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99 TOP 25 WOMEN OF LAW CAREN JACOBS CASTLE Senior Attorney, e Wolf Firm, a Law Corporation Caren Jacobs Castle feels that education is crucial for professionals in the real estate industry. "I have seen so many rises and falls over my 30-plus years practicing law that I truly believe education is a powerful tool to understand the process and make better decisions in this indus- try," said Castle. While being a female has never held her back professionally, Castle feels that her bigger challenge was dealing with the internal battle between her roles as a professional and as a wife and mother. Today, one of the biggest challenges Castle sees impacting the industry is managing the high costs for compliance and default management. "Maintaining the highest quality of mortgage professionals and attorneys in this rising cost environment will continue to prove a major challenge," Castle shared, adding that communication was the key to streamlining responsibilities for lenders and servicers. "As we become more dependent upon technology, we must make sure that technologies are streamlined for the lender/servicer and law firm," Castle said. She hopes that her experience and knowledge of the industry has helped her place her firm ahead of the others in facing future challenges. "We are constantly reviewing our policies, procedures, and technologies to improve efficiencies while always maintaining the highest standards of quality and ethics," Castle said. MORTGAGE BANKING, INCLUDING DEFAULT SERVICING, REAL ESTATE, COMPLIANCE NUMBER OF YEARS PRACTICING LAW: 36 SASHA M. COHEN First VP and Corporate Counsel, Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC Default Servicing, Real Estate Litigation and Transactions, Business Law, Estate Planning, Probate, Guardianship and Trusts, General Civil, Construction Law As First VP and Corporate Counsel at Bayview Loan Servicing, Sasha M. Cohen has enjoyed keeping up with new regulations and challenging trends in an environment that is always evolving and changing. It was her enjoyment in studying the law that led Cohen to first become an attorney—with the added benefit that the role also speaks to her love of helping people. "€e best thing we as legal professionals can do to help lenders and servicers is to seek a balance between operational challenges and new regulations and to try to do the best we can for the customer and the consumer," Cohen shared. At Bayview, Cohen is able to work with many different departments to help find resolutions for customers, clients, and investors. As a woman in a male-dominated field, Cohen acknowledges she has probably had a different experience than her male counterparts. When asked how she handles this challenge, Cohen said, "I have never allowed that to hinder my performance, restrict my involvement, or stop me from putting forth my opinion. I believe that the most important thing is to be prepared and knowledgeable and due to that, I believe my firm acknowledges and appreciates my contributions to my department and my contributions to the firm as a whole." DEFAULT SERVICING NUMBER OF YEARS PRACTICING LAW: 13 MAGALIE A. CREECH Member, Finkel Law Firm LLC Magalie Creech has been with Finkel for more than nine years, having first started out as a summer Law Clerk and now coming full circle as a Member. In those nine years, she learned a lot about the practice of law, but also came to discover how important it is to be part of a dedicated, reliable, and integrated team. Creech said that given the sensitive nature of the information attorneys handle in default servicing, it is of paramount importance to have dependable employees who are able to perform their responsibilities conscientiously and effectively. •is can be especially challenging in a field where the landscape is one of constantly evolving regulations and policies. "I am so thankful to be part of a talented group of professionals whose collective experience handling a broad spectrum of regulatory and litigation issues qualifies us to offer comprehensive legal representation. I consider them family, and that is what makes my legal practice so rewarding," said Creech. Creech practices in the firm's Charleston Litigation Division where she represents national banking associations and loan servicers state wide in commercial and real property-related litigation, with an emphasis on contested foreclosures, debt collections, and real estate matters. She also handles general civil litigation. CIVIL LITIGATION, LENDER LIABILITY, REAL ESTATE, AND BUSINESS LITIGATION NUMBER OF YEARS PRACTICING LAW: 7