Hey, remember the largest foreclosure law firm in New York State? The one with the Halloween party where all the lawyers dressed up like people who lost their homes in foreclosure proceedings? Well, the firm has stopped receiving work from virtually all the major mortgage lenders, and has just gone out of business:
The announcement caps a remarkable fall for the state’s dominant foreclosure law firm, which until recently handled 40 percent of all foreclosures statewide. That’s also made it a lightning rod for criticism and anger during the mortgage crisis, particularly downstate in New York City and Long Island, where foreclosures have been much more severe than in upstate and Western New York.
The firm had already been denounced by consumers and consumer advocates for its work on behalf of lenders even before the “robo-signing” controversy thrust it into the middle of a nationwide crisis over the legitimacy of the legal process underpinning many foreclosures.
Since then, the firm has been criticized for participating in “robo-signing” and allegedly improper foreclosures, with critics saying it helped speed up foreclosures to benefit its lender clients by allegedly authorizing the “assignment” or transfer of mortgages from one lender to another when critics say it lacked authority to do so.
And it’s been vilified by advocates, other attorneys, politicians and even judges for submitting sloppy and allegedly fraudulent paperwork that is riddled with legal errors, including faulty affidavits and notarizations.
This is the same firm that filed a defamation suit against an attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit against them, so I’m not saying a thing. Other than “boy, I bet they really wish those photos hadn’t leaked.” Also, possibly not doing the allegedly fraudulent stuff.