‘Homeless Halloween’ Firm Goes Under

[Donnachaidh]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/homeless_halloween_firm_goes_under.php?ref=fpnewsfeed_beta

The 89 employees of a New York law firm specializing in foreclosures who dressed as homeless people during an office Halloween party last year have been thrown out on the street.
SLIDESHOW: The Homeless-themed Halloween Party

Steven J. Baum P.C., a firm that specialized in foreclosures, is closing its doors a month after photos showing employees celebrating Halloween by dressing like the homeless surfaced in a New York Times column by Joe Nocera. Nocera wrote a follow up column this weekend, in which he quoted an angry email he received from Mr. Baum himself. The firm announced the shuttering via press release and was reported by the NYT:

“Disrupting the livelihoods of so many dedicated and hardworking people is extremely painful, but the loss of so much business left us no choice but to file these notices,” said Mr. Baum in a press release issued on Monday. A firm spokesman said it would have no further comment beyond the release…

On Saturday, Joe Nocera, The Times columnist who originally wrote about the firm’s Halloween party, published another column about the controversy. In it, he quoted an e-mail that Mr. Baum had sent him last week.

More at the link --

[Scurrilous]

1. Alas...

:P

[FSogol]

2. Karma on Line 1

:shrug:

[Donnachaidh]

4. That was Stealth speedy Karma!

:rofl:

[whathehell]

11. Almost Instant Karma, one could say!

[eShirl]

3. Karma - it's what's for dinner. n/t

[temporary311]

5. I normally wouldn't gloat over folks losing their jobs, but...

/gloat.

[Phentex]

6. They can buy candy corn with food stamps next year...

poor things.

[woo me with science]

7. Wow, that's about as perfect a circle as you can draw. nt

[whathehell]

8. Can you say "Poetic Justice"?

[Ruby the Liberal]

9. This makes my day!

Cleanup on aisle 4!

:rofl:

[Lucinda]

10. Thanks for the followup info

:hi:

[Control-Z]

12. How long before they get it?

“Mr. Nocera — You have destroyed everything and everyone related to Steven J. Baum PC,” said the letter. “It took 40 years to build this firm and three weeks to tear down.”

[csziggy]

13. They deserved everything that happened and not just for that party

November 21, 2011, 2:51 pmLegal/Regulatory
Foreclosure Firm Steven J. Baum to Close Down
By PETER LATTMAN

<SNIP>

Mr. Baum and his colleagues have come under fire for their foreclosure-related legal work. They are one of numerous firms across the country that represent banks and services in trying to foreclose on the millions of homeowners who have defaulted on their loans. Some of these firms’ aggressive, and, in some cases, duplicitous practices, have earned them the moniker “foreclosure mills.”

The Baum firm’s tactics, which included the “robo-signing” of documents, has been among the most criticized. Last year, a state-court judge in Brooklyn called one foreclosure filing from the Baum firm that he said contained numerous falsities “incredible, outrageous, ludicrous and disingenuous.”

Last month, the firm struck a settlement with the United States attorney in Manhattan, which had been investigating the Baum firm and whether, on behalf of its lender clients, it filed misleading legal papers to expedite foreclosures. The firm agreed to pay a $2 million penalty and vowed change its practices to resolve the case.

More: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/foreclosure-firm-steven-j-baum-to-close-down/

[friendly_iconoclast]

14. Forgive me, but the feeling of schadenfreude is overwhelming.

I might feel half-sorry for these assholes a little later, but not just now...

[CTyankee]

15. What a sniveling bastard that guy Baum is!

I hope those 89 former employees have learned a lesson in humility...

It's amazing how fast this thing unravelled for the firm. I'm wondering why work dried up so fast for him...

[Ruby the Liberal]

16. Apparently, both Fannie and Freddie dropped the firm from their accepted firm list

in the last 2 weeks.

http://www.housingwire.com/2011/11/15/freddie-mac-tells-mortgage-servicers-not-to-use-baum-law-firm

:D

[CTyankee]

18. Har de har har...that'll do it!

Nothing like a public shaming to make your bizness go cold...:evilgrin:

[JVS]

17. May they never find work again.

[sarcasmo]

19. Kick!