The litigation boutique Reilly Pozner has been selected to The National Law Journal?s inaugural Litigation Boutiques Hot List, an exclusive group of 10 firms in the country ?that take second place to no one in courtroom skill.?

Reilly Pozner is one of those firms ?important clients turn to for state-of-the-art advocacy in bet-the-company cases,? the Journal reported. ?They also represent an avenue to practice high-end law on a more human scale than perhaps is offered by larger firms.?

With just under 30 lawyers, Reilly Pozner has roughly tripled in size since it was established it in 2000. Many of its lawyers are younger than 40 years old. All of its lawyers, except former state appellate court judge and partner Sean Connelly, are based in Denver. Connelly heads the firm’s Washington office which opened last year. While an assistant United States attorney, Connelly was the lead appellate lawyer in the Oklahoma City bombing prosecutions. In all, the firm has served as lead counsel in more than 40 states.

In an interview with the Journal, co-founding partner Dan Reilly discussed prominent cases in which the firm has recently been involved, one of which many believe will wind up before the Colorado Supreme Court. He also talked about the firm?s mantra which devolves from the firm?s unique logo, a gargoyle. The mantra flowing from the medieval guardian is ?Protect and Prevail?. However, co-founding partner Reilly points out the firm?s bold choice for branding itself hardly reflects a traditional approach to practice.

Garrett Pat Puckett was born March 12, 1977 to Patrick Marshall Puckett and Gloria jean Doriocourt. Garrett was named for his maternal great grandfather Garrett Talley; and his fraternal great uncle Patrick Williams, who was known as uncle Pat and a hero of WWI. Garrett?s father, was from a long line of ranchers from the Red river county decided to shorten the Patrick to the famous Pat Garrett who killed Billy the Kid. Garrett is a 5th generation Texan and has spent about half of his life in Houston Texas.

At age 11 Garrett Puckett moved from Houston, Texas to Charlotte North Carolina. Garrett Puckett grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, but he also spent many of his holidays and summer visits in the great State of Texas. After college at Appalachian State University, and a small stint in Florida, Puckett decided to move to Austin, Texas. Friends and family would describe Garrett as well versed (and experienced) in having the expected “Southern Charm”.

Austin went through a technology downturn as well as a recession from 2001-2003. During that period the tech industry crashed, and Garrett Puckett purchased his very first house at the age of 23 and weathered the downturn by taking a management position at Home Depot while studying to become a real estate agent. Garrett Puckett soon started working as a loan officer and utilized his Texas Real Estate license as the only loan officer in his office with a real estate license. Garrett was a top performing loan officer and originated loans for many Americans and Veterans including Texas Senator, Jefferey Wentworth. Garrett remembers Senator Wentworth to this very day b/c the senator invited Garrett to the capital building and to dine with him.

The mortgage industry was constantly changing and Garrett wanted to utilize change with his professional growth. He further diversified his skills by obtaining his securities license thus allowing him to assist clients with a broad spectrum of financial services. Joe Scaparra aka ?scrap? a former Veteran who flew A 10 Warthogs was Garrett Puckett?s mentor in the financial services industry. Joe Scaparra trained Garrett Puckett in most every aspect of wealth management, asset allocation, and financial planning. Joe Scaparra knew Garrett Puckett would be successful because of his strong desire to succeed, honesty, accountability and genuine desire to help people.

Security America Mortgage, Inc., Security America Realty, Inc., Security America Insurance, Inc. and Security America Financial, Inc. are thriving. Garrett Puckett and Sebastian Burfitt over the years have made working with Veterans their priority. Garrett Puckett services veterans with many websites that cater towards working with veterans. Garrett Puckett helps service veterans with a variety of websites and has a team of VA Loan Expert that are the best in the industry at originating, processing, and underwriting VA loans. His company Security America Mortgage, Inc. works with Veterans every day and has thousands of references.

Garrett Puckett makes people the center of his attention by using tons of online alternatives to long distance social networking and communication. Some of the websites he uses as well as a few of his company websites can be viewed below:

Company Websites

VA Home Mortgage Loans with Security America Mortgage, Inc.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (?SEC?) finalized its new ?net worth standard for accredited investors? rule, which will take effect on February 27, 2012, ending the regulatory limbo that existed after the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act on July 21, 2010.

The Act gave the SEC directives to implement regulations based on the guidelines and framework outlined in the Act. Two new provisions that impact individuals have made their way into the final rule. Business Compliance Partners analyzes these provisions.

