The idea for thetitleattorney.com started in the summer of 2010 when a real estate agent/loan officer colleague of mine, B.J. Matson, shared with me his experience “blogging.”  B.J. explained to me how it helped him get exposure to the people he wanted to be connected to in order to sell houses and/or make loans.  In order to be his title guy, I needed to have a blog of my own.  Sounded simple enough at the time.  Well, after several months of research and digging and reading other blogs, thetitleattorney.com started to take shape.  What you see here is a constantly evolving and I welcome your comments, suggestions and feedback.  I hope you enjoy what you read here and find it useful and entertaining.

 

BIO

I am a native of Montgomery County, Maryland, and graduated from Springbrook High School in 1988.  From there, I headed west and attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, and graduated with honors in 1993 with a degree in International Affairs/Middle Eastern Studies.  I did not want to work in a think tank or Starbucks, two likely choices with my degree; so, off to law school I went.

In May, 1996, I graduated American University’s Washington College of Law, Summa Cum Laude.  Following law school, sadly for my student loan balances, I did not land one of those fancy, $150K+ big firm jobs.  Instead, I became an Associate with the law firm of Stein, Sperling, et al., in Rockville, Maryland.  While with Stein, Sperling, I practiced general civil and criminal law, focusing on personal injury, family, and general commercial issues.  Immediately following practicing at Stein, Sperling, I was primarily involved with a government sponsored residential real estate project in Guayaquil, Ecuador.  Upon returning to the United States from Ecuador, following a coup that displaced the government that my partners and I were working with, I lived for a short time in Atlanta, Georgia, and practiced law as an independent contractor.  Thereafter, towards the end of 1999, I returned home to Maryland and worked for The Affiliates, the legal staffing division of Robert Half International, Inc.  Initially, I was a recruiter and placement professional for temporary and permanent placement of attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries, and other legal professionals.  Prior to being laid off following the events of September 11, 2001, I was the Division Director and ran their DC legal staffing operation.

In late 2001, along with my partner and law school buddy Adam Margolis, we founded Household Title, L.L.C. in Bethesda, Maryland.  While a principal with Household Title, L.L.C., later Household Title & Escrow, L.L.C., my practice focused on purchase/sale and refinance transactions in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia and related real estate issues. 

The market conditions in the real estate arena changed the lives of many people following the collapse of the real estate bubble.  I am no exception.  I left Household Title in the spring of 2008 and have worked with several regional title companies since, including, First Class Title, Inc., in Rockville, Maryland, Monarch Title, Inc.’s in Georgetown, and, most recently, I was managing Champion Title’s Maryland & DC offices.   Currently, I am a Senior Settlement Consultant back with my buddy Adam at Household Title & Escrow, LLC.

Throughout, my primary focus remains on real estate law, residential and commercial settlements and matters arising out of and connected to those practice areas.  During this time, I was also engaged in the private practice of law with a focus on real estate and distressed property related issues.  Additionally, I served in managment capacities for both Monarch Title and Champion Title and I had primary responsibility for managing Champion’s REO relationships with Fidelity Residential Solutions (FRS), Atlas REO Services, and Lender Processing Services (LPS).  Finally, in my spare time, I close about 40 loans a month and am out there developing business for Champion Title.

I am currently barred and am in good standing in the State of Maryland (1996), the District of Columbia (1998), United States District Court for the District of Maryland (1998), and am admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States (2001).  I hold title insurance licenses in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia.  I am appointed as a title insurance producer by First American Title Insurance Company and Commonwealth Title Insurance Company.  Additionally, I am a member in good standing of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Montgomery County Bar Association, and the District of Columbia Bar Association.