4/19/2012 - Tom Fritzlen was elected to the Legal League 100 Inaugural Advisory Board, and will Chair the Client Relations Subcommittee. The announcement was made at the Legal League 100 Spring Servicer Summit in Dallas.

4/14/2012 to 4/18/2012 - Attorney Kevin McManus, in his capacity as Missouri State Representative, will travel to Brazil as a member of a Missouri trade delegation lead by Governor Jay Nixon. The delegation hopes to expand new markets, increase Missouri’s exports to Brazil, and expand cultural and educational partnerships. Read the whole story here.

2/21/2012 to 2/24/2012 - Berry F. Laws, III, Tom Fritzlen and Jane Woll attended the MBA’s National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo in Orlando, FL.  Tom spoke on the panel for Litigation Update:  Addressing the Challenges of HAMP and HAFA. 

1/10/2012 - Berry F. Laws, III, Thomas J. Fritzlen, Amy Wilson and Jane Woll attended and participated in the Denver REO/Default Symposium put on by the Default Attorney Group. Tom spoke on the panel for Foreclosure Basics for the REO Department, as well as Emerging Municipal Regulatory Enforcement, Violations and Liens & Property Preservation. Amy spoke on the panel for The Closing and Issues Effecting Title/Closing.

11/3/2011 - Attorney Amy Ryan publishes two articles in the August 2011 release of the USFN Report newsletter. Click on a link below to view the article.

Tearing Down Invisible Walls Substantive Consolidation in Chapter 11

Claimant Standing: A Proposed Local BK Rule

10/12/2011 - KC Connections has named Desarae Harrah as one of the 2011 top 40 professionals in Kansas City under forty. Only Kansas City's top professionals were given consideration for this honor. Desarae was chosen for her dedication to the community, outstanding leadership qualities and charitable spirit! Congratulations Desarae!

9/27/2011 to 9/-30/2011 - Berry F. Laws, III attended the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association Convention, which was held at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas, TX.

9/21/2011 - Berry F. Laws, III, Thomas J. Fritzlen and Beverly M. Weber recently attended the Default Attorney Group training session in Columbus, OH. Beverly spoke on bankruptcy, Tom spoke on foreclosures and both Tom and Berry spoke on Hot Topics.

9/15/2011 to 9/18/2011 - Berry F. Laws, III and Tom Fritzlen attended the USFN Executive Servicer Summit held in White Sulpher Springs, WV. 

9/11/2011 to 9/13/2011 - Dallas, TX.  Berry F. Laws, III, Tom Fritzlen and Jane Woll recently attended The Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo held at the Hilton Anatole.  During the conference the Legal League 100 held a symposium, in which Berry served on the panel for Current Housing Market and Economy - Is Recovery on the Horizon?  Tom also was the facilitator for the panel entitled Foreclosure Insight. 

8/28/2011 to 8/30/2011 - Berry F. Laws, III attended the 39th Annual Western States Loan Servicing Conference in Las Vegas.

8/17/2011 to 8/19/2011 – Berry F. Laws, Thomas J. Fritzlen and Jane Woll attended the 2011 LPS Default Servicing Conference in Denver, CO.

8/3/2011 to 8/6/2011 – Amy T. Ryan, Mindy Maune and Carrie Mermis attended the NACTT Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA.

7/30/2011 to 7/42011 – Berry F. Laws, III and Jane Woll attended the CoreLogic Conference and CitiFinancial Attorney Summit in Orlando, FL.

8/19/2011 to 8/22/2011 – Berry F. Laws, III attended the ALFN’s 9th Annual Leadership Conference in Bonita Springs, FL.

8/23/2011 Sara Faubion has been selected to participate in the 9th annual Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association's Bar Leadership Academy. The academy's purpose is to solicit and select emerging bar leaders who represent a cross section of the greater Kansas City legal community.

8/1/2011 Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen, PC was recently featured on the Giants of Default web page.  Visit the webpage here.

7/15/2011 Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen, PC is pleased to announce that Mandi R. Hunter has been named a Partner with the firm. Mandi practices in the areas of business and commercial litigation and will lead the Special Assets Group for the firm. She has been with MLL&F since 2005.

View Mandi Hunter's profile here...

7/8/2011 We are pleased to announce the launch of our premier issue of "In Session", a new quarterly newsletter from Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen, P.C. We hope this newsletter will be entertaining and useful in the day-to-day management of your business. Your feedback is both appreciated and welcome. To subscribe to the newsletter, email MLLFnewsletter@mllfpc.com.

