The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Board of Directors has elected attorney Jim Milano to join its ranks, according to an announcement from his law firm McGlinchey Stafford.
“As one of the country’s leading lawyers in reverse mortgage law, Jim regularly reviews and designs proprietary reverse mortgage loan programs and advises clients on compliance with the Federal Housing [Administration] (FHA)’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program,” the firm said in its announcement.
“He also works with lenders, servicers, and settlement service providers, including appraisal management companies, to resolve federal and state regulatory investigations, including defending and settling civil disciplinary enforcement actions,” the firm added.
Milano described his nomination and election to the NRMLA Board as an honor.
“Having been involved in the reverse mortgage industry and NRMLA for many years, I have continued to participate in the industry trade association at its conferences and as a member representative on several of its committees,” Milano told RMD. “And members of my firm have also joined in and participated on committees and attended and supported conferences, and will continue to do so. I am delighted that I will be able to continue that participation and support at the Board level.”
In an interview with RMD this past summer, Milano recounted joining a law firm around the year 2000 that included helping to develop a proprietary reverse mortgage loan from Financial Freedom. That product and company are long gone, but a resurgence of private-label reverse mortgage products has given Milano a chance to work on them further.
For many years, Milano helped serve as outside general counsel for NRMLA at a previous law firm, saying that working with the association allows him a greater level of involvement in industry affairs.
“There’s this line from the play [‘Hamilton’] about being ‘in the room where it happens,’ you’ve got to be in the room,” he said in August. “And serving NRMLA in that fashion, I had a seat at the table. Early on I worked with other lawyers, but as time went on, I feel like it’s pretty accurate to say that I was sort of the point person in supporting NRMLA.”
NRMLA also recently re-elected industry professionals Scott Norman and Mike Kent to their roles as NRMLA co-chairs, in addition to filling out Board officer positions.
