Jeff Weisserman featured in DSNews Counsel’s Corner

Counsel’s Corner: The Positive Side of Devoting More Resources to Compliance
Jeff Weisserman is a managing partner and general counsel of Trott Law, P.C., a Farmington Hills, Michigan-based real estate finance law firm. In this role, Jeff is responsible for helping drive and measure the strategic development of firm goals, as well as cultivating and maintaining new client relationships. He is active in legislative affairs relating to the mortgage industry and has testified before various legislative committees regarding real property legislation. He is a frequent speaker on issues relating to litigation and the mortgage banking industry and has authored numerous materials on the industry. Trott Law is a member of the Legal League 100. Jeff recently talked with DS News about the positives that firms can draw from increased regulation that requires more attention to compliance.

What has been one of the biggest changes in the industry that you’ve had to deal with?

The biggest change in our world has been compliance. There are more and more rules and regulations set for us by governmental and non-governmental entities that change the way we do things. We spend a lot of human and financial resources to comply, because it is important for us to be at the top of the class in compliance. We spend a lot of time and money “doing it right.” When something changes, you have to spend even more time doing it right.

What are some examples of positives that have come from devoting more resources to compliance?

For us, it’s critical to be an A student on these things. I think we’ve done a good job with staying at the top of the curve when it comes to compliance. One of the good things about the constant audits is that we get to show our clients how dedicated we are to continuous improvement, high-quality work, and deep-rooted integrity. We hear that a lot from our clients when they come in. They tell us, “Wow, you’ve really done it right.” The last thing we would want to do is spend a lot of time and money becoming compliant and not having anyone know about it. It allows our clients to see how committed we are to being the most compliant firm, and I think it pays off.

Where do see the compliance issue headed for the future? Is it going to get tougher, or easier, or is it going to be the same as it is now in a year or two?

It’s never going away, and that’s good. My hope is that it levels off a bit just so it can become more business as usual without added recipes to put into the cake. I don’t think it’s going to get smaller, but hopefully it won’t grow too much.

What are you hoping for in the immediate future for the default servicing industry?

Dynamic change is good. It’s just that we’d like to spend more time doing the business we do best, which is providing superior default servicing legal services to our clients.

View the original article on the DSNews website here.