Phillip M. Adleson, Esq.
Senior Shareholder, Adleson, Hess & Kelly

Mr. Adleson has been a real estate attorney since 1976 and is a licensed California real estate broker. He is the senior shareholder in the law firm of Adleson, Hess & Kelly, a Professional Corporation. He graduated with a Juris Doctor, Cum Laude, from University of Santa Clara School of Law, 1976. Mr. Adleson and his firm are rated “AV” (the highest rating available for both legal ability and ethics) by Martindale-Hubbell, Inc., the oldest and most respected attorney information publication in the country. He has been repeatedly listed in Northern California Super Lawyers magazine in the area of real estate, a designation conferred upon him by San Francisco magazine and by nomination of his peers.

Mr. Adleson is corporate counsel for both the California Mortgage Association (“CMA”) and for the United Trustee’s Association (“UTA”; a multi-state association for the default services industry). Mr. Adleson is a past President and Legislative Chairman for UTA’s predecessor, the California Trustees Association ("CTA") and currently he serves as a director of UTA. Mr. Adleson has represented numerous lenders, trustees, purchasers, sellers, title companies and others in trials, arbitrations, DRE licensee administrative hearings, appeals, amicus curiae briefs, class actions, unfair business practices action and in many other areas involving real estate, lending and foreclosure. Mr. Adleson is a past instructor of real estate and foreclosure classes at DeAnza Community College and San Jose State University and has taught numerous DRE and CLE approved continuing education classes throughout the world. He has also presented legal update programs and seminars for UTA, CMA, the National Business Institute, and bar associations and has been a speaker for CMBA, REOMAC, the California District Attorney’s Associations as well as for numerous other groups. Mr. Adleson is a former attorney for the California Court of Appeal and has testified before the judiciary committees of both the California Assembly and California Senate, in addition to drafting proposed legislation that has ultimately become law in California. He has frequently been retained as a consultant or expert witness in lending, foreclosure and other real estate matters. Mr. Adleson can be reached via telephone (408/341-0234) or via email at padleson@ahk-law.com. [top]

Mr. Kelly has been a practicing attorney for 32 years, focusing on the fields of bankruptcy and real estate since 1976.  A summa cum laude graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law, he is a founding member of, senior attorney in and shareholder of the law firm of Adleson, Hess & Kelly, A.P.C.  Since 1982, Mr. Kelly has been a speaker at numerous industry seminars, focusing on the subjects of bankruptcy and foreclosure law and related legislation.

He is the author of numerous articles and books relating to the fields of real estate, bankruptcy and foreclosure.  He recently successfully litigated a multi-million dollar case in bankruptcy court entitled In re Cecconi (2007) 2007 Bankr. LEXIS 1323. He has successfully prosecuted or defended numerous appellate cases.  He co-authored the successful amicus brief filed on behalf of the California Trustee’s Association in the landmark case of I.E. Associates v. Safeco (1985) 39 Cal.3d 281 and authored the successful amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court case of BFP v. Resolution Trust Corporation, 511 U.S. 531 (1994).  Other key and landmark appellate cases for which Mr. Kelly has been engaged and won include Ung v. Koehler (2005) 135 Cal. App. 4th 186; Nguyen v. Calhoun (2003); Prudential Home Mortgage v. Superior Court (1998) 66 Cal.App.4th 1236); Abdallah v. United Savings Bank (1996) 43 Cal.App.4th 1101; Apte v. Japra (In re Apte) 96 F.3d 1319 (9th Cir. 1996); Lindsay v. Beneficial Reinsurance Company 59 F.3d 942 (1995) (amicus brief author); City of Cupertino v. Perry; (1988) (unpub); Katz v Peelle Financial (1987) (unpub).

Richard Witken, Esq.
Attorney, Witkin & Neal Inc.

Richard G. Witkin has been a member of the California State Bar since 1975. For the past 24 years, he has specialized solely in the area of real property secured transactions.

Mr. Witkin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Colorado State University and attended law school at the UCLA School of Law where he obtained his J.D. degree in 1975.

Mr. Witkin was formerly a litigation attorney with the Beverly Hills firm of Levinson, Rowen, Miller, Jacobs & Kabrins. Thereafter, he was a Staff Attorney, and then Director of, the UCLA Legal Aid Clinic from 1977 through 1987 and a member of the faculty of the UCLA School of Law from 1980 through 1987.

