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DS News January 2020

DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.

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83 MAGALIE A. CREECH Finkel Law Firm LLC, Partner Magalie A. Creech said there is an expectation—often self-imposed—that women need to be successful in their careers, great spouses and parents, and respected members of the community. "In short, we strive to be superwomen in all aspects of life. Finding the right balance and happiness in the successes you value most is a unique challenge we face as professional working women." Creech also said one of the most fulfilling parts of the legal profession is achieving a beneficial result for a client that is "hard and long fought." She believes these victories are accomplished through teamwork, and feels fortunate to work with a dedicated, reliable, and talented group of professionals. "I consider them family, and that is what makes our work so rewarding," she said. She added that, in this current climate of declining default rates, her firm has used this time to focus on maximizing internal efficiencies and improving process functionality. "By collaborating with our clients and staff to streamline workflow, we are prepared for the next wave of legal responsibilities that will inevitably come with the next recession," she said. She also stated that she has worked to further expand the firm's creditor bankruptcy practice during this time. NUMBER OF YEARS PRACTICING LAW: 9 ELIZABETH CRUIKSHANK Cruikshank Ersin, LLC, Attorney - Property Elizabeth Cruikshank ranks helping people, finding solutions to problems, learning new things, and being in court among the best aspects of her job. ese passions make her uniquely equipped to handle the challenges of the mortgage market. Cruikshank sees more of these challenges on the horizon, in the form of a rise in foreclosures, bankruptcies, and evictions. She has also noticed a decline in new homeowners and an uptick in renters. To meet these obstacles, Cruikshank has found education to be the key to staying on top of new legislation. Cruikshank has seen her firm expand from one state to four in the Southeast, as well as increasing their areas of focus to include default work, litigation, and collections, among others. Cruikshank Ersin, LLC, now handles legal needs in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi. While these tasks may seem daunting for some, for Cruikshank, it's all part of a lifelong dream. "I have wanted to be an attorney since I was five years old and can't imagine doing anything else. Being a direct descendant of omas Jefferson—I think it is just in my blood," Cruikshank noted. Along with Abby Ersin, Cruikshank founded her firm based on the core principles of always returning phone calls; keeping the client up to date on all pending matters; listening first; working with clients, not against them; and being enthusiastic and passionate about the firm. NUMBER OF YEARS PRACTICING LAW: 16 LEISHA DELGADO Hello Solutions, Founder and CEO, Default Servicing As the Founder and CEO of a woman- and minority-owned small business and a survivor of stage-3 breast cancer, Leisha Delgado understands what it takes to overcome long odds and succeed. "In today's market, it doesn't make financial sense for smaller law firms to employ an experienced, full-time salesperson," Delgado said. "I created Hello Solutions to give those firms a viable option to get more business without having to dedicate senior partners to sales. „ose partners can instead focus on providing the personalized attention their clients have come to expect." During her time in the industry, Delgado has become very familiar with the industry's ongoing volatility. "Regulations and laws seem to change almost daily—at the federal, state, and even local levels. „e firms I work with are all big enough to handle any default servicing needs a client might have, but are small enough to remain nimble and have a senior partner personally involved with the client's business." Delgado believes that the key to helping servicers and investors effectively and efficiently manage their default servicing challenges lies in the partnerships that she helps build between the clients, the attorney firms, and her own organization, as well as the process enhancements and innovations those partnerships often deliver. "Our collective success comes down to meeting the needs of the servicer," Delgado said. "My objective is to make sure everyone's interests are aligned so that we can all continue to move forward together." NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 10

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