Patricia L. McClaran

Patricia McClaran is a member of Severson & Werson, specializing in complex financial institution litigation and real estate transactional matters. She represents many of the country’s premier mortgage lenders, providing her legal expertise in the following areas:

Litigation: Ms. McClaran prosecutes and defends claims involving fraud (including fraudulent origination schemes), breach of fiduciary duty, usury, unconscionability, bad faith, RICO, interference with prospective economic advantage and wrongful foreclosure.

Transactions: Ms. McClaran handles real estate secured loan documentation, and provides advice regarding California’s anti-deficiency and one form of action rules and real estate closing practices.

Realization on Real Property Security: Ms. McClaran prosecutes lenders’ suits to collect loans and obtain real property security, including judicial foreclosure and receivership actions.

Title Matters: Ms. McClaran negotiates title insurance coverage, identification and tender of title defects to title insurers, resolution of coverage issues and opinions regarding title insurance coverage questions.

Ms. McClaran joined Severson & Werson in 1980, where she has been a member since 1987 (and served as the firm’s Managing Director from 1997-1999). Ms. McClaran was named a Northern Californian "Super Lawyer" in the August 2008 edition of San Francisco Magazine.  She is an active member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) and the California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA), as well as the American Bar Association and the California Land Title Association. She frequently lectures before industry groups and institutions such as the MBA, CMBA, the National Council of Savings Institutions, the Federal Home Loan Bank, and the California Bankers Association.

Recent Professional Activity

Panel member, "Litigation Update," Mortgage Bankers Association, Regulatory Compliance Conference (New Orleans, Louisiana, May 2007).

Ms. McClaran addressed the California Mortgage Bankers Association at the Legislative Regulatory & Compliance Conference on the topic of financial privacy, identity theft, FCRA direct mail issues and other risk developments (Irvine, California, November 2006).

Ms. McClaran presented the "Litigation Update" before the Mortgage Bankers Association, 93rd Annual Convention, Legal Issues Committee (Chicago, Illinois, October 2006).

Panel member, "Litigation Update," Mortgage Bankers Association, Regulatory Compliance Conference (Washington, D.C., September 2006).

Ms. McClaran and Sunny Huo addressed the California Mortgage Bankers Association regarding the "FACT Act" and recent changes in case law as affects the mortgage banking industry (Irvine, California, November 2005).

Panel member, "Litigation Update," Mortgage Bankers Association, Regulatory Compliance Conference (Washington, D.C., September 2005).

Panel member, “Litigation and Enforcement," Mortgage Banker’s Association Legal Issues & Regulatory Compliance Conference (Phoenix, Arizona, May 2005).