Hawkins And Parnell

FDIC Targets Lawyer in Bad Loan Suit

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is suing an Alpharetta, Ga., law firm and one of its partners for legal malpractice in connection with a $2.8 million loan that was among a portfolio of bad loans held by Integrity Bank of Alpharetta when it failed.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, accuses Jampol, Schleicher, Jacobs & Papadakis and partner Michael E. Jacobs of mishandling the closing of a 2005 loan to a Smyrna, Ga.,  investment company. As a result, Integrity was unable to foreclose on Savannah, Ga., property that was supposed to have secured the loan, according to the FDIC amended complaint.

The FDIC, as receiver for Integrity Bank, is seeking at least $1.1 million in actual damages, as well as unspecified punitive damages, legal fees and expenses from the firm and Jacobs.

In an affidavit filed with the suit on behalf of the FDIC, attorney Michael S. Reeves of Friend, Hudak & Harris in Atlanta asserted that the legal representation provided by Jacobs and his firm was "substandard" and "constitutes legal malpractice." Reeves was enlisted as an expert by the FDIC to review the legal malpractice allegations.

Integrity Bank failed and was shut down by the FDIC in August 2008 for operating in "an unsafe and unsound manner."On Friday, Jacobs referred questions to his attorney, Christine L. Mast at the Atlanta offices of Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young. Neither Mast nor Matthew G. McLaughlin, who is listed as Mast's co-counsel for Jacobs and the firm on the federal complaint, returned calls for comment.

Jampol Schleicher is now known as North Atlanta Law Group. Its four name partners, including Jacobs, remain the firm's principals, according to its website. Jacobs said the firm's decision to change its name several years ago was not related to the FDIC suit, which the FDIC filed last October.

Kyle M. Keegan, an attorney with the Baton Rouge, La., firm of Roy, Kiesel, Keegan & DeNicola, which is representing the FDIC in its malpractice complaint, referred all questions to the FDIC's public affairs office in Washington.

Cova joins Hawkins, Parnell & Thackston | Illinois Lawyer Now

Reno Cova has joined Hawkins, Parnell & Thackston, LLP as an associate in the St. Louis office.

He represents businesses and individuals in various types of liability defense and litigation, including FELA defense litigation, toxic tort, business litigation, personal injury, premises liability, product liability, and insurance and bad faith litigation. Reno has experience handling matters in all facets of litigation, including advising clients on litigation avoidance, pre-suit liability and/or coverage analysis, and handling all phases of active litigation including alternate dispute resolution and trial.

Reno earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 2004.

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