EMERGING ISSUES TRACK: The Changing Landscape Around Borrower Contact and Collection Rules

Director, Regulatory Counsel, Mortgage Bankers Association

Alisha Sears is Director and Regulatory Counsel in the Residential Policy and Strategic Industry Engagement Department at the Mortgage Bankers Association. Sears covers legal issues, trends in litigation, and regulatory compliance matters, and staffs the Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Committee and the Regulatory Compliance Subcommittee. Prior to joining the MBA, Sears was with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). Sears is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the American Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee, and Women in Housing and Finance.

Partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Lauren Campisi is a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP and is recognized as a national leader in the field of consumer financial services. She provides strategic, practical advice on federal and state law compliance matters, as well as federal and state enforcement actions and supervisory examinations and single-party and class action litigation. Her clients include national and state-chartered banks, national mortgage lenders and servicers, automotive and personal property finance companies, installment lenders, and online lenders. She has also helped clients navigate state lending and licensing laws, as well as state debt collection laws and regulations. She is the current Chair of the Louisiana Bankers Association Bank Counsel Committee.

Partner, Bradley

Aaron is a partner in the Birmingham office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and a member of the firm’s Banking and Financial Services Practice Group. He represents a number of financial services companies, including mortgage originators and servicers, student lenders, money transmitters, and banks. Although his background is in litigation, he has developed a significant level of experience with state and federal laws governing financial services companies and often assists his clients with compliance and licensing issues.

Partner, Alston & Bird, LLP

Anoush Garakani is a partner on Alston & Bird’s Consumer Financial Services Team. He advises on mortgage banking and consumer finance and concentrates on counseling clients on compliance with federal and state consumer financial protection laws and regulations. He is recognized in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© “Ones to Watch” for his work in Corporate Governance and Compliance Law.

Partner, Burr & Forman, LLP

Reid focuses on financial services litigation, representing clients across the country and serving as a leader in several national attorney organizations. With a practice concentrated on consumer finance, he primarily represents mortgage companies. Other clients include credit card companies, personal finance firms, automotive finance businesses, and debt collectors. He has defended clients in single plaintiff cases, as well as mass actions and class actions filed by consumers. He also handles general commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, insurance coverage disputes, and repurchase or make-whole disputes. Reid is a Fellow in the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, which is comprised of lawyers from the U.S. and Canada who are highly skilled and experienced in the preparation of real estate mortgages, lending transactions secured by real estate, and related practices. He also is a Fellow in the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, where membership is limited to those who have achieved preeminence in the field of consumer law and who have made substantial contributions through teaching, lecturing, and public writings.