Hudson Cook’s legal team has been recognized again; this time four attorneys are included in Chambers 2020 and 13 are included in The Best Lawyers in America 2021.
The firm recently highlighted partners Michael Benoit, Nikki Munro and Jean Noonan have been recognized by Chambers again with national rankings in the Chambers USA Guide in the Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance) department.
Meanwhile, partner Catherine Brennan has been recognized with a national ranking in the Chambers FinTech USA Guide for Corporate, Securities & Financing.
Hudson Cook is ranked nationally for these departments.
Chambers recommendations are based on several months of research by a dedicated, independent team conducting hundreds of in-depth interviews with leading innovators and experts worldwide.
In addition, 13 Hudson Cook attorneys were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2021, including four who are celebrating 10 years or more on the list and six new honorees.
Partner Ryan Stinneford was also named the Best Lawyers 2021 Banking and Finance Law Lawyer of the Year in Portland, Maine.
Attorneys named to The Best Lawyers in America are recognized by their peers in the legal industry for their professional excellence in 148 practice areas. This year, nominees from 22,257 firms resulted in more than 67,000 recognized lawyers in those areas.
Along with Brennan, Munro and Stinneford, the Hudson Cook attorneys recognized among The Best Lawyers in America included:
— Hurshell Brown
— Lisa C. DeLessio
— Katherine Fisher
— Ronald Gorsline
— Thomas Hudson
— Eric Johnson
— Rebecca Kuehn
— Curtis Linscott
— Wingrove Lynton
— Thomas Quinn Jr.
Spireon received a reason to be celebratory on a Monday morning amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Spireon announced it has been named a winner of the 2020 Excellence in Customer Service Award, presented by Business Intelligence Group. For the second year in a row, Spireon has won under the Organization of the Year category, as the company gained honors for its commitment to service and support for its more than 20,000 customers.
Spireon chief executive officer Kevin Weiss said in a news release, “2019 marked another outstanding year for Spireon as we strive to deliver meticulous, white-glove customer service and value every single day.
“We have always embraced a customer-first philosophy and winning this award two years in a row is a testament to our ability to continuously provide outstanding customer service,” Weiss continued.
Through the dedicated work of its customer service team, Spireon said it earned a net promotor score (NPS) of 76.7 in 2019, greatly exceeding the industry average of 26 for business-to-business technology companies. Spireon credits its high NPS score to comprehensive customer onboarding, diligent interaction with customers by multiple company teams and round-the-clock phone support from three U.S. call centers.
On average, customer service calls were answered within 42 seconds in 2019, a 28% improvement from the 2018 average of 59 seconds, according to Spireon.
“Year after year the role of customer service plays a more important role in all of our lives,” said Maria Jimenez, chief operating officer of the Business Intelligence Group. “We are thrilled to be honoring Spireon as they are leading by example and making real progress on improving the daily lives of so many.”
Organizations from around the globe submitted their customer service and success strategies and platforms for consideration in the BIG Excellence in Customer Service Awards. Nominations were then judged by a select group of business leaders and executives who volunteer their time and expertise to score submissions.
“Spireon stood out among its competitors as an industry leader in both customer service and innovation categories with its continued hardware and software releases throughout 2019,” the company said.
Nancy Fitzgerald, co-founder and chief executive officer of iLendingDIRECT Auto Refinancing, recently was named one of the 2020 Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce.
The award, now in its eighth year, has recognized more than 200 women who excel in leadership, mentoring and philanthropy in Denver and the surrounding areas. This year, Fitzgerald was honored along with 24 other influential female leaders in Colorado.
Fitzgerald brought her two children, ages 9 and 12, to the award ceremony.
“As a single mother and an entrepreneur, you have to make sacrifices to succeed. It’s important to me that my children understand that my achievements aren’t possible without their love and support,” Fitzgerald said in a news release. “I want my daughter to see herself in each of those women on stage and raise my son as a strong supporter of women in business.”
Fitzgerald unexpectedly became CEO in 2014 when her husband and co-founder of iLendingDIRECT, Patrick, passed away after a cycling accident. Since then, she led the company to placement on the 2016 Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies and expanded the business to include innovative new verticals.
Fitzgerald was among the Women in Remarketing honorees in 2016 highlighted by Auto Remarketing and Insights Success Magazine’s 30 Most Influential Women in Business. She also led her company to be awarded the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Ethics in Business in 2018 and was a nominee for the 2019 Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business.
