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technologies and innovative new software and systems. acceleration of an industry-wide trend toward powerful new One of the most noteworthy developments is the dramatic management systems that is opening up new possibilities. Raff: Today, default servicing law firms Speed and Flexibility Geary: The technical architecture and sophisticated reporting capabilities of some new systems also facilitates an impressive degree of flexibility, making it possible to react quickly and effectively when something goes sideways. There is a direct line between tech upgrades and responsive and efficient service. Raff: That's important. Whether it is a short-term emergency, a priority data request, or simply the dynamic demands of an evolving legislative landscape, these systems have the potential to save an extraordinary amount of man-hours. Instead of going through tens of thousands of files by hand to identify the few hundred required for a specific request, default servicing law firms can execute a search based on a wide range of criteria and pull up a subset of files within moments. Regulatory Responsiveness Raff: While regulatory developments have varied greatly, from the big picture, which impacts the industry as a whole, down to state- and even municipality-specific mandates, as well as less formal shifts in the professional culture, one thing is clear: The trend is toward a more robust regulatory environment. Geary: In this new context, an effective case management system is not just helpful; it is essential. While completing the process properly, accurately, and thoroughly is—and will remain—the most important factor in processing, reducing and eliminating unnecessary delays can represent serious cost savings. And adapting to new regulations or emerging professional demands no longer 66 requires a ground-up reworking of policies and procedures: Systems can be recoded, calibrated, and tested in just a few days—or even hours when need be. Auditing Efficiencies Raff: Fundamentally, regardless of the specific parameters of any individual audit, auditors want to know that you know what is going on with your loans. And today it is no longer good enough to say that you have it under control—you must be able to back that up and prove you have a handle on things. Geary: Law firms who can pull up files on and their clients and professional partners are pulling past files by attorney, by client, by issue, by date, and a number of other parameters in order to find revealing patterns, many of which would have slid under the radar without new sophisticated reporting capabilities. benefits, positive compliance implications, and improved processing results for default servicing law firms have made new case management and reporting systems a must. In today's servicing industry, stronger The bottom line is that the range of legal command and can point to time stamps, digital verification, and other varieties of verifiable, built-in documentation can demonstrate exactly that. In addition, the integrated security of many case management systems— the procedural security of step-dependent processing and the personnel and file security that comes with accessibility limitations— demonstrates to auditors with convincing clarity that information is protected and that the right people are touching the files at the right times. Raff: More important, the inability to call up requested files quickly or to answer detailed questions on the fly increasingly causes the "raised eyebrow syndrome," potentially taking your audit in an entirely different and unwelcome direction. Retrospective Progress Geary: The ability to dig deep into older files, whether to identify trends or to use in litigation, is another aspect of new case accountability and improved auditing capability are not only consistent with professional best practices but it is also quickly becoming a core expectation. This unmistakable trend is such that in the not-too-distant future, law firms that do not embrace this level of detail will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. And on a more fundamental operational level, these new detailed reports articulate a collaborative alignment between servicers and investors not always evident or accessible before. More than just a tool, reporting is becoming a game-changer. With that in mind, getting a head- start on the process of implementing and integrating new case management technologies and new reporting capabilities is a strategy that many law firms are already understandably embracing. Rich Geary is EVP of National Default Exchange (NDeX), a provider of technology and mortgage default processing services for law firms nationwide. Jeff Raff is managing partner of Trott & Trott, P.C. Powered by NDeX, the Trott & Trott law firm executes residential default procedures and foreclosure avoidance solutions on behalf of its servicing clients and investors.