Grandfathering Provision

The rule includes a grandfathering provision that permits the application of the former accredited investor net worth test when an investor qualified as an accredited investor on or prior to July 20, 2010, before the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act.

The grandfathering provision allows such an accredited investor to exercise pre-existing rights to acquire securities if the accredited investor also held securities of the same issuer on or before July 20, 2010.

Mortgage Debt Increases before the Sale of Securities

A 60-day look-back provision was also introduced in the final rule. The purpose is to identify any increases in mortgage debt over the 60-day period preceding the purchase of securities. Net worth is reduced by the amount of the incremental debt incurred within the 60-day period. This is to prevent investors from borrowing against their primary residence in order to qualify as an accredited investor.

Since the value of an investor?s primary residence will now be excluded from the net worth calculation, investors may be tempted to convert their home equity into cash or another allowable asset.

The SEC wants to prevent unregistered securities from being sold to investors with limited assets other than their homes. The SEC is also seeking to discourage financial advisors from recommending that their clients use their home equity to help them qualify as accredited investors.

Background

The two new provisions were added in response to several comments that the SEC received. Before a rule becomes final the SEC releases a proposed rule and allows interested parties to review it and voice concerns or make comments. Based on feedback received, the SEC may choose to make amendments to the proposed rule. The SEC may also choose to extend the comment period if important issues have been raised in previous comments.

Other Changes

A natural person is considered an accredited investors if individually, or jointly with their spouse, they have a net worth of more than $ 1,000,000 excluding the value of their primary residence. Any debt that is secured by the person?s primary residence in excess of its estimated fair market value at the time of the sale of securities will be included as a liability in the net worth calculation.

The SEC is authorized to review the term ?accredited investor? as it applies to natural persons, and in its entirety every four years beginning four years after the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act and may make adjustments.

The Comptroller General of the United States is also tasked with examining the criteria needed to qualify for accredited investor status and eligibility to invest in private funds.

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Related Mortgage Press Releases

Total Mortgage Services, LLC, a leading mortgage lender, announced today the hiring of Neil Bader as the Company?s National Retail Sales Manager. To this important management position, Mr. Bader brings more than 25 years of production, leadership, and entrepreneurship within the mortgage industry. In his new role, Mr. Bader will be responsible for expanding Total Mortgage?s successful retail channel, as it continues its nationwide growth. Mr. Bader will be based in Milford, Connecticut and report directly to John Walsh, President of Total Mortgage.

?Neil is a focused and experienced mortgage professional, who has demonstrated consistent success in expanding and managing sales teams, while increasing their production in the most responsible manner,? commented John Walsh, President of Total Mortgage. ?We are excited to have someone with Neil?s entrepreneurial and leadership background to help us build out our retail production platform. Our ability to close mortgages in 21 days or less is a tool that Neil will utilize in expanding this channel.?

Prior to joining Total Mortgage, Mr. Bader was National Retail Sales Manager at Guaranteed Home Mortgage Company, where he built the lender?s national retail operation. Previously, Mr. Bader was an Area Sales Manager in New York for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, where he ran the retail and private mortgage banking teams, which grew into the largest volume mortgage originator in the New York area.

Mr. Bader is the former Chief Executive of Skyscraper Mortgage Company, where he began as a Sales Manager in 1989. He became the CEO in 1992. Upon its merger with rival IPI financial in 1999, Mr. Bader became the Chief Executive of the combined IPI Skyscraper, where he oversaw $ 2.5 billion in originations and a staff of 300 sales professionals.

Mr. Bader is a graduate of University of Rochester and was until recently Vice Chairman of Habitat for Humanity NY. Mr. Bader remains a member of this charity?s Board of Directors.

About Total Mortgage Services, LLC

Total Mortgage Services, LLC, is an industry-leading direct-to consumer and wholesale mortgage lender. The company was founded in 1997, and has been included in the Inc. Magazines’ list of America’s Fastest Growing companies in 2011 and 2010 and holds Better Business Bureau ?A? ranking since 1997. Licensed in 25 states and the District of Columbia, Total Mortgage offers a variety of products and programs including fixed-rate loans, adjustable-rate mortgage loans (ARMs), jumbo loans, FHA mortgages and more. In 2010, Total Mortgage launched its wholesale lending platform TMS Funding. For current mortgage rates,FHA mortgage rates, jumbo mortgage rates, ARM rates or for more information on Total Mortgage, please visit http://www.totalmortgage.com.

