Jonathan Elliot was an influential part of ACA International’s Members Attorney Program.
1/22/2020 9:00
Have you ever wondered about the people for whom ACA International’s major national awards were named? Their lives were inspirational, and their goals are aspirational. This week’s “Throwback Thursday” features Jonathan Elliot, who was ACA’s Members Attorney Program state compliance chair in Connecticut for years and served as a practicing attorney for 35 years.
He is the namesake for the Jonathan Elliot Judicial Advocacy Award, which recognizes an individual attorney of an ACA member company who has been an outstanding advocate on behalf of the accounts receivable management industry, reports Debra Ciskey, IFCCE, executive vice president of The Collections Coach LLC, in an ACA History article published in the December issue of Collector magazine.
The first Jonathan Elliot Judicial Advocacy Award was presented in 2015.
Elliot was a longtime member of ACA and partner at Zeldes, Needle & Cooper P.C. in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He had been an active MAP participant since 1996 and a member of the inaugural MAP Committee. Elliot was admitted to practice before various Connecticut and federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court.
Elliot contributed to the continuing education for ACA MAP attorneys, often playing the role of the judge when mock trials were conducted in MAP sessions. ACA MAP attorney Michael Klutho remembers Elliot as a deep thinker who was generous with his knowledge and experience. He was also the go-to person for anyone seeking information about opposing counsel on the East Coast. Klutho said, “When Jonathan spoke, everybody listened!” Sadly, Elliot died in 2015 while at the peak of his career.