Organizers of the North American Repossessors Summit (NARS) have announced the opening of nominations for their second annual Industry Awards. Designed to honor exemplary repossession professionals, this year’s award categories include Recovery Agent of the Year, Service Representative of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year and Agency Owner of the Year.
NARS officials said submissions can be made until March 6. The NARS committee will choose the top three nominations in each category before opening voting to the public to select winners.
“All nominees will be carefully vetted based on the quality and detail of submission and their contributions to the repossession industry,” officials said.
The awards categories are as follows:
Recovery Agent of the Year
The Agent of the Year Award honors the agent who has demonstrated outstanding professionalism, understanding of lender needs and full compliance with industry standards, as well as protection of the consumer's rights and safety.
Service Representative of the Year
The Service Representative of the Year Award represents someone who has shown exemplary performance and has consistently excelled in their position. This person demonstrates integrity, creates a positive atmosphere in their workplace, and displays a strong commitment to the mission and values of our industry.
Humanitarian of the Year
Humanitarian of the Year submissions showcase an industry professional of any position who contributes significantly to alleviating human suffering and improving the quality of life in their community. This person demonstrates leadership through outstanding volunteer accomplishments that bring honor to the collateral recovery profession.
Agency Owner of the Year
Finally, the Agency Owner of the Year Award will go to an owner who has at least a three-year commitment of excellence within their company and the collateral recovery industry. This person should also be able to document their commitment to professional education and compliance training as well as the use of innovation and creativity in enabling their company to prosper and extend its reach in the collateral recovery profession.
To submit someone for an industry award, go to reposummit.com.
As another member of the auto-finance industry became chairman of the American Financial Services Association’s board of directors, an executive who has been with Credit Acceptance since 1996 received AFSA’s Distinguished Service Award (DSA) during the organization’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn.
The association’s highest honor went to Charlie Pearce, who serves as the chief legal officer, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer for Credit Acceptance. He joined Credit Acceptance 23 years ago after a career in private practice with Rhoades, McKee.
The DSA is awarded to individuals who have contributed significantly to the industry and AFSA’s growth on a national level, advanced the association’s mission and objectives, and elevated its image.
Since Credit Acceptance joined AFSA a decade ago, the association highlighted that Pearce has helped leadership to assess and respond to the many challenges that confronted the industry in recent years. AFSA emphasized the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in 2011 opened a new era of regulatory challenges.
“In the midst of this new era, Charlie was part of the AFSA team that held early meetings with the newly formed CFPB in an attempt to bring some clarity to the path forward,” AFSA officials said
In 2018, Pearce was appointed to a two-year term as chair of the AFSA Law Committee. He also sits on the AFSA board of directors and the vehicle finance advisory board.
AFSA also gave its Distinguished Service Award to Greg Hamby, who serves as the senior director of Business Development at SourceLink.
Hamby began his career working for L.M. Berry & Company in 1986, which was acquired by Bellsouth Advertising & Publishing Co., three months later. He worked for BellSouth for nine years until he was hired by SourceLink in May 1995.
Hamby has been a member of AFSA’s business partner board since 2005 and currently serves as chairman, leading the group through an important period of development, as the industry adapted to new federal regulations and business practices.
“Moreover, he worked with the committee to adapt as the industry continues its digital transformation,” AFSA officials said. “While at the same time serving on AFSA’s board of directors, helping shape policy and direction for the association, Greg is a mainstay at AFSA conferences and readily shares his years of experience with everyone.”
New AFSA board leadership
AFSA closed its annual meeting by announcing its board of directors elected a new chairman, chair-elect and vice chairman-treasurer for the next 12 months.
Dan Chait, president of Southeast Toyota Finance was elected the new chairman of the AFSA board. Chait takes the gavel from outgoing board chair Josh Johnson, chief executive of Mariner Finance Co. who completed his one-year term.
Chait has been on the AFSA board of directors since 2015. He currently serves on the AFSA executive committee, vehicle finance board and AFSA investment policy committee.
Tom Hudgins, president and chief operating officer of Western Shamrock Corp. in Dearborn, Mich., was chosen as chair-elect of the AFSA board and will succeed Chait in 12 months. Hudgins has been a member of the AFSA board of directors since 2014 and has been a member of the executive committee since 2015. He also serves on the AFSA investment policy committee, operations committee, installment lending technology task force and on the AFSA state government affairs committee and several of its subcommittees.