After leaving UCLA, Mr. Witkin served as Vice-President and General Counsel of Fidelity Trustee Service, an independent foreclosure trustee. At Fidelity, Mr. Witkin supervised over 5,000 non-judicial foreclosures of deeds of trust and assessment liens and conducted hundreds of foreclosure sales. His areas of expertise extend to complex fore-closure issues including mixed collateral, multiple collateral and deficiency judgments.

Mr. Witkin is currently a member of the United Trustee's Association and has attained the highest level of expert certification by the association. He is also a member of the Real Property Section of the California State Bar. He has lectured on foreclosure issues to various groups including the Beverly Hills Bar Association and the Association of Professional Mortgage Women.

A partial list of older lectures and published articles includes:

• Enforcing Security Interests in Real and Personal Property in California;
• Avoiding Impediments to Real Estate Foreclosures;
• Negotiating the Foreclosure Maze;
• Methods of Acquisition of Distressed Properties;
• Everything You Wanted to Know About Foreclosures;
• Recent Developments in Real Property Foreclosures;
• Choosing Between Judicial and Non-Judicial Foreclosure;
• Homeowners Association Options at Time of Foreclosure Sale;
• Homeowners Association Options After a Senior "Wipe-Out".

Recent articles (2006 and later) and lectures, both published and unpublished, include:

• The Right of Redemption After Non-Judicial Foreclosure of Assessment Liens (2006)
• Summary of the New Pre-Lien Requirements Under the California Civil Code (2006)
• Summary of Board Responsibilities Under the Revised Assessment Lien Laws (2006)
• Limitations on Foreclosure Under the Newly Revised Assessment Lien Laws (2006)
• Summary of "ADR" and "IDR" Laws Applicable to Assessment Lien Collections (2006)
• Judicial vs. Non-Judicial Foreclosure in the Enforcement of Assessment Liens (2006)
• The Effect of Priority on Enforcement of Assessment Liens (2006)
• Association Options at Time of Foreclosure Sale (2006)
• Collection of Association Fines in Small Claims Court (2006)
• Association Options When Faced With a Senior "Wipe-Out" (2007)
• Senior "Wipe-Outs" of HOA Delinquent Assessment Liens (2010)
• HOA Delinquent Assessment Liens and Short Sales (2010, Reprinted 2011)
• Collection of Delinquent Assessments and the FDCPA (Focus Magazine, Jan. 2010)
• Homeowners Delinquent Assessment Liens and Short Sales (Focus Magazine, Jan. 2011)
  
  
• Guest Lecturer, Loyola Law School – Real Property Secured Transactions – March, 2007
• Featured Speaker - Beverly Hills Bar Assoc - Real Prop. Section – October 2007
• Instructor – "Foreclosure 101" -Sponsored by United Trustee's Assoc. – February, 2009
• Featured Speaker - Arab American Lawyers Association – April, 2009
• Featured Speaker - Beverly Hills Bar Association - Real Property Section - April, 2009
• Featured Speaker - Community Associations Institute (CAI) - June, 2010
• Featured Speaker - Burbank Bar Association: "Recent Developments" - November, 2010
• Speaker - Beverly Hills Bar Real Property Section: "Wrongful Foreclosure" March, 2011

Expert Witness - State and Federal Courts (numerous cases)

In addition to being a licensed attorney, Mr. Witkin is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker and a Notary Public.

Mr. Witkin currently advises the foreclosure trustee firms of Witkin & Eisinger, LLC in Burbank, California and Witkin & Neal, Inc. in Van Nuys, California. [top]

Mr. McGuinn has authored many legal articles for real estate-related publications and is a frequent speaker throughout the United States on matters relating to creditors’ rights, including the February 2003 and 2005 Mortgage Bankers Association Loan Servicing Conference speaking on Avoiding Risk and Responding to a Crisis in the Servicing of Defaulted Real Estate Loans and New Product Lines:  Reverse Mortgages and Interest Only Loans. Mr. McGuinn co-authored for National Business Institute California Foreclosure and Repossession in 1995 and 1999.  He authored  the amicus brief filed on behalf of UTA and other trade organizations in Nguyen v Calhoun (2003) 105 Cal. App. 4th 706 and Bank of America vs. La Jolla Group (2005) 129 Cal. App. 4th 706 and Kachlon vs. Markowitz  (2008) 168 Cal. App. 4th 316.

