Settlement Monitor Chooses Secondary Law Firms

The ""Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight"":http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/mortgageservicingsettlement recently chose five new firms to serve as its eyes and ears on the ground as the $25 servicer settlement grinds forward.

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The new secondary professional firms ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô including BKD, LLP; Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP; Crowe Horwath, LLP; Grant Thornton, LLP; and McGladrey, LLP ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô will assist settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr., over the next three and a half years.

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According to a release, each firm will assist BDO Consulting, a division of BDO USA, LLP, and the primary professional firm responsible for evaluating servicers Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.

""Each secondary professional firm has a high level of expertise that will bring the detailed, independent attention we need to monitor this settlement,"" Smith said in the release.

He said that he worked closely with BDO to select the final list of firms.

""I am confident that these six accounting firms make up the blend we need to fully implement the settlement,"" he added.

Appointed by state attorneys general, Smith leads the office as it oversees compliance by the servicers with terms under the historic settlement from earlier this year.

He had said in past interviews with _DS News_ and _MReport_ that his office would select and appoint the primary and secondary professional firms later this year.