Hudgins also is the former chairman of the National Installment Lenders Association.
Jim Drotman, executive vice president for the U.S. and Canada at Ford Motor Credit was elected vice chair – treasurer.
Hudson Cook announced this week that nine of the firm’s attorneys were recently selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2020, including four who are celebrating 10 years or more on the list.
The firm highlighted attorneys named to The Best Lawyers in America are recognized by their peers in the legal industry for their professional excellence in 145 practice areas. For The Best Lawyers in America 2020, nominees from 22,133 firms resulted in more than 62,000 recognized lawyers in 146 practice areas.
As a testament to their long-standing commitment to client service and practice in the industry, Richard Hackett is being recognized for the 19th time, Thomas Hudson for the 12th time, and Ronald Gorsline and Ryan Stinneford each for the 10th time.
The following Hudson Cook attorneys will be listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2020. The year next to each attorney’s name indicates the first year in which he was included in Best Lawyers:
Robert Cook (partner emeritus) Hanover, Md. (2019)
Financial Services Regulation Law
Ronald Gorsline, Ooltewah, Tenn. (2011)
Financial Services Regulation Law
Richard Hackett (partner emeritus) Portland, Maine (1995)
Financial Services Regulation Law
Thomas Hudson. Hanover, Md. (2009)
Financial Services Regulation Law
Eric Johnson, Oklahoma City (2012)
Banking and Finance Law
Commercial Litigation*
Financial Services Regulation Law
Litigation – Banking and Finance*
Curtis Linscott, Fort Worth, Texas (2019)
Financial Services Regulation Law
Wingrove Lynton, Hanover, Md. (2019)
Financial Services Regulation Law
Thomas Quinn Jr., Fall River, Mass. (2013)
Banking and Finance Law
Ryan Stinneford, Portland, Maine (2011)
Banking and Finance Law
Financial Services Regulation Law
* Eric Johnson’s recognition for Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Banking and Finance is for work done prior to joining Hudson Cook.
ALS Resolvion, a nationwide skip-trace and repossession management firm, has been selected as an honorable mention winner within Digital Defense’s 2018 Client Recognition Award Program, which recognizes organizations that display the highest level of network security.
This accolade arrived soon after ALS Resolvion was named the recipient of Digital Recognition Network’s 2019 Platinum Provider of the Year Award.
Out of 1,600 recurring vulnerability scanning and penetration testing clients, ALS Resolvion said in a news release that it was one of 48 presented with the honorable mention award.
“In this age of data breaches, it is encouraging to see our clients continuing to increase their focus on reducing risk by proactively mitigating network vulnerabilities,” Digital Defense president and chief executive officer Larry Hurtado said.
As one of the leading forwarding companies in the industry, ALS Resolvion works with sensitive information and utilizes a variety of data sources to secure more than 9,500 repossessions a month. This honor marks ALS Resolvion’s second overall Digital Defense award within the last three years.
“We take our data and network security very seriously and we invest a lot of resources in this area. The award from Digital Defense provides great validation of those efforts,” ALS Resolvion chief technology and compliance officer Keith Yarnell said.
Taking steps involving security likely was a part of ALS Resolvion collecting another award from DRN during the annual North American Repossessors Summit (NARS) held in Irving, Texas.
The award marks the third consecutive year that the forwarding company was honored by DRN for its role in the repossession industry. ALS Resolvion was the 2018 Gold Provider and is excited to be named the 2019 Platinum Provider for achieving the highest number of total repossession assignments and successful repossessions.
“We were excited to award ALS Resolvion with our 2019 Platinum Provider of the Year Award,” said Jeremiah Wheeler, executive vice president and general manager for fintech with DRN, which also is a member of the Auto Intel Council.
“DRN places tremendous value in our relationship with ALS Resolvion. Year after year, they continue to excel and set new standards for excellence. We are pleased to work with a company that is such a leader in the forwarding community,” Wheeler continued.
ALS Resolvion produced more than 92,000 successful repossessions last year. The award was accepted by ALS Resolvion president Jose Mendiola, who said, “We are honored to have received this prestigious award and it’s a testament to all of the hard work our team and network of agents have put in this past year. This is only the beginning for ALS Resolvion.”