The Honorable Roger L. Efremsky
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of California

Education:
- Bachelor of Science, Menlo College (1978)
- Juris Doctor, Santa Clara University (1983)

Appointed:
- United States Bankruptcy Judge Northern District of California (2006)

Practice:
Founder and partner of Efremsky & Nagel (1990-2006) specializing in representing creditors in federal bankruptcy and state court proceedings with an emphasis on the representation of secured creditors in consumer and commercial matters. [top]

JOE SOLSENG
Vice-President, Robinson Tait, P.S.

Joe Solseng is vice-president of Robinson Tait, P.S. and a graduate of Columbia University and Seattle University School of Law. Mr. Solseng is licensed to practice in Alaska, Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, and Washington and has significant trial and litigation experience in all aspects of default-related legal matters. He has been involved in all aspects of Nevada mediations since the program began. [top]

Richard Chambliss
Shareholder, Broening, Oberg, Woods & Wilson, P.C.

Richard Chambliss is a shareholder in the law firm Broening, Oberg, Woods & Wilson, P.C. Over the last twenty-five years, he has been involved in all aspects of real estate-related representation, including escrow, title insurance, and foreclosure matters. He has lectured for the Maricopa County Bar Association, Scottsdale board of Realtors and the Arizona Trustee Association on real property, foreclosure and civil litigation matters. He is a member of the Maricopa County Bar Association and the State Bar of Arizona. He is licensed to practice in Arizona as well as before the District Court of Arizona and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has been actively involved in the Arizona Trustee Association, serving on the Board of Directors, the Convention Committee, chairman of the By-Law Committee and Chairman of the Education Committee. Currently, he is President of the Arizona Trustee Association and has chaired or co-chaired the Legislative Committee for the last five years. [top]

Brandie Peeples
MERS

Brandie H. Peeples joined MERSCORP, Inc., in January 2008 as in-house counsel for the corporation. As a member of the MERS team, she oversees the management of litigation, advises attorneys around the country on how to enforce and defend MERS liens, and is responsible for handling legal inquiries about MERS from MERS members and the mortgage industry.

Before joining MERS, Brandie was a litigator with law firms in Ohio and Virginia. She is licensed to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia. Brandie earned a BA in Mass Media Arts from Hampton University and a J.D. from The University of Akron. [top]

The Honorable Scott C. Clarkson
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Central District of California

Scott C. Clarkson was appointed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California on January 20, 2011. Judge Clarkson sits in the Santa Ana Division of the Central District of California and hears Chapter 7 and 11 cases filed in both Riverside and Santa Ana Divisions. Judge Clarkson is a member of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Federal Bar Association and serves as the Judicial Chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute's Battleground West Conference.

Judge Clarkson received his B.A. from Indiana University, Bloomington, and his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the Law Review. Judge Clarkson is admitted to practice in California, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Judge Clarkson clerked for United States District Judge William L. Hungate (E.D. Mo.) and served as a Legislative Assistant to United States Representative Harold L. Volkmer during the 95th through 97th Congresses. In his latter role, he was a direct observer of, and participant in, the creation of the 1978 Bankruptcy Code. Judge Clarkson engaged in private law practice in California from 1989 through his appointment to the bench, specializing in complex Chapter 11 reorganization cases and bankruptcy litigation.

Judge Clarkson is also a noted Documentary Photographer. His 2007 book "Windows to Vietnam - A Journey in Pictures & Verse", now in second edition, was chosen as "editors pick" by the United States Military Academy (West Point) Association of Graduates, 2008. As a photographer, Judge Clarkson has traveled to Afghanistan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Kashmir, and Peru, resulting in a number of photography exhibits. For cameras, he uses a Hasselblad 500c/m (120 film), a Leica M7 (35 mm film), a Leica M9 and Leica M8 (35 mm digitals), a Nikon F100 (35 mm film) and a Nikon 90 (35 mm digital). [top]

The Honorable Peter Wentworth Bowie
Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California

Currently Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, Judge Bowie graduated from Wake Forest College (now University) in 1964, served four years in the United States Navy with two Viet Nam tours, then attended the University of San Diego School of Law. After graduating magna cum laude in 1971 he was a trial attorney in the Honors Program in the United States Department of Justice, followed by fourteen years in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, the last six of which he served as the Chief Assistant United States Attorney.

