Akerman Senterfitt Opens Office in Salt Lake City and Marks Important Expansion of National Consumer Finance Practice Group

Akerman's 78-Lawyer Consumer Finance Team One of the Largest in the United States

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Aug 09, 2011, 12:45 ET

SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Akerman Senterfitt, one of the top 100 law firms in the United States, today announced the opening of a Salt Lake City office, the 19th office overall for the firm, and an important expansion of its National Consumer Finance Practice Group.

Joining Akerman in Salt Lake City are shareholders Robert Scott and Chandler Thompson. Both are additions to Akerman's consumer finance team, which has added 50 lawyers during the past 12 months. The practice group's total of 78 lawyers across 19 offices represents one of the largest teams in the nation of lawyers dedicated to consumer finance litigation and compliance matters.

Scott is an experienced consumer finance litigator, also practicing in the areas of natural resources and commercial litigation. He most recently was a shareholder with Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy. He is admitted to the bar in Utah and Tennessee.

In addition to consumer finance litigation, Thompson has handled a variety of commercial litigation matters. He also joins from Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, where he was a shareholder. He is a member of the executive committee of the Salt Lake County Bar Association and is admitted to the bar in Utah and Georgia.

"Financial institutions have confronted increasingly complex challenges over the last several years—this last year in particular," said William Heller, chair of the Akerman National Consumer Finance Practice Group. "We continue expanding to support our clients nationally in litigation, operations and compliance matters while concentrating on being a centralized and uniform group. Rob Scott and Chad Thompson fit right in, adding to our individual and class litigation experience and geographic reach."

As part of a firm with deep banking roots, Akerman's consumer finance team builds upon a long-standing commitment to the industry. Early on in the firm's history, Akerman was instrumental in the creation of one of the 10 largest banks in the nation. Akerman leaders have served in many key leadership roles with regulatory and industry groups including the Florida Bankers Association, National Association of Mortgage Brokers and Consumer Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board. Recently, Akerman lawyers have counseled financial institutions throughout the financial crisis on a range of regulatory, transactional and litigation matters.

Akerman's National Consumer Finance Practice Group represents mortgage loan originators, servicers and investors in class and individual lawsuits, bankruptcy adversary cases, contested foreclosures, and regulatory compliance matters. In addition, the group concentrates on repurchase and recovery litigation, with emphasis on investigating and prosecuting origination fraud working closely with federal and state regulators and law enforcement. The Akerman team includes more than 100 lawyers and legal professionals, with a platform for national litigation outsourcing, case management and coordination, including direct litigation through the firm's 19 offices.

About Akerman Senterfitt

Akerman is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the United States by The National Law Journal NLJ 250 (2011) in number of lawyers and is the leading Florida firm. With 500 lawyers and government affairs professionals, Akerman serves clients throughout the United States and overseas from Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., California, Colorado, Virginia, Nevada, Utah and Texas. More information can be found at www.akerman.com or www.twitter.com/akerman_llp.