Ex-Mann Bracken lawyers form firm

Posted: 7:00 pm Sun, June 20, 2010
By Caryn Tamber
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer

Several lawyers who used to work at the now-defunct Mann Bracken LLP debt-collection law firm have formed a new collection firm.

Mann Bracken, which operated nationally but has a major office in Rockville, collapsed in January, producing chaos for debtors, creditors and the court system and prompting state regulators to take action against the firm. Mann Bracken is now in receivership.

The new firm is called Kramer, Meggison & Taylor LLC and has offices in Rockville and Atlanta.

“There’s no resurrection of Mann Bracken,” Rockville-based partner Scott Kramer said. The new firm has “no association with Mann Bracken, and just, several lawyers who worked together in the past formed a new firm to resurrect their careers.”

The firm has been operating for about two months and is “in its infancy,” Kramer said.

Meanwhile, Mann Bracken receiver Cheryl E. Rose said she is busy pursuing the defunct firm’s assets, processing consumers’ payments and settling Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims filed against Mann Bracken. She said she is also considering suing over the firm’s demise, though she would not provide specifics.

“We’re pursuing litigation to see if there are parties that might be responsible for what happened to Mann Bracken,” she said.

Mann Bracken has attributed its collapse to its affiliated support-services company, Axiant LLC, filing for bankruptcy and preparing to liquidate its assets. Axiant provided staffing, phone and computer services to Mann Bracken.

The firm, which once operated in 24 states and employed hundreds of people, also faced other troubles.

Last year, Mann Bracken was caught in the middle of a dispute between Minnesota regulators and the Minneapolis-based National Arbitration Forum, which resolves disputes between consumers and creditors — including Mann Bracken.

The Minnesota attorney general alleged that NAF and Mann Bracken shared common ownership, and charged that this was a massive conflict of interest. NAF settled that case without admitting the allegations, but agreed to stop arbitrating collection disputes.

Maryland filed a cease-and-desist order against Mann Bracken in January, when the firm stopped answering calls and pursuing its cases. State regulators are pursuing an agreement with the receiver, said Assistant Attorney General W. Thomas Lawrie.

Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer Brendan Kearney contributed to this article.