National State Attorneys General Program Holds Discussion on $25 Billion Foreclosure Settlement
Panelists Discuss Process by Which Bank Settlement was Negotiated by State Attorneys General and Implications for Future Policy
New York, March 2, 2012—On Feb. 23, National State Attorneys General Program Director James E. Tierney moderated a discussion at Columbia Law School concerning the recent $25 billion settlement involving foreclosure practices. The settlement, announced Feb. 9, was the result of prolonged negotiations by state attorneys general, federal agencies, and the nation’s five largest loan servicers.
The discussion featured Tierney, Associate Professor of Law Robert J. Jackson, Jr., and James Millstein, CEO of Millstein & Co, LLC. Panelists discussed the process by which the settlement was negotiated and its implications for housing-finance policy going forward.
A video of the talk can be viewed here.
Tierney has taught as a lecturer-in-law at the Law School since 2000. He served as the attorney general of Maine from 1980 until 1990. He currently practices as a consultant to attorneys general and others regarding state regulatory structures and multi-state initiatives.
Jackson’s research at the Law School emphasizes empirical study of executive compensation and corporate governance matters. Before joining the faculty in 2010, he served as an advisor to senior officials at the Department of the Treasury and in the Office of the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation. Before that, he practiced in the executive compensation department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz.
In his previous role as the chief restructuring officer of the U.S. Treasury, Millstein was the Treasury official chiefly responsible for the recently announced AIG Restructuring Plan. He has worked as a close aide to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Before joining the Treasury, Millstein was a managing director in the restructuring group at Lazard. Prior to that, he practiced as a bankruptcy attorney at Cleary, Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, where he was head of the restructuring practice.
More information on the foreclosure settlement can be found here.