At Duane Morris, we approach matters with a view toward minimizing litigation and quickly resolving cases.

Duane Morris has more than 100 banking and financial services companies as clients, including dozens of well-known brands. In fact, Duane Morris counts among its client roster more than half of the top 50 U.S. bank holding companies. We also handle U.S. representation of several well-known foreign banks.

Banks choose Duane Morris because:

  • We have handled thousands of cases for banks in the past two decades.
  • We have a nationwide geographic footprint with dozens of attorneys experienced with the specifics of representing banks.
  • We strive to minimize litigation and litigate only when necessary.
  • We focus on effective/efficient matter management.

Residential Mortgages: Loss Mitigation and Litigation

Duane Morris has extensive experience in the representation of real estate lenders in troubled and defaulted mortgage loans. From our offices in major-market cities nationwide, we have lawyers working on behalf of banks, non-bank lenders, special servicers of securitization trusts, debt purchasers and asset buyers. Our experience extends to more than 30 states and across all asset classes. We have negotiated and documented loan modifications and other workout agreements, appointed receivers, completed judicial and non-judicial foreclosures and protected our clients' interests in bankruptcy cases involving real estate collateral. We also handle various litigation and workout matters, including, but not limited to, resolution of threatened lender liability claims arising from potential foreclosures of commercial loans, tax sale foreclosures, interpleaders, receiverships, condemnations, various types of in rem and property claims and bankruptcies.

Duane Morris Is National Managing Counsel for Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC

Duane Morris is one of five National Managing Counsel law firms representing Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, one of the nation's five-largest loan servicing companies and first among companies servicing sub-prime loans. With its recent acquisitions of Litton (from Goldman Sachs), Saxon Mortgage (from JPMorgan Chase), Residential Capital Mortgage and Homeward Residential, Ocwen now holds one of the largest portfolios of mortgage loan portfolios of any company in the United States. Duane Morris handles hundreds of related mortgage loan litigations every year for Ocwen, in numerous states, on a range of consumer protection, fair debt collection, fair credit extension, unfair trade practices and other federal and state statutes in addition to a wide range of common law claims to protect mortgage holder and investor equity in Ocwen-serviced loan portfolios. Duane Morris also represents other well-known entities with respect to defending these same types of claims and protecting mortgage holder and investor equity interests in pooled mortgage portfolios.

The breadth of Duane Morris' experience in federal consumer and regulatory laws extends across its entire national footprint and includes issues arising from the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Consumer Credit Protection Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Truth in Lending and Regulation Z, Federal Trade Commission regulations, privacy acts and related state unfair and deceptive trade practice/consumer protection acts. We also provide compliance advice to title agencies, particularly in regard to their compliance with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

Class Action and Consumer Protection Litigation

Duane Morris has substantial experience with class action litigation, including state unfair competition and consumer protection statutes, antitrust law, federal and state securities and financial services law, FCRA/Truth in Lending Act and FDCPA claims, employment discrimination and wage-and-hour laws, franchising, real estate assessment and commercial disputes. These claims have involved plaintiffs numbering in the tens of thousands and up to billions of dollars.

Class action litigation can drain a company's legal budget and result in significant adverse publicity, both very quickly. Our team is skilled at devising strategies for effective representation of defendants in putative consumer class actions and at navigating the complex inter-relationships between federal class action procedure and state substantive law (and vice-versa). We have also handled a number of sizeable and prominent class actions brought as plaintiffs, which gives the firm a unique, valuable perspective that more defendant-centric Am Law 100 law firms too frequently cannot offer.

Expanding Existing Services and Geographies

Duane Morris seeks to foster preferred counsel relationships with our major clients—enabling us to understand their business, provide around-the-clock attention to business and legal needs and develop a fee structure that satisfies their needs and is mutually beneficial. The advantages to both the client and law firm are significant in these collaborative relationships.

For More Information

For additional information on Duane Morris' experience and capabilities, please contact Thomas Loder, Brett Messinger or any of the group members referenced in the Attorney Listing.