DS News

DS News January 2021

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

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68 Top 25 Women of Law Jenna Baum Managing Partner, National Evictions Outsourcing // McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC Jenna Baum, Managing Partner of the firm's National Eviction Management Group, focuses her practice on representing investors and servicers in post-foreclosure cases across the country. In 2017, Baum became the youngest woman to become a Managing Partner in the firm's history. "I consider myself lucky every day to work at a firm that views your worth based strictly on your work product and contribution to the firm, not your sex or nationality," Baum said. Before her legal career, Baum was an avid athlete, playing volleyball competitively and while in college. She said her experience as a captain taught lessons that helped her to achieve success in her career and become a leader in her field. "is experience taught me about determination, perseverance, overcoming hurdles, and that truly understanding your teammates is the best way to lead," Baum said. ese skills have proven especially useful in these unprecedented times, conducting business while keeping public health and safety in mind. Baum noted the complexity of the process when someone must relocate during a pandemic. Despite this challenge and other difficulties, Baum said she maintains a positive outlook. "I do not know what the future holds, but I do know that economic impacts have been devastating," Baum said. "However, I have faith that we all learned from the 2008 recession as an industry and are better equipped to handle this in a sensible way." Kathleen Achille Senior Litigation Attorney // Diaz Anselmo Lindberg, P.A. As a senior litigator in mortgage foreclosures and real estate litigation, Kathleen Achille loves the days when she's in a position to both negotiate for, and help advise, clients in an industry that so directly impacts such an important part of their everyday lives. Obviously, emotions in foreclosure cases can run high, so Achille says the really good days happen when she can negotiate settlements benefitting both her clients as well as the borrowers. "It's great when everyone is satisfied with the outcome," she said. Despite those good days, Achille sometimes faces the recurring challenge by some male colleagues who automatically assume she's anyone but a member of the bar. "I still chuckle to myself when I walk into a courtroom and they automatically assume I am there to report the proceedings. In 21 years, I have yet to hear about similar experiences from my male colleagues. e gender assumptions about everyone's role in the courtroom remain alive and well in 2020." But for now, Achille can take pride in being nominated as a top Woman of Law. "It is pretty cool," she said. As for her outlook on 2021, Achille is another legal professional concerned about the ripple effects of COVID-19, specifically with foreclosures and evictions. "We'll be challenged with figuring out how to balance the moratoriums and the courts' expectations of moving the dockets," she said. "Once all of them are lifted, we should expect to see the impact 2020 payment defaults caused by COVID-related hardships will have on the laws and regulations for filing and prosecuting foreclosure actions." Cristina Arroyo Compliance Counsel // Community Loan Servicing, LLC Cristina Arroyo comes from a family of lawyers and always knew that this was a career path that she would follow even though she began her career in public relations and marketing. "Al- though I fought the idea of being an attorney, in the back of my mind I always knew it was going to happen. I transitioned to law as I liked the idea being given different types of situations and helping provide solutions," shared Arroyo, who joined the profession at a time when leadership was less diverse. "At the beginning of my career, I had less role models and mentors to relate to, and it was harder to envision my career path, a difficulty I think my male counterparts did not have. Although there is still work to be done, I feel today more women and people with more diverse backgrounds are assuming leadership roles in our industry, which is encouraging. I also think that due to the pandemic, with the move to more remote work, a shift in home and work roles and responsibilities has occurred and although difficult, it has highlighted women's time management and multitasking skills." Arroyo said. As an in-house compliance counsel, Arroyo enjoys collaborating and partnering with business units to work jointly to implement and operationalize regulations. Considering the year ahead, she believes that in 2021, servicers must continue their commitment to assist customers through the challenges they face, as well as work constructively with regulators and industry peers to continue modernizing our industry.

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