Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that Fernando C. Rivera-Maissonet has been reappointed as the Co-Chair of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)’s Business Law Section for the 2025–2026 term.

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that 80 lawyers are recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, with ten receiving this honor for the first time. Additionally, 22 Hinshaw lawyers are included in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that Ali Degan has been reappointed as the Co-Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Litigation Section’s LGBT Law and Litigator Committee. Ali will continue to serve as Co-Chair for the 2025-2026 term, effective September 1, 2025.

Read David Schultz’s AccountsRecovery.net ARM Compliance Digest column analyzing a New Jersey Appellate Division decision holding that using a letter vendor to print and mail collection notices does not violate the FDCPA.

Read Hinshaw partner Brian McGrath’s analysis in recent National Mortgage News coverage about the New York Court of Appeals’ consideration of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA) and its retroactive application to legacy loans.

Read Hinshaw partner Akeela White's analysis of the CFPB’s new policy for handling criminal regulatory offenses and its impact on consumer finance law in a recent ARM Compliance Digest column.

Hinshaw partners Sam Bodurtha, Lauren Campisi, Brian McGrath, Stephanie Mulcahy, and Charles Townsend will present at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference, which will take place in San Diego, California, from May 14 to 17, 2025.

Hinshaw is a proud sponsor of the Mortgage Bankers Association's Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference 2022!

Hinshaw's Maura McKelvey will present "Anticipating Disputes Relating to Forbearance Programs: How to Interpret Consumers' Statutory Rights and Appropriately Disclose Terms" at the 27th National Forum on Residential Mortgage Regulatory Enforcement & Litigation at 11:45 a.m. Central on November 17, 2020. McKelvey and her fellow presenters will discuss various federal and state forbearance programs passed earlier this year that are aimed at easing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeowners. The panel will focus on program expectations on mortgage lenders and servicers, and how such organizations can address ambiguities and help ensure compliance.

Increased regulatory enforcement is on the horizon. Foreclosure activities will eventually resume. Consumer litigation will follow.

Read how New York’s FAIR Act expands consumer protection to unfair and abusive practices, broadens the Attorney General’s enforcement authority, and raises compliance risks for businesses in the state.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that mortgagees can foreclose without possessing the original promissory note. Learn what the Porch Swing case means for lenders, servicers, and borrowers.

A recent ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit could signal heightened exposure for lenders and servicers to state escrow-on-interest statutes, along with greater litigation risk.

In anticipation of the expiration of federal COVID-19 pandemic foreclosure protections, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a final rule amending its federal mortgage servicing regulations. Among other changes, effective from August 31, 2021 through December 31, 2021, a borrower must be given an opportunity by the mortgage servicer to explore all available loss mitigation options before a foreclosure proceeding can be commenced on a borrower's principal residence. The final rule also gives servicers greater flexibility to offer borrowers COVID-19-related streamlined loan modifications, creates new, temporary early intervention requirements for live contact, and clarifies how to exercise reasonable diligence with respect to incomplete loss mitigation applications related to COVID-19.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loans have attracted significant scrutiny from federal agencies and Congress in recent weeks. The Department of Treasury (the "Treasury") and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) both released Housing Finance Reform plans that recommend structural changes to the HECM Program. On September 5, 2019, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and HUD Secretary Ben Carson appeared before a Senate hearing entitled "Housing Finance Reform: Next Steps" to discuss their proposals.

Loan originators and servicers should take note of the fact that the Home Equity Convertible Mortgage (HECM) program has attracted considerable attention from federal agencies and Congress in recent months. In August and September, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued three new Mortgagee Letters involving lending to condominium owners, deferring foreclosure for non-borrowing spouses, and extending HECM Collateral Risk Assessment requirements indefinitely. These Mortgagee Letters require lenders and servicers to make immediate changes to their policies and procedures. We describe these changes below.

Welcome to Consumer Law Hinsights―a monthly compilation of nationwide consumer protection cases of interest to financial services and accounts receivable management companies. This edition highlights our interactive COVID-19 regulatory map and also includes an analysis from our blog, Consumer Crossroads, of the Second Circuit's decision in LaBoom and the deepening circuit split over what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under TCPA.