Summary: Hundreds of attorneys and staff were suddenly without jobs when their employer, law firm Butler & Hosch made the announcement four days ago that it was closing.
The law firm Butler & Hosch made a sudden announcement to employees on May 14 through an internal memo that the firm was closing. An attorney familiar with the firm said there are around 30 lawyers and 100 staff working in the Florida offices now out of a job. The firm had an office in Texas and several other states as well.
Butler & Hosch worked primarily on foreclosure, bankruptcy, title disputes and other real estate matters by representing mortgage lenders and servicers. They were handling up to 60,000 foreclosure cases nationwide when they closed. The firm is currently trying to get their debts in order in a state court civil case that is similar to bankruptcy, known as an “assignment for the benefit of creditors”.
Attorney Roy Kobert of GrayRobinson in Orlando is representing the firm in all legal matters. An outside manger, Michael Moecker, has been called to put the firm’s financial affairs in order.
Business in the foreclosure industry took off during the recession but offices like Butler & Hosch have struggled since the foreclosure rate has decreased. Butler & Hosch tried to acquire other firms in the last year as an attempt to address the slowed business.
One of the firm’s founders and CEO, Bob Hosch, blames the attempted expansion for the ultimate failure of the firm. He stated in his final memo to employees that “BH grew too fast and could not merge processes from the acquired entities quickly enough to meet our economic forecasts”.
The firm sought other forms of funding without success. The final memo to employees also noted that there was not enough cash on hand to fund payroll for the week and thanked the employees for their support and loyalty.
Photo: business.glbtchamber.org
So sad. Gosh, I hope the banksters who hold the mortgages for these unemployed lawyers will will be moved by the financial hardship the lawyers may face. How heartbreaking if any of the people who profited by throwing fillies out of their homes had to see what that feels like,
Most of the people working in those firms aren’t lawyers. They analyze title, review notices, prepare documents, review bankruptcies, file proofs of claim, etc. Your compassion for them is duly noted.