Joseph Kolar

Partner

Washington, D.C.

Joe Kolar was a founding Partner of Buckley LLP, which combined with Orrick in 2023. He regularly counsels financial institutions, financial services companies, mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage insurers, national trade associations, nonprofits, and others in complying with mortgage and consumer loan contracts and lending and servicing regulations, including those relating to Real Estate Settlement Procedures (RESPA), Truth in Lending (TILA), ability to repay, loan originator compensation, appraisals, equal credit opportunity (ECOA)/fair housing/fair lending/fair servicing, privacy, fair credit reporting (FCRA), electronic signatures and records (ESRA), escrows, flood insurance, lender-placed insurance, debt collection, loss mitigation and foreclosures, federal preemption, community reinvestment (CRA), disclosures, state law and regulations and licensing.

In addition to closely monitoring the regulatory and enforcement activity of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Joe advises on Federal Housing Administration-insured and Department of Veterans Affairs-guaranteed single-family loan programs, Ginnie Mae guaranteed securities programs and the programs and policies of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they relate to loan origination, servicing, and secondary market transactions. In addition, Joe frequently represents mortgage lenders and others in negotiating joint ventures, marketing and internet origination agreements, vendor agreements, as well as other contracts used or needed by a wide variety of financial services companies.

He is a member of the Consumer Financial Services Committee of the American Bar Association, where he is a past Co-chair of the Housing Finance and RESPA Subcommittee, and a member of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers. Prior to practicing law, Joe worked as a staff member for former U.S. Representative Jim Leach (R-IA).

Joe currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Legal Counsel for the Elderly, which is associated with AARP, and of Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington. He was President of the Kolar Charitable Foundation at Buckley.


"An enviable reputation for his consumer finance regulatory compliance practice...one of the go-to guys in this space." - Chambers USA