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Remote Online Notarization (“RON”) continues to grow in popularity across the country as the industry continues to navigate through the pandemic. The American Land Title Association (“ALTA”) conducted a survey of consumers who have used some version of RON as part of a real estate transaction. An overwhelming number of the consumers polled felt the RON process was safe and secure. ALTA published the results from a Virginia based title company showing that 95% of the surveyed consumers would recommend RON to other consumers.* Not surprisingly, the use of RON is on the rise and more and more states are enacting statutes allowing for some version of RON. As of July, ALTA noted that 37 states currently have a statute related to RON. We predict this number will increase in 2022 with the next cycle of legislative sessions convening. “The Delaware County Common Pleas Court General Division is now piloting a mediation program for civil cases. Any civil case may be referred to mediation based on a party’s motion and the approval of the court. The assigned judge may also refer any civil case for mediation. Parties may suggest a mediator from the approved mediator list, but the court will make the final selection and appointment of the mediator. The court will pay the approved mediator for the actual time spent in the matter, up to 8 hours of mediation time. In the event the mediator or the parties would like to request that the court pay for additional mediation time, they may file a motion with the court prior to incurring those expenses. This program does not prevent parties from utilizing a private mediator at their own expense. In order for the mediation cost to be covered under this pilot program, the parties must file a motion, receive approval from the court, and utilize a mediator from the court-approved mediator list.”  Padgett Law Group (PLG) today announced that Jaqueline F. McNally, Esq. has joined the firm as Supervising Attorney of Foreclosure Operations, a firm-wide leadership role. Ms. McNally will assume her role and footprint-wide responsibilities effective Monday, August 2, 2021. She previously managed the Pennsylvania and New Jersey operations of Schiller, Knapp, Lefkowitz & Hertzel, LLP; prior to that, she served as Chief Compliance Officer for Stern & Eisenberg, P.C., where she oversaw compliance matters across a 13-state footprint with nearly 50 attorneys under her purview. Ms. McNally has over a decade of experience in creditors’ rights and is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Georgia, and the District of Columbia. She will be based out of the firm’s new Pennsylvania operations, which, along with New Jersey, are currently accepting non-GSE work; both states are expected to begin full operations and join the firm’s existing seven-state footprint of GSE-compliant operations by December 31, 2021. “We are excited to welcome Jackie to PLG. Her multi-state licensure and active practice, plus her experience in managing operations and people across large footprints like PLG’s is exactly the depth of legal experience and breadth of management experience that clients come to PLG for and we’re confident that Jackie will quickly become an integral part of our leadership team,” said Chief Development Officer Robyn Padgett. Other recent notable hires by PLG include the addition of Heather Griffiths, Esq. as Supervising Attorney – Florida; Hadi Seyed-Ali, Esq. as Senior Counsel – Legal and Advisory Oversight; and nearly 25 other supervisory, processing, and administrative roles across the firm as PLG executes on its post-pandemic readiness plan. To date, the firm has met 76% of its excess staff capacity goal to meet client and referral demand expected to increase beginning in Q3 21. For additional information on any recent PLG hires, the firm’s readiness plan, or to explore PLG’s national suite of creditors’ rights services, contact the firm at marketing@padgettlawgroup.com. PANDIFFERENT, the Padgett Web Summit, was recognized today as part of the 2021 Apex Communications Awards. PANDIFFERENT won an Award of Excellence for COVID-19 Media in the Education & Training Category. The Apex Awards is an annual competition held by Communications Concepts, which has been conducting the Awards for 33 years. PANDIFFERENT, launched in October 2020, is an online education event for clients and employees of Padgett Law Group (PLG). The format, unique to virtual summits in the industry, includes ten pre-recorded sessions featuring a mix of PLG leaders, clients, and industry guests, followed by a closing super session with select panelists from the day’s recordings rejoining for a live closing. Over 500 mortgage servicing professionals registered for and participated in PANDIFFERENT 2020. Topics covered major foreclosure, bankruptcy, and litigation trends and other topics important to PLG, including diversity, inclusion, and equity. Leaders from across the industry joined various panels, including senior executives from U.S. Bank, Community Loan Servicing, a360inc, Five Star Global, American Legal & Financial Network, and more. “2020 required us to do everything differently and that included reimagining how we trained our staff clients, which traditionally was onsite and in small groups. The PANDIFFERENT concept allowed us to reach a much larger audience, cover more timely topics, and deliver an innovative product to PLG clients that no other firm in our industry can offer,” said Chief Development Officer Robyn Padgett. PANDIFFERENT: The Padgett Web Summit returns October 1, 2021 and registration opens Thursday, July 15 at PadgettLawGroup.com. Registration is complimentary for employees of lenders, mortgage servicers, credit unions, banks, hedge funds, investors, other financial institutions, government agencies, and local, state, and federal housing authorities. All others may request an invitation by contacting marketing@padgettlawgroup.com. On July 22, 2021, a select group of the industry’s most visible thought leaders from regulatory policy-making, mortgage servicing, and legal backgrounds will participate in a special webinar event: Understanding the CFPB’s Final Rule Amending Reg X for COVID-19 Borrowers. The two-hour event is organized and moderated by Padgett Law Group (PLG). Panelists are detailed below. Brian Montgomery, Chairman & Founder, Gate House Strategies. Montgomery most recently served as Deputy Secretary, Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and has twice served as FHA Commissioner under two Administrations. Dror Oppenheimer, Founding Partner, Gate House Strategies. Oppenheimer spent over two decades with Fannie Mae and previously served as a Senior FHA Advisor. Eric Kaplan, Senior Advisor, Milken Institute. Kaplan is currently the Chair of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board. Faith Schwartz, Founder & CEO, Housing Finance Strategies. Schwartz serves on the Board of Directors for Redwood Trust and Gateway First Bank; she is also the founder of the HOPENOW alliance. Candace Russell, Vice President, Post-Sale, Carrington Mortgage Services. Russell is a former Chair of the MBA’s Loan Administration Committee. Moderating is Marissa Yaker, Esq., Managing Attorney, Padgett Law Group. Yaker Chairs the Legal League 100’s Special Initiatives Working Group and in 2020 received the DS News Top 25 Women of Law distinction, ALFN: JPEG Young Professionals Award, and the Five Star Women in Housing Rising Business Leader Award. “With the issues to be discussed, the backgrounds of the panelists, and the timeliness of the topic, this webinar is truly something you can’t afford to miss. We encourage all of our clients and partners to participate and join us on July 22,” said Chief Development Officer Robyn Padgett. PLG has opened registration for this one-time event to members of the industry including mortgage servicers, investors, financial institutions, vendors, and other industry stakeholders including members of the American Legal & Financial Network (ALFN) and Legal League 100 (LL100). Seats are limited to 1,000 and registration is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The complimentary registration link can be accessed via the link below. Inquiries, press pass requests, or advance questions can be sent to marketing@padgettlawgroup.com. PLG reserves the right to refuse, cancel, or prioritize registrations at its sole discretion.  During the 2021 FinServExpo, the annual event hosted by the Council for Inclusion in Financial Services (CFIS), Cade Holleman, M.A., Marketing Strategist for Padgett Law Group (PLG), was recognized with this year’s Catalyst Award. The award recognizes Cade “for excellence in accelerating positive impact in D&I through philanthropic efforts and/or strategic initiatives in support of underrepresented groups.” |
