The law firm Ballard Spahr announced Monday that it has added a new mortgage banking practice, tapping three partners and one associate from Patton Boggs.
Richard J. Andreano Jr., John D. Socknat and Michael S. Waldron are joining Ballard Spahr as partners, while associate Reid F. Herlihy is also switching firms.
Alan Kaplinsky, the head of Ballard Spahr's consumer financial services group, acknowledged in an interview last week that it was unusual to hire an entire practice group, but said it was clear they were a "very cohesive" unit that had worked together for roughly 15 years. Ballard Spahr has been involved in litigation matters involving mortgage companies, but it wanted to expand the practice to cover regulatory and enforcement matters as well.
"For quite some time, we had been trying to identify a group of lawyers that were steeped in the mortgage bank financial area," Kaplinsky said. "We felt we needed more depth than we had now. … From our standpoint to talk to them, we couldn't be any happier that they are joining us."
Andreano said that he and the rest of the group of four noticed that what were once distinct enforcement and regulatory categories depending on the type of financial product, like mortgage and student loans, are increasingly being regulated the same way. He pointed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently released mortgage complaint process, which echoes its credit card complaint process.
"As the financial services area is going to become more coordinated — and a lot of products like student loans, mortgage loans will be regulated along a certain theme — we thought it would be helpful to join a broader financial services practice," Andreano said.
The attorneys have worked for Patton Boggs since August 2009. Before that they were with Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider. They officially start at Ballard Spahr on Monday.
