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50 acqueline McNally is Chief Compliance Off icer at Stern & Eisenberg, a national law f irm with off ices in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., West Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. McNally begin at the Firm as the Managing Attorney at its Cherry Hill, New Jersey off ice. She later served as Managing Attorney for the Firm's New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania off ices and, in 2016, assumed the role of Chief Compliance Off icer. As an attorney, her practice areas included litigation, mortgage foreclosure, and bankruptcy. What are the greatest challenges affecting law firms today in terms of meeting compliance benchmarks? e compliance umbrella consists of a variety of areas, including client audit requests, due diligence requests, client directives, and state and federal law. With client audits and diligence files, cost is probably the greatest challenge affecting law firms today in terms of meeting compliance benchmarks. e technology requirements alone are quite expensive. Additionally, the diligence requests are all distinct. At one point, there was discussion about servicers using a "universal" diligence package. If there was a possibility of a "one size fits all" solution, it would save our office an incredible amount of time and reduce the possibility of error. In terms of client directives and the law, the constantly changing landscape is the greatest challenge in these areas of compliance. e landscape changed dramatically since I started practicing law. We try to stay ahead of the changes in order to be proactive instead of retroactive. One way to accomplish this is with a daily legislative report. is report apprizes our attorneys of any pending legislation that may impact our practice areas. Whenever there is a change in one of our jurisdictions, we prepare a memo to all clients so that everyone is informed as quickly as possible. How do you recommend firms tackle the costs of compliance without sacrificing quality? Compliance is not optional. I recognize that costs may be substantial; however, there are not typically any cost-savings measures that can be employed to defray or minimize costs. In addition to technology, there is significant cost involved in creating, developing, and maintaining a talented compliance team. e old adage of "you get what you pay for" still holds true. e compliance team impacts all firm COUNSEL'S CORNER Regulatory Compliance in Today's Technology-Inundated Mortgage Industry "An important element to consider during the audit process is that a remediation is not a failure. Rather, it is the opportunity to improve in the future. When handled properly, a remediation offers clear guidance as to compliance expectations." Jacqueline McNally Chief Compliance Officer at Stern & Eisenberg