Anne E. Sutherland has joined Ballard Spahr as of counsel in the Mortgage Banking and Consumer Financial Services Groups, firm Chair Mark Stewart has announced. Sutherland brings to the firm more than 20 years of experience, both in-house as general counsel and chief compliance officer for several national mortgage banking companies as well as in private practice. At Ballard Spahr, she will help clients comply with the increasing number and scope of regulations governing the mortgage banking industry, particularly those issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). She also will assist in developing implementation plans that fold those requirements into a client’s day-to-day operations.
“Anne’s in-house perspective makes her uniquely well positioned to help clients navigate what has become a fairly intense regulatory environment,” said John D. Socknat, a leader of Ballard Spahr’s Mortgage Banking Group. “Anne is very well known in the industry for her legal skill but also her sound judgment and business acumen. She is a terrific addition to the Group and to the firm.”
Sutherland is particularly noted for her work representing mortgage loan originators and servicers. She has experience handling the purchase and sale of whole loans and mortgage servicing rights, and she counsels on the full range of federal mortgage banking and servicing-related statutes and regulations. Her private practice experience includes counseling clients on foreclosure look-back audits and assisting auditors with state law foreclosure issues.
Ballard Spahr’s Mortgage Banking Group provides regulatory compliance advice to clients in both the residential and commercial mortgage banking industries. Attorneys in the Group handle issues related to repurchases, state and federal licensing, transactions, due diligence and audits, litigation, and administrative enforcement.
“Ballard Spahr has become a force in the mortgage banking industry, and its Consumer Financial Services Group is known nationwide for its skill in handling CFPB regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement matters,” Sutherland said. “In addition, the firm has a national platform that will help me develop my practice and better serve clients. This is a very good fit.”
