On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the next installment of the Legal League Webinar Series, “The Evolution of Default Loan Servicing: Past, Present, and Future,” will be held at 1:00 p.m. CDT.
Open to mortgage lending and servicing professionals, government representatives, and Legal League members, this webinar series is designed to educate the nation’s elite financial services law firms on the latest issues and policies impacting the mortgage industry.
Over the years, default loan servicing has undergone significant changes. Processes, technologies, and policies have been shaped by economic events, regulatory reforms, and technological advancements. “The Evolution of Default Loan Servicing: Past, Present, and Future” will be led by specialists with decades of experience in the default servicing industry, who will dive into the evolution of default loan servicing by analyzing past practices, current challenges and opportunities, and the future trajectory of the industry. A panel of experts, including Stephen Hladik, Partner with Hladik, Onorato & Federman LLP; Ashley Misener, SVP of Foreclosure for M&T Bank; Patrick O’Brien, COO with Stern & Eisenberg; Christopher Picard, Principal with Neubert, Pepe & Monteith P.C.; Candace Russell, VP of Post-Sale Activities, Default Servicing with Carrington Mortgage Services; and Tony Van Ness, Founder with the Van Ness Law Firm, PLC will share their knowledge of how default loan servicing has evolved, their insight into the current landscape of the industry, and perspective to predict and adapt to the always changing environment of default loan servicing.
Legal League is a professional association of financial services law firms in the United States. With member law firms located across the nation, Legal League is positioned to drive progress in the mortgage servicing industry.
Get to Know the Panelists
Hladik, a Partner with Hladik, Onorato & Federman LLP is a former Deputy Attorney General in charge of the Harrisburg office of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection. Hladik brings a broad range of experience to his mortgage foreclosure, bankruptcy, tax sale, and UDAP legal practice. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, Hladik obtained his law degree from Widener University, with honors, where he served as Internal Managing Editor of the Law Review. Hladik gained significant expertise in lending law enforcement while serving in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, handling UDAP, FDCPA, RESPA, and TILA cases.
Misener, current SVP of Foreclosure with M&T Bank, oversees foreclosure milestone, litigation/mediation/contested, timeline control, and home equity foreclosures. Misener has more than 16 years of industry experience, which spans over firm, vendor, and servicer positions. She received her bachelor’s degree from Niagara University, where she majored in political science, and minored in women’s studies, Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, and law and jurisprudence. She obtained her Paralegal Certification from Canisius College. Misener continued her education at Medaille College, earning her master’s degree with a concentration in Organizational Leadership.
O’Brien is COO at Stern & Eisenberg, a firm based in Pennsylvania, operating in seven states and the District of Columbia . With more than 27 years of experience in the default servicing industry, Pat has earned a reputation as a knowledgeable and reliable professional. His expertise spans both the servicer and default firm sides of the industry, having held executive-level positions on both sides.
For the last 20 years, Picard’s practice has centered on handling creditor’s rights issues and real estate litigation in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts, inclusive of handling appellate matters. Picard’s clients have included national banks and servicers along with local lenders. Picard began practicing law in 2000 after serving in the United States Navy as a Diver from 1987-1993. During his time on active duty, he participated in various salvage and recovery operations. After completion of his active duty, Picard attended Boston College, where he served as President of the Boston College Men’s Rugby Team. While studying at the University of Dayton School of Law, Picard was a member of the Moot Court team, winning the National Environmental Moot Court competition at Salmon P. Chase School of Law, earning team honors for best brief and individual honors as Best Oralist.
Russell is VP of Post-Sale Activities in Default Servicing at Carrington Mortgage Services, and leads Carrington’s efforts to manage default inventory, as well as reduce enterprise risk factors. Carrington is a vertically integrated real estate and mortgage company that specializes in the lifecycle of single-family assets. Her experience in the mortgage industry is broad and deep, covering mortgage originations, performing loans, loss mitigation, foreclosure, claims, and risk management. Russell is currently Chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Loan Administration Committee.
Van Ness is the Founder and Managing Partner of Van Ness Law Firm, a Florida default and litigation law firm with locations in Deerfield Beach and Miami. The firm has represented national mortgage lenders and servicers since 2004, making it one of the older default firms serving Florida and likely the only certified, African-American one. The firm has won several performance awards over the years and takes pride in becoming Fannie Mae retained counsel in 2010 (until the program ended). In addition, Van Ness serves on multiple boards for trade, associations, and charity.
Click here for more information or to register for the Legal League Webinar Series, “The Evolution of Default Loan Servicing: Past, Present, and Future.”
Also in The Week Ahead
- House Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions: Following the Money: Tools and Techniques to Combat Fraud (Tuesday)
- Fannie Mae’s Refinance Application-Level Index (RALI) (Tuesday)
- Realtor.com Weekly Housing Market Recap (Wednesday)
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (Thursday)
- U.S. Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (Thursday)
