General Description
Practice Groups
Technology
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The Wolf Firm, A Law Corporation, is an "AV" rated law firm which concentrates on providing superior legal services to the mortgage banking industry. The firm's national clientele includes many of the largest mortgage bankers in the country, as well as a variety of savings banks, commercial banks, commercial finance companies, credit unions, and the Resolution Trust Corporation. With a staff of over fifty individuals, including attorneys, certified paralegals, legal secretaries, administrators, clerical personnel, and several full time computer systems analysts, the firm represents its clients on a wide range of matters including all aspects of both residential and commercial/multifamily mortgage loan origination and servicing, securitization, regulatory compliance, licensing, bankruptcy, and litigation related to the foregoing in both federal and state courts throughout California. For more routine matters, such as residential bankruptcies, evictions, receiverships and fraud recovery, The Wolf Firm has developed extremely cost-effective and efficient programs using specially trained paralegals and computer technology to assist its attorneys in handling these matters at rates that are the most competitive in the State of California . As a founding member of the USFN, the Firm is able to arrange similar services in virtually every state in the nation.
Through its representation of some of the largest loan servicers in the country, The Wolf Firm has developed substantial expertise in providing advice on all aspects of mortgage servicing. For example, the Firm is actively engaged in providing legal advice in the handling of escrow accounts, insurance claims, the transfer of servicing rights and compliance with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines and VA and HUD claims.
The Mortgage Servicing matters are billed on an hourly basis. The hourly rates depend both on the complexity of the case and the persons assigned to the matter. The rates for Partners range from $190-$350 per hour, the rates for Associates are $150-$245 per hour and the rates for Paralegals range from $75-$100 per hour. Internal costs such as long distance telephone charges and photocopy costs are included within these rate structures, and are not separately billed.
Through its representation of a variety of Mortgage Bankers, Thrifts and Banks, The Wolf Firm has developed substantial expertise in providing advice on all aspects of real estate finance regulatory compliance. The Firm is actively engaged in providing legal advice in complying with all federal regulations relating to mortgage loan origination and servicing, including the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act [(including computer loan origination ("CLO") and controlled business arrangements ("CBA")], Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Regulation Z, Community Reinvestment Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Lending regulations and related compliance issues. The Wolf Firm also actively advises clients concerning California state regulatory matters, such as the Department of Real Estate.
The regulatory compliance matters are billed on an hourly basis. The hourly rates depend both on the complexity of the case and the persons assigned to the matter. The rates for Partners range from $190-$250 per hour, the rates for Associates are $150-$190 per hour and the rates for Paralegals range from $75-$100 per hour. Internal costs such as long distance telephone charges and photocopy costs are included within these rate structures, and are not separately billed.
Through its representation of a variety of major Mortgage Bankers, Thrifts, Banks and other financial institutions, The Wolf Firm has developed substantial experience and expertise in dealing with the legal problems facing the financial services community. The Firm is at the forefront of handling complex federal and state court litigation pertaining to real estate finance and real property issues.
By repeated handling of more basic litigation matters such as judicial foreclosures and actions for the appointment of a receiver to collect rents and protect the real property security, the firm has also developed streamlined methods directed toward the efficient cost-effective resolution of these matters while avoiding many of the pitfalls often encountered by less experienced firms.
The civil litigation practice is billed on an hourly basis. The hourly rates depend both on the complexity of the case and the persons assigned to the matter. The standard rates for the Partners range from $200-$250 per hour, the rates for Associates range from $150-$185 per hour and the rates for Certified Paralegals range from $75-$100 per hour. Internal costs such as mileage, long distance telephone charges and photocopy costs are included within these rate structures, and are not separately billed.
Through its representation of a variety of independent trustees and major financial institutions, The Wolf Firm has developed substantial expertise in providing advice on all aspects of secured real estate transactions. For example, the Firm is actively engaged in providing legal advice in the handling of complex foreclosures, mixed collateral sales and the distribution of surplus funds generated by foreclosure sales.
The secured real estate transaction matters are billed on an hourly basis. The hourly rates depend both on the complexity of the case and the persons assigned to the matter. The rates for Partners range from $190-$250 per hour, the rates for Associates are $150-$190 per hour and the rates for Paralegals range from $75-$100 per hour. Internal costs such as long distance telephone charges and photocopy costs are included within these rate structures, and are not separately billed.
In addition to our Mortgage Origination and Servicing, Regulatory Compliance, Civil Litigation, and Secured Real Estate Transaction practices which are billed on an hourly basis, the firm has developed a number of programs directed toward solving specific legal problems encountered by the financial services industry. Each of these programs provides management systems for client in-house use, in-depth training seminars, and legal approaches directed toward obtaining expeditious, cost-effective solutions. The firm directly provides these services throughout the State of California and, through its national network of attorneys, can arrange for similar services throughout the United States. The programs are as follows:
Each program is billed under a separate fee schedule. Highlights of the fee schedules:
Cases are referred to the Firm by completing the Referral Sheet designed for the particular program. These forms have been developed over the years to ensure that all necessary information is properly transmitted to counsel.
