A core group of mortgage attorneys at Washington, D.C.-based Patton Boggs LLP have joined another firm based in the nation’s capital. It’s not the first such move for the lawyers, who see an opportunity to take advantage of the new organization’s mortgage litigation practice.
The quartet includes Richard Andreano Jr., Reid F. Herlihy, John Socknat and Michael Waldron.
The new home for the four attorneys is Ballard Spahr LLP. More than 500 lawyers are employed at the company.
Andreano, Socknat and Waldron joined the Washington, D.C.-based firm as partners and will serve as practice leaders for a newly created mortgage banking group. Herlihy came along as an associate.
“We have been looking for several years to identify a group of experienced mortgage banking regulatory lawyers, and joining forces with this group is a tremendous opportunity,” Alan S. Kaplinsky, who heads Ballard Spahr’s consumer financial services group, said in the news release.
It’s the second time that the group has moved as a team.
In 2009 the foursome was among a group to leave the mortgage practice at Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider, also based in Washington, D.C.
More than two dozen attorneys are part of Ballard Spahr’s consumer financial group, which includes the new mortgage banking group.
The mortgage group will advise lenders on compliance, licensing and e-commerce. They will also represent clients in federal and state enforcement actions.
Ballard Spahr says that its attorneys nationally handle class action and other mortgage lending lawsuits.
Andreano noted in the statement that the mortgage litigation practice at the new firm was “a perfect fit for our clients.”