Along with sharing details about a new affiliate benefit program, Digital Recognition Network (DRN) handed out its annual awards to companies that have demonstrated excellence in the repossession industry.
During an appreciation dinner in conjunction with the 2019 North American Repossessors Summit, DRN highlighted that two affiliates tied for the National Affiliate of the Year Award, which recognizes excellence in repossession operations and performance throughout the prior year. The accolade went to Associates Asset Recovery and Specialized Towing and Transportation.
“We are honored and humbled to recognize this year’s affiliate award winners,” said Andy Cameron, senior vice president of fintech at DRN, which also is a member of the Auto Intel Council.
“Our affiliates serve as profiles in excellence within the repossession industry, and our award winners literally go the ‘extra mile’ to provide the license plate scans that serve as the backbone of our organization,” Cameron continued.
DRN also honored eight affiliates with Top Gun awards — regional honors that recognize the companies for their innovation and leadership within the repossession industry in their regions. Those honorees included:
Western Region Top Gun Award
Coastline Recovery Services
South West Recovery
Eastern Region Top Gun Award
Dezba Asset Recovery
Thomas Recovery
Southern Region Top Gun Award
Hide and Seek Recovery
Oklahoma Repossessors
Midwest Region Top Gun Award
Relentless Recovery
Connect 1 Recovery
Additionally, DRN launched what it’s calling the Elevate the Agent member benefit program. This program rewards affiliates who record at least 250,000 license plate scans per month with incentives to elevate their role in the DRN Recovery Circle and receive better benefits by scanning more license plates.
The company explained the Recovery Circle consists of multiple member tiers offering benefits ranging from hardware credits and discounts to free license plate recognition camera systems.
“We are excited to share the Elevate the Agent’ program with our affiliates,” said Jeremiah Wheeler, executive vice president and general manager of fintech at DRN. “It is important that our affiliates know how much we value our relationship with them and the work they do for us.
“This program is designed to demonstrate just that — and to provide key benefits that make their jobs — and hopefully, their lives easier,” Wheeler went on to say.
For more details about the Elevate the Agent program, visit https://drndata.com/drn_elevate_the_agent/.
Toyota Financial Services evidently really likes the results the captive receives from Millennium Capital and Recovery Corp., since the auto-finance provider gave another honor to the forwarding company.
TFS recently handed its Recovery Services Excellence Award to Millennium Capital and Recovery as part of Toyota’s ongoing performance award program that is intended to drive performance results and a competitive spirit among the captive’s recovery service vendors.
Millennium Capital and Recovery added that the award recognizes a vendor’s recovery performance results and compliance and includes a “traveling trophy” that resides in the home office of the current champion for the quarter.
“Millennium is proud to be a long-term partner with Toyota. Our focus is always on providing best in class performance, industry-leading compliance, and world class service. Toyota’s standards of excellence have contributed toward our achieving the highest level of standard for both performance and compliance,” Millennium Capital and Recovery president Jayne Bronchetti said.
“We are honored to receive the recognition from Toyota Financial Services,” Bronchetti continued. “This Recovery Services Excellence Award is truly a team effort encompassing all areas of our business and embodying our teams’ commitments to leveraging technology to drive recovery performance, and to delivering excellence in compliance.”
Back in 2017, Millennium Capital and Recovery became the only recovery management and skip-tracing firm ever to receive the Kaizen Award from Toyota Financial Services.
“Millennium is dedicated to providing value enhancement, process improvement, and successful partnership strategies to our customers. It is a privilege to be a partner with such an outstanding organization as Toyota Financial Services,” Millennium’s chief managing officer Jeffrey Marsh said.
Millennium chief operating officer Scott Wilson added, “We are experiencing industry-changing improvements in recovery performance through the use of technology that is turning high volume transactional data into actionable information and business intelligence that drive our recovery decisioning, and it’s paying off for Millennium’s customers by raising the bar on attainable results.”
Vice president of business operations Diana Moeglin also reacted to the honor from TFS.
“We are proud of our team’s ability to deliver consistent and reliable compliance month after month to meet Toyota’s high standards for all providers. Our performance has been made possible by our recently completed technology platform designed to manage both the placement of assignments as well as our post-recovery performance,” Moeglin said.
“We fully expect our performance in these areas to continue to excel as our dedicated staff becomes more knowledgeable in the use of this technology and the related exception reporting,” she went on to say.