When properly completed, the referral sheet provides a well planned summary of the case. Although only certain sections of the sheet need be completed by the client, many clients complete the entire document and retain a copy as a summary for their file.
The Firm recognizes that a well informed client is a satisfied client and thus a number of systems have been developed to ensure that our clients are well informed. First, we pride ourselves on promptly returning all telephone calls. Second, you will regularly be receiving correspondence regarding the status of each case, and copies of all pleadings are provided with explanatory cover letters. Third, the Firm provides monthly status reports. We encourage questions and attempt to provide practical answers based both on legal principles and the customs and practices in the industry. Finally, all of these services are included within the basic fee programs at no additional charge.
Reports are submitted to you each month to provide a complete summary of the status of each case. Due to the computerization of the report database, we can fashion a report to meet your specific needs. These reports will also be provided according to your scheduling requirements. Through experience, we have found that these reports are very helpful in tracking large numbers of cases. This service is provided at no additional charge.
It should be noted that the monthly status reports are provided in addition to all othercommunications from this office. You will also receive general correspondence, copies of pleadings and telephone calls regarding the status of your case.
The firm provides a comprehensive training program tailored to meet the specific needs of its clients. Seminar topics include "An Overview of Bankruptcy And Relief From Stay Actions," "Preparation of the Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure" and "General Approaches to Evictions." service at no additional charge.
The Firm strives to perform legal services in the most cost effective manner possible. For example, in bankruptcy matters we do not routinely request appraisals; rather, appraisals are only requested in those relatively rare instances where equity will truly be at issue and where it appears likely that the appraisal will influence a particular judge. Our recommendations in this and similar areas are based on years of experience with local rules and judges.
We also strive to inform our clients of methods and approaches they may utilize to avoid unnecessary legal costs. For example, we instruct our clients on how to contact the various bankruptcy courts to determine whether they are already automatically relieved of the stay, and if so, the methods for obtaining copies of the appropriate orders without attorney involvement. Similarly, we can recommend, from a cost perspective, when a case is best referred to the Firm. These simple actions can produce significant cost savings.
The Wolf Firm is committed to remain at the forefront of legal technology. The firm is connected by a sophisticated centralized computer which provides for firm wide electronic mail, calendaring, word processing, database management and cable modem and regular modem access to other online systems. The computer has been specially programmed to create certain documents directly from database input and the status of each case is constantly updated as work is performed. This status is not only electronically accessible to all firm members but also, by special arrangement, clients may view the status of a case through various connections to the firm. In addition, faxes containing Status Reports and other vital information can now be faxed directly from our computer to your office, to keep you apprised of case progress.
The firm is also connected to a variety of online services and the Internet which provide us with the latest information on the Mortgage Banking Industry. These services include Lexis, Goldworks, Mornet, Lenstar, Vendorscape, NewInvoice, IClear and Lincs.
The firm maintains a sophisticated web site at http://www.wolffirm.com. In addition to the typical "brochureware" provided by law firms at their web sites (information about the firm, its attorneys, fees, programs and publications), the firm provides sophisticated applications for use by the mortgage banking industry. These applications include the Missing Assignment Database, Mortgage Forms, up-to-date Mortgage Industry News, a comprehensive Mortgage Banking Library, the world's largest Mortgage Banking Bookstore (where you can order and pay for books online at great discounts), online Mortgage Training, Photo Albums of Mortgage Industry Events, a Calendar of Mortgage Industry Events, a Mortgage Industry Employment Database and sections specially developed for Mortgage Banking Departments (see, e.g., the Bankruptcy Department). All of this information is freely available and regularly updated.
The firm provides high speed web access to its staff. The firm was one of the first companies in the country to obtain cable modem access to the internet (a six megabit connection) and each member of the firm has his or her own internet e-mail address.
The firm's systems are year 2000 compliant.
The firm helped create the USFN web site (http://www.usfn.org). Through USFN web site, clients can now search for USFN members across the country, review articles written by USFN members, and post questions and receive responses from industry leaders. The firm regularly participates on the USFN web site Bulletin Board.
Door-to-Door Driving Directions
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As part of the firm's commitment to the Mortgage Banking Industry, the firm maintains membership and takes an active part in a number of associations:
The Wolf Firm
A Professional Law Corporation
38 Corporate Park
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 720-9200 Phone
(949) 608-0133 Fax
E-Mail
us at Alan.Wolf@wolffirm.com
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