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MortgagePoint ยป Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 40 M E M B E R S H I P S S P O T L I G H T : L E G A L L E A G U E TAKING FORECLOSURES BEYOND JUDICIAL AND NON-JUDICIAL ACTIONS B y E R I C C . P E C K T he Five Star Institute's Legal League has announced the launch of its latest white paper, Non-Uniform Foreclosures. Legal League is a professional association of financial services law firms spread out across the United States. The Legal League is uniquely positioned to drive progress in the mortgage servicing industry. Legal League members provide a clear view of the legal landscape and the expertise to navigate it, committed to supporting its membership through education, communication, relationship development, and advisory services. The Non-Uniform Foreclosures white paper was inspired by a discussion on the rise in reverse mortgages being referred to foreclosure, as well as the processes for completing a foreclosure on tribal lands. Prepared by the Legal League Special Initiatives Working Group (SIWG), Non-Uniform Foreclosures was written by Jennifer Rogers Esq., Manag- ing Attorney with IDEA Law Group LLC, and Chair of Legal League's SIWG; Michelle Garcia Gilbert Esq., Managing Partner with Gilbert Garcia Group PA and Member of the SIWG; Stephen M. Hladik Esq., Partner with Hladik, Onorato & Federman LLP, Member of the SIWG and Chairman of Legal League; and J. Anthony Van Ness Esq., Founder and Managing Attorney with Van Ness Law Firm PLC, and SIWG Member. MortgagePoint had a chance to discuss the white paper with Rogers, a veteran of the industry with 17-plus years of experience, primarily focused on representing mortgage lenders and services in real estate law, title curative matters, routine and complex civil litigation, bankruptcy, creditor's rights, residential and commercial foreclosures, and evictions. Additionally, Rogers has managed attorneys and staff in a law firm providing comprehensive default services to the mortgage default industry. Rogers has been a frequent speaker at mortgage default conferences addressing issues related to litigation, foreclosure, evictions, and creditor's rights. Rogers is a founding member of the Colorado Creditor's Bar Associ- ation and is licensed to practice law in Colorado. Q: What prompted the need to write this white paper? Were there particular trends, chal- lenges, or legislative changes in foreclosure law that inspired it? Non-Uniform Foreclosures came about when the members of the Special Interest Working Group were discussing the in- crease in reverse mortgages being referred to foreclosure and the unique processes for completing a foreclosure on tribal land. From there, we thought it might be interesting to summarize the different types of foreclosure actions we deal with regularly. From that point, it was a matter of trying to narrow down which of the non-uniform foreclosures impacted the most professionals in our industry. Q: Would you summarize some of the high-level takeaways from this white paper? The most important takeaway is re- alizing that foreclosures go beyond just judicial and non-judicial actions. The processes vary depending on the type of foreclosure and the state involved. As an industry, we are seeing a larger aging population which has resulted in more reverse mortgage foreclosures and COVID-19 changed the way business work, which has resulted in lower office space demand, which, in turn, has re- sulted in more commercial foreclosures. Each of the foreclosure types we focused on has different processes and nuances to complete the foreclosure and transfer title. Understanding the differences is important to ensure that we are com- pliant with the rules and regulations associated with each so that we do not waste our client's time or money. Q: Which segments of our in- dustry will be most served by reading this white paper? What do you hope they will take away from it? I think anyone involved in our industry would benefit from reading the paper and using it as a reference when you run into these types of foreclosures. While it is not a step-by-step description ROGERS