Florida Law Firm Looks West for Latest Hire

ALAW, a Florida firm that represents lenders saddled with troubled home mortgages, has hired an attorney in the Valley as part of a national expansion strategy. Jacqueline Combs has joined the firm as “title” counsel, specializing in title law and disputes over real estate documentation. She previously worked at First American Title Insurance Co. and at Ursus Holdings LLC, an Arlington, Texas company that manages distressed properties. ALAW is headquartered in Tampa, but has a large office in Chatsworth that it acquired in December from New York bank J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which had mortgage-service operations there. Combs works out of the Chatsworth office, which took on some of the Chase employees and services troubled loans in California, Arizona and Florida. James Albertelli, founder and chief executive of ALAW, believes there is a trend by national and regional banks to hire national or regional law firms – and he wants ALAW to become a viable player in that market. “Ms. Combs was hired as part of our investment in legal professionals that have experience managing national operations – in this instance, national title and legal documentation,” he said in an email to the Business Journal. ALAW already works with the major banks, as well as homebuilders and finance companies. Combs doesn’t work in ALAW’s main divisions – which represents lenders in foreclosure, bankruptcy and related litigation – but her title expertise is a business line ALAW expects to grow as foreclosures gradually decline. Albertelli said the Chatsworth office has about 75 employees, but he plans to hire more to handle clients with nationwide operations. “We are positioning our firm to be hedged … for long-term competitive advantage,” he said. Combs said she enjoys title work because of its broad range of issues. Reconstructing the sequence of previous owners for a property often involves detective work, such as tracking down missing interest payments from 50 years ago or figuring out how a property didn’t comply with easement restrictions when the law changed. “You may have to contact the notary or a prior owner for a corrected deed, and if you can’t get cooperation, then you handle it in court,” she said. Also Combs counsels clients on regulatory compliance, prepares settlement and transfer documents, conducts market analyses for mortgage loans under Fannie Mae guidelines and provides title oversight to the other divisions of ALAW. Healthy Verdict A Valley law firm recently faced off against an insurer in state court to clarify an issue about mental health coverage. The case, Marissa Rea v. Blue Shield of California, involved a woman who suffered from anorexia and bulimia and wanted to go to a residential facility for treatment. But the non-profit San Francisco insurer refused to pay saying its policy did not offer such coverage. Rea was represented by Kantor & Kantor LLP in Northridge, which sued arguing that anorexia and bulimia are mental health conditions covered by the California Mental Health Parity Act, which requires “parity” of treatment between physical and mental health conditions. Blue Shield said parity would not apply to the women’s case. In its June 10 decision, the three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal decided the insurance plan had to cover the residential program because “parity” under the law essentially requires patients with mental and physical conditions to have an equal chance of effective treatment. “Given the principle that treatments for the two types of illnesses are in many cases not comparable, parity instead requires treatment of mental illnesses sufficient to reach the same quality of care afforded physical illnesses,” the court wrote. Lisa Kantor, a principal at the law firm, said the California courts now concur with an earlier federal court ruling on the issue. “This decision confirms that residential treatment is one of the most effective treatments for eating disorders, and must be available to all California (insured patients) who need this treatment,” she said in a statement. Kantor & Kantor, a firm with nine attorneys, focuses exclusively on representing plaintiffs against insurance companies. Sean Barry, spokesman for Blue Shield, told the Business Journal in an email that the insurer is “disappointed” by the decision. “We believe this is contrary to the purpose of the Parity Act. We are still reviewing the decision and evaluating our options, such as seeking re-hearing before the Court of Appeal or filing a Petition for Review with the California Supreme Court,” he wrote. In-House Partner Laura Reiland is the newest partner at Northrup Schlueter APLC. Formerly a senior associate at the firm, Reiland represents builders, general contractors and subcontractors in defending construction-defect litigation and general liability cases. She also specializes in binding arbitration and mediation. Reiland joined the firm in 2009. She joins name partners Linda Northrup and David Schlueter as partners at the seven-attorney firm based in Westlake Village. Northrop Schlueter focuses on real estate law, litigation and alternative dispute resolution. In addition to its Westlake Village headquarters, the firm has a second office in Santa Barbara. Reiland, an Agoura Hills resident, will work with clients at both locations. Staff Writer Joel Russell can be reached at (818) 316-3124 or [email protected].