professional Rating
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating — the organization's highest peer review rating tier for legal ability and ethical standards.
Years of Experience
Litigation Cases
Clients Served
Authoritative Treatises
Career History
The entries trace Randall McCathren's professional roles from 1982 to the present.
1982–Present
President
Principal consultant to major banks, subprime finance, dealership, and captive finance companies on vehicle financing and leasing programs; expert witness in 75+ litigation cases; advises on Regulation Z and Regulation M compliance, vehicle insurance, and program management.
01
1993–2024
Managing Director
Managed the trade association representing major domestic and import captive finance companies, banks, and independent lessors; authored ACVL regulatory comments, including Regulation M comments; managed Legal, Tax, Operations, and Residual Risk committees; coordinated federal and state lobbying and regulatory activities.
02
1998
Industry Representative · Regulation M Formulation
Represented vehicle-leasing industry members in the formulation of Revised Regulation M in 1998 and the Uniform Consumer Leases Act, per FTC roundtable biography materials. According to BLC Associates records, also conducted a leasing seminar for FRB legal staff on the economic and policy background of the consumer vehicle leasing industry.
03
2011
Industry Trainer
According to BLC Associates records, provided training to CFPB attorneys at the initiation of their investigation of vehicle lease practices.
04
1989–1994
Legislative Consultant
According to BLC Associates records, worked with New York regulators to develop the New York Motor Vehicle Retail Leasing Act, enacted January 31, 1994. New York was the first state to require comprehensive vehicle-lease disclosures, per the New York Attorney General's office.
05
Early Legal Career
Staff Attorney
Early in his legal career, McCathren served as a staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commission and taught at the University of Texas Law School and Vanderbilt University Law School, per FTC roundtable biography materials.
06
Published Works
Randall McCathren co-authored two treatises and a newsletter on consumer vehicle leasing and finance.
1985
A treatise on consumer vehicle leasing, addressing the legal, financial, and regulatory dimensions of the industry. Full details on the Publications page.
1989
A practitioner's guide to auto lending and leasing, covering program design, regulatory compliance, documentation, and risk management.
1986–2005
A monthly newsletter on program policies, economic analysis, and the legal context of retail vehicle leasing and financing, published for nearly 20 years.
Media Appearances
According to BLC Associates records, television appearances and quotations related to consumer vehicle leasing and electric vehicles have appeared in:
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers for attorneys, businesses, and other clients evaluating Randall McCathren's background and experience.
Randall McCathren, Esq. is an automotive expert witness, consultant, mediator, and arbitrator based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has led BLC Associates, Inc. since 1982, advising attorneys, businesses, and consumers nationwide on automotive finance, vehicle leasing, litigation consulting, mediation, and arbitration matters.
Randall McCathren holds a B.S. from Yale University (1971) and a J.D. from UC Berkeley (1974). He has more than 40 years of experience in automotive finance, vehicle leasing, regulatory compliance, and litigation support, and carries an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Randall McCathren is based in Nashville, Tennessee, at BLC Associates, Inc. He provides automotive expert witness, consulting, mediation, and arbitration services to attorneys, businesses, and consumers nationwide, drawing on more than 40 years of experience in consumer vehicle finance and leasing.
According to BLC Associates' records, Randall McCathren's clients have included major banks and captive auto finance companies, insurance companies, remarketing firms, collections vendors, information technology providers, dealerships, and regulatory agencies throughout the automotive finance and leasing industry nationwide since 1982.
Yes. Randall McCathren co-authored two treatises on consumer vehicle leasing and automotive finance: Essentials of Consumer Vehicle Leasing (1985) and Auto Lending and Leasing Manual (1989). He also wrote and edited the newsletter Auto Financing Update from 1986 to 2005.
BLC Associates, Inc. is Randall McCathren's automotive finance and leasing consulting and expert witness firm, based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has served as President since 1982, advising clients on litigation support, regulatory compliance, program design, and financial analysis nationwide across the auto finance industry.
Randall McCathren has more than 40 years of experience in automotive finance and leasing, dating to his founding of BLC Associates, Inc. in 1982. He also served as Managing Director of the Association of Consumer Vehicle Lessors (ACVL) from 1993 to 2024.
Yes. According to FTC roundtable biography materials, Randall McCathren represented vehicle-leasing industry members in formulating Revised Regulation M and the Uniform Consumer Leases Act. He also worked with New York regulators on the New York Motor Vehicle Retail Leasing Act.
Randall McCathren's education, AV Preeminent rating, and admission history are listed on his Martindale-Hubbell profile. His ACVL leadership, publications, and regulatory work are documented in his Career History and Published Works sections above, and further verification is available upon request.
Confidential Consultation
Attorneys and businesses can schedule a consultation with Randall McCathren to discuss expert witness, consulting, mediation, or arbitration needs today.
