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Highest Rated Firms
Highest Rated Firms


9.00
Ice Miller LLP
9.00
Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto
8.69
Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel, LLP
8.40
Quarles & Brady
8.33
Holme, Roberts & Owen, L.L.P.
8.25
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
8.13
Thompson Hine LLP
8.03
Ropes & Gray, LLP
8.00
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
8.00
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Lowest Rated Firms
Lowest Rated Firms


2.70
Dechert LLP
2.86
Latham & Watkins
3.09
Duane Morris, LLP
3.12
Brown, Raysman, Millstein, Felder & Steiner, L.L.P.
3.12
Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP
3.30
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
3.35
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
3.46
Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP
3.47
Venable LLP
3.65
Alston & Bird LLP
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Amherst 

Firm Culture:  On Friday, the law firm of Steven J. Baum threw a Halloween party. The firm, which is located near Buffalo, is what is commonly referred to as a “foreclosure mill” firm, meaning it represents banks and mortgage servicers as they attempt to foreclose on homeowners and evict them from their homes. Steven J. Baum is, in fact, the largest such firm in New York; it represents virtually all the giant mortgage lenders, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.


Work & Hours:  The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.


Salary & Benefits:  The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.

The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.


The Interview process:  The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.


Overall Impression:  The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.



Amherst 

Firm Culture:  On Friday, the law firm of Steven J. Baum threw a Halloween party. The firm, which is located near Buffalo, is what is commonly referred to as a “foreclosure mill” firm, meaning it represents banks and mortgage servicers as they attempt to foreclose on homeowners and evict them from their homes. Steven J. Baum is, in fact, the largest such firm in New York; it represents virtually all the giant mortgage lenders, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.


Work & Hours:  The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.

The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.

The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.


Salary & Benefits:  The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.


The Interview process:  The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.


Overall Impression:  The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party until around noon, and then return to work, still in costume. I can’t tell you how people dressed for this year’s party, but I can tell you about last year’s.

That’s because a former employee of Steven J. Baum recently sent me snapshots of last year’s party. In an e-mail, she said that she wanted me to see them because they showed an appalling lack of compassion toward the homeowners — invariably poor and down on their luck — that the Baum firm had brought foreclosure proceedings against.

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose. I told her I wanted to post the photos on The Times’s Web site so that readers could see them. She agreed, but asked to remain anonymous because she said she fears retaliation.

Let me describe a few of the photos. In one, two Baum employees are dressed like homeless people. One is holding a bottle of liquor. The other has a sign around her neck that reads: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served.” My source said that “I was never served” is meant to mock “the typical excuse” of the homeowner trying to evade a foreclosure proceeding.

A second picture shows a coffin with a picture of a woman whose eyes have been cut out. A sign on the coffin reads: “Rest in Peace. Crazy Susie.” The reference is to Susan Chana Lask, a lawyer who had filed a class-action suit against Steven J. Baum — and had posted a YouTube video denouncing the firm’s foreclosure practices. “She was a thorn in their side,” said my source.

A third photograph shows a corner of Baum’s office decorated to look like a row of foreclosed homes. Another shows a sign that reads, “Baum Estates” — needless to say, it’s also full of foreclosed houses. Most of the other pictures show either mock homeless camps or mock foreclosure signs — or both. My source told me that not every Baum department used the party to make fun of the troubled homeowners they made their living suing. But some clearly did. The adjective she’d used when she sent them to me — “appalling” — struck me as exactly right.

These pictures are hardly the first piece of evidence that the Baum firm treats homeowners shabbily — or that it uses dubious legal practices to do so. It is under investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. It recently agreed to pay $2 million to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the firm had “filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments in the state and federal courts in New York.” (In the press release announcing the settlement, Baum acknowledged only that “it occasionally made inadvertent errors.”)

MFY Legal Services, which defends homeowners, and Harwood Feffer, a large class-action firm, have filed a class-action suit claiming that Steven J. Baum has consistently failed to file certain papers that are necessary to allow for a state-mandated settlement conference that can lead to a modification. Judge Arthur Schack of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn once described Baum’s foreclosure filings as “operating in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe.” (My source told me that one Baum employee dressed up as Judge Schack at a previous Halloween party.)

I saw the firm operate up close when I wrote several columns about Lilla Roberts, a 73-year-old homeowner who had spent three years in foreclosure hell. Although she had a steady income and was a good candidate for a modification, the Baum firm treated her mercilessly.

When I called a press spokesman for Steven J. Baum to ask about the photographs, he sent me a statement a few hours later. “It has been suggested that some employees dress in ... attire that mocks or attempts to belittle the plight of those who have lost their homes,” the statement read. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” It described this column as “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.”

I encourage you to look at the photographs with this column on the Web. Then judge for yourself the veracity of Steven J. Baum’s denial.



Amherst 

Firm Culture:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..
Work & Hours:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..
Salary & Benefits:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..
The Interview process:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..
Overall Impression:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..

Amherst 

Firm Culture:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..
Work & Hours:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..
Salary & Benefits:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..
The Interview process:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..
Overall Impression:  Twitter is calling it "the world's most inappropriate Halloween party." It's the annual office party for a Buffalo, New


New York Times
York-based law firm. The Steven J. Baum firm processes so many foreclosures that it's nicknamed "the foreclosure factory." Pictures that recently surfaced from last year's Halloween party show the firm's staffers dressed up as homeless people. One employee had a costume holding up a sign that read "3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served." The law firm doesn't have the best record, either. It's being investigated by the Justice Department and is the defendant in two class-action lawsuits. When contacted by the New York Times, the firm called the photos "another attempt by the New York Times to attack our firm and our work." It did however apologize for the pictures. In a statement to Buffalo News, Steven J. Baum, the head of the firm said, "On behalf of the firm, I sincerely apologize for what happened last year at our Halloween party." Still, on social media people are furious. One person said, "SCREW THESE 2 companies. Banks throw homeless themed costume party." Others have called the photos "pathological," "disgusting," and "unbelievable." One man simply tweeted, "Oh man, seriously???" But one comment under the New York Times article about the event tried to defend the firm, saying, "the photos are in bad taste but, as it was intended … as an inside joke, i think we need to keep things in context." Do you think these Halloween costumes went too far, even though they were meant to be private? Tell us by "liking" our Facebook page and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

The Web is also buzzing about a feud between two pizza giants that got heated in more ways than one. In Lake City, Florida, two managers of a Domino's pizzeria allegedly set fire to a Papa John's across town. The fire, which occurred just over a week ago, led to the arrest of the two Domino's managers: Bryan Sullivan (who is suspected of hatching the scheme) and Sean Davidson (who reportedly confessed to helping Sullivan torch the Papa John's). So what was their motive? Well, apparently they thought that eliminating the competition would increase their bottom line. On social media, some people are saying that life is imitating art. They're comparing this story to the Discovery Channel show "Pizza Wars," where competing pizzerias battle it out for supremacy (only without the arson).

..

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