DS News - U.S. Bank

20 John Ansell III holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Ansell's practice focuses primarily in the areas of real estate law and litigation, settlements, foreclosure, bankruptcy, and default litigation legal services. He oversees the firm's appellate practice and jointly oversees the firm's REO practice. Ansell serves as a panelist at numerous default industry events, regularly provides educational training sessions to firm clients, and contributes articles for industry-related publications. Ansell is admitted to the state courts in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, the United States District Court for Maryland, and the District of Columbia and the Eastern and Western Districts for the United States District Court for Virginia. He is a member of the Maryland State Bar, Virginia State Bar, and District of Columbia Bar As- sociations. Ansell spoke to DS News earlier this year during the Legal League 100 Servicer Summit, discussing the challenges facing the industry, how law firms can best work with servicers, and more. What is your main takeaway from the Legal League Summit events? Much of it is simply learning that we're not alone in this. e challenges we face are nationwide. ey're not specific to judicial states or nonjudicial states—they exist across the board. Figuring out the common threads helps strengthen us as an industry. My firm operates in Maryland; Washington, D.C.; and Virginia, so we run the gamut of judicial, nonjudicial, and "quasi-judicial." What judicial entails in D.C. is very different from the judicial process in New York. e nonjudicial process in Virgin- ia is going to be very different from other states' nonjudicial processes. But there are common threads and common challenges. Being able to share information and strategies among different firms and different geographic regions helps. Also, making connections and getting to know people on a personal level is critical. I can email someone 20 times, but I will never get the sense of knowing them that I can from sitting across from them for five, 10 minutes. Having dinner, having a drink, whatever the case may be. I couldn't even tell you how many times I've met someone from a servicer at a conference, and then, lo and behold, a month later an issue arises with that servicer. en I can pick up the phone and call that person. ese summits facilitate communication and speed up that communication process. What are some of the biggest issues facing the industry right now? One universal theme right now in the indus- try is that volumes are down. When volumes were increasing, it was easy. It was an expanding pool, so everyone could get a share. With a decreasing pool of files, everyone has had to streamline their operations. You have to look at every discreet aspect of your operation to make it more efficient and eliminate any duplication of effort. e investors are squeezing the servicers, pushing for faster resolutions and greater returns at a lower cost. e servicers are doing the same to the law firms. Meeting those chal- lenges in a way that still allows you to provide good service and operate a business is the chal- lenge. We have an obligation to provide the best service we can provide for our clients. What recent legislation or cases do you think have the potential to impact the industry in a significant way? Virginia has made very few statutory changes to the process since I've been practic- ing law the last 15 years. Maryland, on the other hand, adds new wrinkles every year, or every other year. It's a challenge adapting to those changes, update our clients on the changes, adopt the processes, program our system, and "Small statutory changes can produce enormous ripple effects, across the firms and servicers." COUNSEL'S CORNER LEARNING LESSONS FROM DIVERSE COURT CASES John Ansell III Partner, Rosenberg & Associates, LLC

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