Friday, October 22, 2010

Lawyers Changing Practice Focus To Mortgage Foreclosure Defense

Very interesting article in today’s WSJ about the growing practice area of mortgage foreclosure defense. This is particularly important for New York attorneys since New York is one of 23 states that requires judicial approval for foreclosures. If you are an attorney considering new areas of practice, this could be well worth the read. Here are a few excerpts from the article:

The paperwork mess muddying home foreclosures erupted last month. But the legal strategy behind it traces to a lawyer's gambit in 2006 that has helped keep one couple in their home six years beyond their last mortgage payment.

Lillian and Robert Jackson stopped paying on their home in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2004 when business dropped off at their cleaning company. Eviction might have seemed inevitable when they faced a foreclosure hearing two years later.

But their lawyer, James Kowalski, had the idea of taking a deposition from the signer of the mortgage papers. When a document processor for GMAC Mortgage admitted she routinely signed such papers without being familiar with details of the loans, she was tagged as one of a species now known as robo-signers.

Michael Gaier, an attorney in Philadelphia, switched to foreclosure defense last year after years of representing patients in malpractice suits and consumers who said they had purchased faulty products. His new legal practice "is academically challenging, and I'm hoping it'll be financially rewarding. I'm hoping the banks rewrite the mortgages, cover my fees. That's my end game," said Mr. Gaier.

Mr. Kowalski, the lawyer who in 2006 unearthed a robo-signer before that term was common, said, "I don't think the [mortgage] servicers ever thought that their process was going to see the light of day. It's just that so many of us have taken so many of these so far, that now, in 2010, we finally have some traction."

Read the entire article: click here...

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Friday, October 1, 2010

Dustin Ruge Will Be Speaking At the Rainmaker Retreat October 8 & 9th


Dustin Ruge will be speaking on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) at the Rainmaker Institute’s Rainmaker Retreat on October 8-9th at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, NJ.

Schedule of events:

Friday 8:00-5:00pm
(Registration at 8:00)
Saturday 8-2pm (Breakfast 7:30)

New Jersey Law Center
One Constitution Square
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732-249-5000

For more information or to sign-up please go to: http://www.rainmakerretreat.com/

The Rainmaker Institute has helped over 7,000 attorneys from hundreds of law firms generate more and better referrals and fill their practice. Combining your Internet presence with their cutting edge legal marketing strategies and proven steps will help you take the guesswork out of creating a financially and personally satisfying law firm.

If you would like to discover how to develop a comprehensive marketing plan that you can successfully implement, then I encourage you to attend an upcoming Rainmaker Retreat.

The Rainmaker Retreat is a 2-day law firm marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms. FindLaw has partnered with The Rainmaker Institute and will be presenting at their upcoming event in New Brunswick NJ on October 8-9.

If you are a FindLaw Customer, you are eligible for an exclusive discount of $300 off the regular registration fee. We hope that you will be able to join us.

More information is available at www.RainmakerRetreat.com. Please use the discount code FINDLAWNJ when checking out. For a sneak preview and to gain a few current marketing tips, please join one of The Rainmaker Institute's upcoming complimentary weekly teleseminars: http://www.rainmakerretreat.com/teleseminars/preview/.