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L2C, Inc., a leader in delivering advanced consumer intelligence solutions, announced today that Michael Hall and Jay Duff have joined the company in key executive positions.

Michael Hall, now L2C?s Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer, joins L2C from Epsilon Targeting where he was Executive Vice President and General Manager. At Epsilon Mr. Hall led the integration of the Direct Marketing Services (DMS) business purchased from Equifax, and was responsible for generating all data targeting revenue. From 1999-2008, as General Manager, Mr. Hall was instrumental in successfully growing Equifax?s DMS business which was eventually sold to Epsilon Targeting. Mr. Hall brings 25 years of experience leading technology and data-driven, service-based organizations. He led sales organizations at Epsilon, Equifax and Trans Union during periods of strong growth, and has been responsible for both core credit bureau and credit marketing sales.

?L2C?s data assets are growing exponentially, and continuing to productize these in innovative ways allows us to provide our clients and prospects with unique and valuable solutions,? said Mike Mondelli, L2C?s CEO. ?Michael?s experience and understanding of data product development and sales in both risk and marketing services will provide our customers with additional tools to profitably acquire and manage customers.?

Jay Duff, Chief Information Officer, joins L2C from Promiss Solutions, a national provider of consumer finance and mortgage services. As CIO at Promiss, Mr. Duff led technology strategy development and managed its nationwide facilities with a department of over 150 professionals. He brings 25 years of experience aligning technology initiatives to business objectives, including 12 years of experience in financial services implementing innovative solutions to leverage large data sources. Mr. Duff also led teams at Chevrolet, AstraZeneca, IMS Health, and LandAmerica through periods of strong growth. He brings L2C a wealth of experience in Infrastructure optimization, security compliance and in the development and implementation of technology based production platforms.

?We are thrilled to have Michael and Jay join us at this exciting time,? continued Mike Mondelli. ?With the growth we are experiencing, having two new executives with histories of managing in rapidly expanding markets and organizations strengthens our position for the future.?

About L2C

L2C is the nation?s leading provider of advanced consumer scoring and analytics solutions. L2C leverages alternative payment and asset data to create new predictive credit, collection and marketing scores for over 260 million Americans. L2C’s clients include leading institutions in the financial service, retail, healthcare, automotive, telecommunication, and media and entertainment industries. For more information regarding L2C or its products and services, please visit http://www.L2C.com or contact L2C at 404-601-3420.

L2C and the L2C logo are trademarks of L2C, Inc. All other names or product names mentioned in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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More Mortgage Press Releases

Rates on the most popular types of mortgages moved downward, hitting new record lows, according to HSH.com’s Weekly Mortgage Rate Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by 4 basis points (0.04 percent) to 4.03 percent. Conforming 5/1 hybrid ARM rates decreased by 6 basis points, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 2.96 percent.

“We’ve been holding near record lows for a number of weeks, so it took only a little downward blip to get us to new record levels,? said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. ?Potential borrowers who were waiting to get through the busy holiday season before getting refinances or purchases started have been rewarded for their patience.”

Gumbinger noted, ?Should these rates attract enough borrowers, the increased demand might cause rates to firm up a little in coming weeks ? so there’s little point in waiting to get a refinance started.?

Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the week ending January 10 were, according to HSH.com:

Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage

Security America Mortgage, Inc. proudly announced the release of ten (10) brand new VA Home Loan websites that were officially launched onto the internet as of February 6, 2012. The newest website features include Relocation Services and State/City Location Resources, such as VA Facilities, demographics, and much more.

Veterans purchasing a home in 2012 can now take advantage of the new relocation services provided by the VA Loan Industry Experts. The addition of relocation services increasingly helps military service members who are either moving to one of the state websites soon or are already looking for a home to purchase in a certain area narrow down their choices.

Security America Mortgage, Inc. is the leading advocate of VA home loan lending, as well as a supporter of many military services within the United States ? which include (but are not limited to) the following services and topics:

After a recent upward blip, rates on the most popular types of mortgages retreated again this week, according to HSH.com’s Weekly Mortgage Rate Radar. The average rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by 5 basis points (0.05 percent) to 4.03 percent. Conforming 5/1 hybrid ARM rates decreased by a single basis point, closing the Wednesday-to-Tuesday wraparound weekly survey at an average of 2.99 percent. These average rates remain barely above record lows.