7/5/2011 Robert D. Kroeker - Over the past twenty years Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen, P.C. has enjoyed substantial success in representing lenders both as plaintiffs and as defendants. Most recently, one of our partners, Robert D. Kroeker, was victorious in his defense of a bank in a "lender liability" suit filed by a commercial real estate developer seeking over $23 million in damages in Kansas state court. The plaintiff filed claims against the lender, including breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with prospect business advantage and duress.

After extensive discovery Mr. Kroeker filed a motion for summary judgment and ultimately prevailed on all counts. Among other things, the court confirmed that there is no stand-alone cause of action for duress in the state of Kansas. Duress can be raised only as a defense. The court also held that any agreement to lend money in the future, e.g. to keep renewing a promissory note, is a credit agreement and is required to be in writing under the Kansas statute of frauds. The court further acknowledged that a lender-borrower relationship does not constitute a fiduciary relationship barring special circumstances.

Over the past several years commercial borrowers have been severely impacted by our distressed economy. Lenders have experienced and can expect to continue to face lender liability suits raising novel and creative theories of recovery. Frustrated borrowers are looking for some way to recoup their losses and some will bring such suits to pressure the lender into financing or otherwise settling with the borrowers to avoid lengthy and costly litigation. These attacks should be defended vigorously and aggressively. For further information, call Bob Kroeker at 816.221.1430.

6/27/2011 Desarae Harrah (Kansas City – Business/Real Estate Litigation) has been elected to the Kansas City Centurions' Steering Committee. Sponsored by the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Centurions Leadership Program's two-year prepares a representative cross section of the community's emerging leaders for their role in shaping the future of Kansas City.

Miss Harrah will be responsible for establishing specific Committee goals and responsibilities, managing the standing committee assignments, performing the initial review of special projects and situations that require consideration by the active members, and facilitating continued focus on how Centurions can become more engaged in service and leadership roles.

The primary goal of this role is to work with The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce to foster an environment in which the membership has significant opportunity to effectively learn, serve and lead in the Greater Kansas City area. Centurions currently has over 70 active members who represent corporations, government agencies, not-for profit organizations, and area universities.

5/19/2011 and 5/20/2011 Berry F. Laws, III, Tom Fritzlen and Desarae Harrah recently attended the Default Attorney Group's 2nd Annual Jacksonville Training in Jacksonville, FL.  Berry co-paneled Hot Topics, while Tom spoke on the panel for Foreclosure 101 and Desarae Foreclosure 102.  The training also covered bankruptcy and other trends in the mortgage industry.  It was very well attended.

5/9/2011 to 5/11/2011 Berry F. Laws, III and Tom Fritzlen attended HousingWire's 2011 REthink Symposium, which was held in Pinehurst, NC.

5/14/2011 Richard Martin attended CoreLogic's 2011 Worm Burn charity golf tournament in Austin, TX. The tournament raises money for organizations such as the Capital Area Food Bank, the American Red Cross, and the American Cancer Society to name a few. Richard's team finished nine under par, and the winners finished 15 under par.

4/7/2011 and 4/8/2011  Berry F. Laws, III and Jane Woll attended the Legal League 100 Symposium held in Dallas, TX.  Berry was a co-moderator for the session on New World Order: Governments Role in Mortgage Banking.

3/30/2011 Berry Laws was interviewed by KMBC 9 news about a funeral home receivership that he administered.  See the interview here…

3/30/2011 Default Attorney Group announces the induction of two new law firms.  Read the article here…

3/27/2011 Attorney David P. Renovitch published an article in The March/April edition of REOMAC magazine.  The article is titled, "The Rise in Sanctions for E-Discovery Violations." Read Article

3/23/2011 to 3/25/2011 Berry F. Laws, III, Thomas J. Fritzlen and Jane Woll attended the USFN’s Loan Management Conference in Orlando, FL.

3/20/2011 to 3/24/2011  Desarae Harrah attended the Independent Community Bankers of America Annual Convention in San Diego, CA.

3/14/2011 to 3/17/2011 Berry F. Laws, III attended the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association’s West Conference in New Port Beach, CA.

2/22/2011 to 2/25/2011  Berry F. Laws, III, Thomas J. Fritzlen, Desarae Harrah and Jane Woll attended the MBA's National Mortgage Servicing Conference and Expo, which was held in Dallas, TX.  Desarae Harrah spoke on the panel regarding Litigation Updates.  Pictured are Tom Fritzlen and Jane Woll working the Default Attorney Group (DAG) Booth in the Exhibit Hall.

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