APPLIED COMPLIANCE TRACK: Navigating the Complexities of RESPA Section 8 – Strategies for Compliance and Risk Mitigation

Director, Regulatory Counsel, Mortgage Bankers Association

Alisha Sears is Director and Regulatory Counsel in the Residential Policy and Strategic Industry Engagement Department at the Mortgage Bankers Association. Sears covers legal issues, trends in litigation, and regulatory compliance matters, and staffs the Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Committee and the Regulatory Compliance Subcommittee. Prior to joining the MBA, Sears was with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). Sears is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the American Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee, and Women in Housing and Finance.

Of Counsel, Katten & Temple, LLP

Brian Levy, Of Counsel with Katten & Temple, LLP in Chicago, provides practical, creative and industry leading guidance for mortgage lenders and related providers. Brian has unique vision and experience enabling him to offer actionable counsel on matters such as RESPA (MSAs, AfBAs, etc.), LO compensation, mortgage repurchase defense, loan sale agreements, marketing, transactions and business structuring and enforcement issues. Brian is the author of the provocative and widely read Levy’s Mortgage Musings blog at www.mortgagemusings.com and is a frequent conference speaker, magazine contributor and podcast guest. Brian was General Counsel from 1994-2009 for a mid-sized midwestern bank and its 3 mortgage banking subsidiaries and prior to that worked for 5 years in commercial real estate law.

Partner, Co-Chair of the Banking & Consumer Financial Services Practice, Goodwin

Matt Sheldon counsels many of the nation’s largest banks, mortgage lenders, and fintech companies on their most sensitive regulatory, enforcement, and litigation matters. His practice focuses on helping those clients successfully align their business goals and strategies within the complex framework of federal and state regulatory requirements. Much of his work centers on assisting clients with their supervisory relationships, whether in the examination, investigation, or enforcement context. Matt is a partner in Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation practice and he serves as co-chair of Goodwin’s Banking and Consumer Financial Services practice. He is also the Head of Goodwin’s Litigation Practice for the Washington, DC office. Matt is top-ranked by both Chambers USA and The Legal 500 US, with Chambers recognizing him as “a very thoughtful regulatory and litigation attorney, with a practical mindset toward complicated and often ambiguous issues.” Although Matt specializes in advising clients on residential mortgage lending matters, he counsels and represents clients regarding a broad array of consumer financial services and products, including credit cards, payment systems, insurance and reinsurance, and ERISA-covered retirement plans.

Partner, Husch Blackwell LLP

Mike is a partner at Husch Blackwell who recently came to the firm after more than a decade at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he played a central role in writing some of the agency’s most impactful rules and guidance, Mike advises the firm’s consumer finance clients on regulatory compliance matters. Mike’s consumer finance practice blends both mortgage and non-mortgage lending and draws on his broad portfolio of CFPB work. His core areas of focus include mortgage origination and consumer lending, particularly Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) section 8 issues and TILA loan originator compensation rules; UDAAP; regulations involving innovation, technology, and digital marketing tools; small-dollar lending; deposits; and debt collection.