Slow economic growth in the U.S. and abroad has had a dampening effect on both inflation and interest rates. ?Optimism about the direction of the economy was dimmed somewhat after the Federal Reserve meeting last week,? said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. “That Fed members expect low short-term rates to persist well into 2014 is a sign that weak economic growth will be with us for some time yet to come.?

?There is some growing speculation that the Fed may again be called upon to provide additional support for the economy in the form of a new mortgage or Treasury bond-buying program at some point this year,? said Gumbinger. ?Any move would further underscore how poorly the economy is performing, but might foster even lower mortgage rates, should it come.”

Average mortgage rates and points for conforming residential mortgages for the week ending January 31 were, according to HSH.com:

Conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage

When buying a home in the state of Texas, with its flourishing employment opportunities and growing home expansions spreading faster than any other state in the nation, military families moving or living in cities such as Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas can expect to receive all sorts of VA Loan funding from mortgage lenders, especially in 2012. Security America Mortgage, Inc., a renowned mortgage lender in Texas, recently launched their website ?VA Texas Loans? purely for the purpose to provide specialized VA Loan and Real Estate services to the Texas locations only.

So, why would a family finance a home with a VA Loan compared to a conventional loan or an FHA loan? There are several reasons a VA Home Loan is one of the fastest growing mortgage loans being used to finance homes for military affiliated individuals who qualify to receive this type of funding. These reasons can be summed up in the following list of ten VA Loan Advantages:

1.

The real estate industry nationwide may have had a few tumultuous years after the great recession, but there are plenty of markets that have weathered the storm and are stable and even showing signs of improvement. Homes.org recently released their list of the top 9 markets to watch in 2012.

The list was compiled using various market factors including, affordability, appreciation potential, price stability, area unemployment/job potential, and median price. When taking these factors into consideration, the real estate markets below stood out as top performers where buying a home is likely to be a good investment.

Top 2012 Real Estate Markets

Washington, DC ? The Washington, DC area has held strong over the last year. According to the Clear Capital Home Data Index? December Market Report, The Washington, DC / Arlington, VA / Alexandria, VA area has experienced quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year gains with a low 11.7% REO saturation rate.

Santa Fe, NM ? Santa Fe didn?t suffer as huge a price drop as many areas of the country, and homes in the city are expected to increase in price by more than 9% over the next five years. Santa Fe also has an low unemployment rate of 5.4% and high median income making it a great place to settle in.

Bremerton, WA ? This city also has a somewhat low unemployment rate of 7.9%, high median income and expectations for the home prices to increase more than 9.5% by 2016.

Orlando, FL ? A number of Florida cities have shown signs of recovery in 2011 but home prices are still well below their peaks from a few years ago making them a good place for buyers to consider investing in. This is especially true in Orlando where there have been gains all year long and unemployment has started declining.

Rochester, NY ? The Rochester real estate market has started to stabilize, so much so to the point that it has one of the highest major market year-over-year gains of 5%.

Austin, TX ? As a technological center, Austin, TX has avoided a fair amount of the unemployment trouble the rest of the country is experienced. The city also didn?t have a housing bust so gains and recovery will be easier than in other areas.

Houston, TX ? Houston is another Texas city that hasn?t had severe price drops and is in fact gaining quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. The Clear Capital Home Data Index? December Market Report lists the Houston, TX as the 5th best performing market in the U.S.

Cambridge, MA ? Cambridge, a suburb of Boston, MA, is one of the smaller markets on the list. As reported already, the Boston area has avoided a serious hit to their real estate market thanks to stronger employment and not having experience severe price drops.

Chicago, IL ? The Chicago, IL area was listed on Clear Capital list of top performing major markets in December. It?s one of the major markets in the Midwest, which is the region that has experienced the highest quarter-over-quarter gains.

To find more information on mortgage rates, homes newly listed for sale and real estate resources, please visit: Homes.org

About Homes.org

Homes.org is a fast growing real estate search portal that offers users much more than MLS listings. Homes.org gives users access to a rich collection of resources, including but not limited to, real estate listings, home owner finance tools and home service tools. Homes.org brings buyers, sellers and renters important information about the current markets and intelligent tools by partnering with real estate professionals from around the country. Homes.org is a subsidiary of Star Nine Ventures, Inc. headquartered in Austin, TX.

About Star Nine Ventures