Teamwork and Training, part 2.

Ms. Coon is a shareholder in the Michigan-based law firm of Trott & Trott. This viewpoint is the second part of an article she wrote about the foreclosure process. The first part ran in the April edition.

Increasing case loads, while welcome, have also tested our people skills over the years. For many years, our industry followed an "assembly" approach, where one person or team did each part, or step, of the foreclosure process. Some firms have moved to a client-based team structure, which has proven to be extremely successful. For example, Trott & Trott has 11 presale teams of four to eight people, each led by a foreclosure attorney and a staff supervisor. For our largest clients, the working relationship may be "one client-one team." Each team becomes an expert regarding its clients, creating outstanding client rapport with servicers (first name basis!) and optimum efficiency. The client has one team phone number, one team fax number and one team e-mail address. Upon receipt of a foreclosure referral, we understand the sense of urgency, that "first legal action date" clock is ticking fast. Through the years, we have also put a premium on "growing from within" by encouraging staff continuing education, both in-house and attendance at nationally sponsored seminars, conferences and courses, as well as offering in-house training for our servicing clients.

In some cases, staying abreast of local procedures and legal reforms can help us. In Michigan, a non-judicial foreclosure state, a significant change in state law now allows us to start publication without a recorded assignment into the name that we are foreclosing on. This has greatly sped up the process of obtaining that all-important first legal action date, as we race against ourselves to get the proper assignment before the foreclosed property goes to sale.

Technology to the Rescue

Technology is our great ally in meeting the interrelated goals of speed, security, accuracy, cost efficiency and client communications.

As another example, just over a year ago our firm launched Veritas, a custom case management software program, that we believe to be one of the best in the industry. Just a few of the criteria that Veritas has successfully met include:

* Process workflow management and tracking of exception files.