LITIGATION FORUM TRACK: Key State Cases and Trends and Bankruptcy (Closed to Media)

Reid Manley

Partner, Burr & Forman, LLP

Reid focuses on financial services litigation, representing clients across the country and serving as a leader in several national attorney organizations. With a practice concentrated on consumer finance, he primarily represents mortgage companies. Other clients include credit card companies, personal finance firms, automotive finance businesses, and debt collectors. He has defended clients in single plaintiff cases, as well as mass actions and class actions filed by consumers. He also handles general commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, insurance coverage disputes, and repurchase or make-whole disputes. Reid is a Fellow in the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, which is comprised of lawyers from the U.S. and Canada who are highly skilled and experienced in the preparation of real estate mortgages, lending transactions secured by real estate, and related practices. He also is a Fellow in the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, where membership is limited to those who have achieved preeminence in the field of consumer law and who have made substantial contributions through teaching, lecturing, and public writings. In addition, Reid is a member for the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, an international group of leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction. He is a former board member of the FDCC, which pursues a balanced justice system and represents those in need of a defense in civil lawsuits.

Simon A. Fleischmann

Partner, Locke Lord LLP

Simon Fleischmann is Deputy Chair of Locke Lord’s national Financial Services Litigation Practice Group. He advises banks and non-bank financial services providers in complex litigation and regulatory enforcement matters across the country. He has tried jury and non-jury cases, argued in federal and state courts of appeal, and effectively responded to investigations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Illinois Attorney General. Most of the matters Fleischmann handles involve consumer-related operations, such as loan origination and modification practices, payment application procedures, website accessibility, online payment fees, collateral preservation procedures, default servicing procedures, debt collection, outbound calling practices and related technology.

Brian McGrath

Partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Brian McGrath counsels companies on a wide range of complex commercial legal issues. As the co-chair of the Hinshaw and Culbertson’s Consumer Financial Services Practice Group, he has helped clients navigate litigation involving financial services, intellectual property, antitrust, and white-collar criminal investigations throughout his career. An outside-of-the-box thinker, McGrath partners with his clients to provide them with simple, tailored solutions for their legal problems. In recent years, Brian has leveraged his broad experience to focus on serving clients in the financial services industry. He works with a number of financial institutions—including mortgage loan servicers—regarding lender liability and consumer protection statutes. He also handles complaints concerning the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), as well as regulatory issues involving Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) enforcement actions.