While a lawyer, and then as a judge, Judge Bowie served on the Review Department of the State Bar Court concerned with attorney discipline. In 1995 he was appointed by the late Chief Justice Rehnquist to the Codes of Conduct Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. After serving eight years with that Committee he was appointed by the Judicial Conference as a liaison to the ABA's Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code of Judicial Conduct, which concluded its work in 2007. In Fall, 2009 he was appointed to serve as a member of the Judicial Advisory Committee of the ABA's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

Judge Bowie is on the Executive Board and a Master of the Louis M. Welsh Inn of Court (No. 9); a founding board member of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, San Diego; and a member of Rotary Club #33. He is married to Sarah, and they have two grown and self-supporting children, Heather Kaye and Gavin Bowie. [top]

Jonathan D. Jaffe
Partner, K&L Gates

Mr. Jaffe works with banks, savings associations, mortgage bankers and brokers, consumer and commercial finance lenders, real estate professionals, and e-commerce companies. He advises clients in the areas of general corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate, consumer and commercial lending, and secured transactions. In addition, he also counsels clients on matters involving e-commerce and electronic delivery of financial services. [top]

Catherine M. Brown
Managing Director, Treliant Risk Advisors

Catherine Brown is a Managing Director of Treliant Risk Advisors. Catherine is also a specialist in Consumer Compliance and advises clients on regulatory requirements and trends in Fair Lending, Community Reinvestment Act programs, Anti-Money Laundering, and Enterprise Risk Management. Catherine has designed and implemented regulatory compliance programs for large, complex institutions. She has considerable experience in managing relationships with federal regulatory agencies, which includes preparing banks to anticipate and respond to regulatory inquiries and remediation.

Catherine previously consulted in the Financial Institutions Risk Management practice of Crowe Horwath, LLP where she provided significant thought leadership and advisory support in matters pertaining to consumer compliance, enterprise compliance management, and ERM. Catherine is also an experienced operating executive, having held senior management positions at Citizens Financial Group (the U.S. Bank holding company of Royal Bank of Scotland), and its predecessor bank, Charter One Bank. During her tenure, she chaired and participated in various corporate governance committees related to major consumer and enterprise risk management issues. Most notably, Catherine served as Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Compliance and Ethics Officer for this major banking institution.

Catherine received her J.D. from the University Of Dayton School Of Law, an M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University, and is active in the American Bar Association. [top]

The Honorable Bruce T. Beesley
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, District of Nevada

Judge Beesley was sworn in as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Nevada on January 3, 2011. Judge Beesley was a practicing attorney for approximately 30 years, specializing in bankruptcy and civil litigation matters. He began doing bankruptcy work in approximately 1980. He represented creditors' committees, trustees, debtors and creditors in bankruptcy. Judge Beesley's practice also included civil and business litigation, and expert advice or testimony regarding bankruptcy and secured transactions. He has taught and been a presenter at several seminars regarding various bankruptcy related topics and has been co-author on several articles in business publications.

Judge Beesley was certified in creditors' rights by the American Board of Certification in 2003. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and a board member of the Southwest Bankruptcy Conference. He served as a lawyer representative for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. He was a member of the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Nevada from 2000 to 2010 and president of the State Bar from 2008 to 2009. He is a Master Emeritus member and past president of the Bruce R. Thompson American Inns of Court. [top]

Jonathan M. Zak
Partner, Wright Finlay & Zak

Jonathan M. Zak is a partner with the law firm of Wright, Finlay & Zak, LLP. He is a litigation attorney that has specialized in representing lenders, loan servicers, foreclosure trustees and title companies for over 25 years in both state and federal court. WF&Z provides legal services throughout California, Arizona and Nevada and is a member of the Fannie Mae Retained Attorney Networks in California and Nevada. Jonathan is an active member of various real estate associations and resides with his wife Paige and their three sons (ages 13, 10 and 8) in North Tustin, California. [top]