EMERGING ISSUES TRACK: Servicing Policy Updates

Samuel I. Racoosin

Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, Chase Home Lending

Samuel Racoosin is a Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. He is the lead attorney for the residential Loan Servicing, customer assistance, and default legal teams. He is principally responsible for providing legal advice to the residential mortgage loan servicing business. Before joining JPMorgan Chase, Racoosin was Associate General Counsel at Fannie Mae. In that capacity, he provided legal advice to the US Treasury regarding the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program. Racoosin previously served as Associate General Counsel for Fannie Mae’s single-family mortgage business, providing advice on new products, eMortgage initiatives, and loss mitigation. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Samuel was Associate General Counsel of North American Mortgage Company, a national mortgage banker. Racoosin has a Juris Doctorate from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis.

Krista Cooley

Partner, Mayer Brown LLP

Krista Cooley is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and a member of the Consumer Financial Services group. She concentrates her practice on federal regulatory enforcement and compliance issues. She represents companies in the mortgage lending, mortgage servicing, title insurance and real estate industries in connection with administrative and regulatory compliance matters. Krista defends clients subject to government audits, investigations and enforcement proceedings before, among others, HUD, the VA, USDA, DOJ, CFPB and state banking departments in cases involving the False Claims Act, the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, Mortgagee Review Board proceedings and RESPA enforcement matters.

Robert Finlay

Partner, Wright, Finlay & Zak, LLP

T. Robert Finlay is one of the three founding partners of Wright, Finlay & Zak. Since 1994, Mr. Finlay has focused his legal career on consumer finance and mortgage-related litigation, compliance, and regulatory matters. He is at the forefront of the mortgage banking industry, handling all aspects of the evolving default servicing and mortgage banking litigation arena, including compliance issues for servicers, lenders, investors, title companies, and foreclosure trustees. Mr. Finlay guides clients through complex litigation while remaining mindful of their core values and business models. He is a regular speaker at industry events and for clients on loan servicing and mortgage banking topics, including legislative and legal updates. Mr. Finlay also serves as General Counsel for the California Mortgage Association, advising its Board and members on loan origination, servicing, and compliance matters, and working with lobbyists in Sacramento on proposed legislation affecting the industry. He is active in the California Mortgage Bankers Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the United Trustees Association, and the California Bankers Association. Mr. Finlay previously served as President of the UTA and as its Legislative Committee chair. Since 2013, he has served on the CMBA Legislative Committee and is Co-Chair of the National Private Lenders Association.

Joseph H. Hickey

Member, Dykema Gossett PLLC

Joe Hickey is a member of Dykema’s Financial Services Litigation Practice Group, serving as Assistant Practice Group Leader. He also works with Dykema’s multi-disciplinary Financial Industry Group, which covers bankruptcy, regulatory and compliance matters, commercial lending, and litigation. This combined expertise provides Dykema attorneys with the foundation to advise and counsel many of the country’s preeminent financial organizations. Hickey leads a team that handles mortgage, credit card, retail banking, and other consumer lending litigation matters in the Upper Midwest, California, and Texas on behalf of one of the country’s largest financial institutions. Based on his experience and expertise in managing a large portfolio of litigated matters, he regularly advises clients on root-cause analysis to help avoid litigation.

Jonathan Kolodziej, AMP, CMCP

Partner, Bradley

Jonathan Kolodziej is a partner at Bradley in the firm’s Banking and Financial Services practice group and is a co-leader of the firm’s CFPB team. He represents mortgage servicers in regulatory compliance, examination and enforcement matters and centers his practice around helping clients ensure that their operations are in compliance with applicable federal and state consumer financial laws, and then demonstrating compliance to regulators. In this role, He frequently helps clients assess the impact of new rules and regulations and adapt to changes in the regulatory environment. Kolodziej is also an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, where he teaches an upper level course on the laws and regulations that apply throughout the lifecycle of a mortgage loan.