Smith Dollar Announces Three New Attorneys Join Firm

Santa Rosa, CA, April 09, 2010 --(PR.com)-- The Santa Rosa firm of Smith Dollar PC announced today the addition of three new attorneys to it its firm. Ronald Arlas, Matthew Chavez, and Douglas Schwed will further enhance the firm's already extensive lineup of experience in mortgage litigation, real estate and financial services.

Ronald Arlas was formally counsel to three national mortgage companies. He specializes in mortgage banking advice and litigation. He has been counsel of record in over 250 mortgage banking lawsuits in more than a dozen states on behalf of wholesale mortgage banking clients. Arlas received his JD at the University of Michigan Law School and is currently licensed to practice in California State and Federal Court.

Matthew Chavez was formally with Lanahan & Reilley specializing in the areas of mortgage fraud, title insurance analysis, counseling & litigation. He is a graduate of Columbia Law School where he was the editor of the Columbia Law Review. Chavez has been heavily involved with the development and support of legal aid programs that provide quality civil legal service to impoverished clientele in areas such as landlord/tenant relations, consumer matters, and government benefits. Chavez is currently licensed to practice in California, Washington, D.C., and New Mexico.

Douglas Schwed brings to Smith Dollar PC his extensive bankruptcy and civil litigation experience representing clients in the mortgage banking industry with an emphasis on loss mitigation and asset recovery resulting from mortgage broker and appraisal fraud, title insurance and escrow fraud, and loan repurchase defaults and director and officer liability and fraud. Schwed is a graduate of Gonzaga School of Law and is currently licensed to practice in Washington & Oregon.

Smith Dollar PC is a premier real estate and financial services law firm providing legal services to individuals and businesses in California. Our clients include financial institutions, mortgage lenders, loan servicers, secondary market investors, investment bankers, home builders and contractors. The firm accepts transactional and litigation matters arising anywhere in California and handles mortgage fraud cases for lenders and secondary market investors on a nationwide basis.

Smith Dollar PC's in-depth industry knowledge and broad legal experience allows its attorneys to offer legal counsel grounded in business reality. Our attorneys understand that litigation, though often a necessity is not the focus of our clients. Located in California Wine Country, Smith Dollar PC is one of the only firms north of San Francisco providing litigation and transactional representation to the mortgage banking and financial services industry.

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