(logo) Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund Inc.

ATG, Now More than Ever

Advocating for Lawyers and Their Clients

ATG recently announced that it will be acquired by Guaranteed Rate Companies. The feedback from our shareholders and agents has been very positive. Many have asked some great questions and raised some important points.

If Not for ATG...

The most important questions are existential, but understanding the context is important: The business model ATG invented allowed lawyers to provide title services through an attorney-owned underwriter, "The Fund." If not for ATG, lawyers would have lost the battle to stay in the practice of representing consumers in the largest financial transaction of their lives.

Today, ATG’s model is ubiquitous: lawyers provide title services in virtually all transactions in most parts of Illinois. Will the acquisition of ATG by Guaranteed Rate put that model at risk? Will ATG’s advocacy efforts on behalf of lawyers be set aside? We ask that you spend a few moments reading our thoughts on this subject. And bear in mind an ironic fact: The lawyers most concerned about their fate are those who support the same underwriters and service companies we battled for our very survival. But for ATG, the livelihood of those lawyers would not exist. The proverb, "Physician, heal thyself," applies here — the legal profession needs to join us as we march into the future: You need ATG, now more than ever.

Our Long History of Defeating Threats

Younger lawyers will benefit from understanding our journey: The work ATG has done in support of the profession since 1964 is the reason lawyers are still an integral part of the real estate conveyancing process.

When we started ATG or "The Fund," our competitors fiercely fought back. They sued us and failed. They introduced legislation to prohibit lawyers from providing title services. We fought back and the legislation was never enacted. They tried to get the ABA and ISBA to enact ethical rules against us. Those not only failed but backfired as both associations enacted rules in support of our mission. In 1981, the general counsel of the national trade association for title insurers published an article where he referred to the movement of lawyers writing title polices, "like a chronic infection the bar fund movement has resisted all our efforts to eradicate it and, if left to fester, could ultimately contaminate the entire commercial title insurance market."

Today, many large title insurance underwriters view lawyers as an expensive distribution model for their product...a necessary evil. Do they appreciate or understand the significant role lawyers play in the examination of title and the representation of buyers and sellers? History indicates they do not. Relatedly, do today’s lawyers even remember a time before lawyer-agent programs? We learned something important in a recent meeting when a leader among Chicago real estate lawyers pointed out that many lawyers today don’t remember the threats the real estate bar has faced. She further noted that they don’t recognize that many of these threats remain today.

Competition Breeds Success...and Disarray

Big title underwriters eventually gave up the fight: They could not "eradicate" the lawyers in Illinois, so they reluctantly gave in to the notion that they would have to recruit lawyers as title agents. From there, the industry has gone into a desperate mode in which our competitors will seemingly do anything to capture your business. Real damage has been done to what should be a legal service that clients value and appreciate. If we go away, what do you think will happen? This is why you need ATG, now more than ever.

The practice in many parts of Illinois, where buyers and sellers are represented by counsel, has become the exception. Throughout the country, real estate transactions are often handled exclusively by real estate agents and title companies. ATG was founded with the avowed goal of maintaining the lawyer’s role in the transaction for the benefit of the consumers we serve. But for ATG, your clients would not receive the benefit of that advocacy.

Committed to the Lawyer-Agent Model

While there were several good reasons for ATG to pursue a change in ownership, our highest priority was to find a buyer who shares a similar vision. A company that is as dedicated to preserving our business model as we are. With the support of Guaranteed Rate, we will continue to be the single most ardent and effective advocate for lawyers in the conveyancing process.

Guaranteed Rate’s President and CEO Victor Ciardelli said it best, "I understand and appreciate the importance of the lawyer’s role in real estate transactions, which is why Guaranteed Rate is committed to the lawyer-agent business model created by ATG. We look forward to building on ATG’s success by giving its lawyers and the consumers they serve the technology, tools, and additional support that will enable ATG to flourish in the years to come."

Guaranteed Rate sees the ATG acquisition as a way for it to grow its title insurance business. It also sees the ATG model in Illinois as something it can expand into other markets. For ATG, this is an opportunity to bring to the real estate conveyancing process the vast technological resources and spirit of innovation that Guaranteed Rate has brought to mortgage lending and digital financial services.

Looking toward the Future — Not Just with You, for You

Innovation in the title insurance and closing process is here. Our mission is to make sure it includes lawyers in the process. We can say with certainty that our competitors don't see it the same way. We are committed to ensuring you have the tools to meet ever evolving consumer expectations.

The past is prologue: Our mission to preserve the role of the lawyer in real estate transactions for the benefit of the public is as true today as it was in our early history. And the position of our competition, who today say "we love lawyers," belies their history of seeing lawyers as an "infection" that should be "eradicated." I would invite you to consider the fact that much of our competition are Trojan Horses whose true intentions are concealed.

Together we can continue our mission, long into the future, by demonstrating to the public that the lawyer plays an essential role in protecting consumers in the largest financial transaction of their lives.

Peter J. Birnbaum
ATG President and CEO

[Last update: 2-11-22]

Back to Issue