BENJAMIN HILLARD, ESQ. – JD/MBA

13143 66TH Street North, Largo, FL 33773        Office: (727) 536-8882

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Hillard & Rogers, P.A., Largo, FL., Managing Shareholder, Aug. 2007 – current

  • Business litigation including: real estate, title, banking, foreclosure, corporate law, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), shareholder derivative, employment, and probate litigation
  • Business & Real Estate transactions including: commercial and residential real estate, M&A, business purchases, wills, trusts & estates

Hillard Consulting Group, Inc., Largo, FL., President, Feb. 2001 – current

  • Commercial and Residential loan purchase due diligence, acquisitions advisory, and loan sale advisory services
  • Commercial loan and real estate acquisitions, commercial loan underwriting, site inspections and document review
  • Mergers & acquisitions and M&A due diligence, business plan review and development
  • Conducted due diligence and consulting work for Goldman, Lehman, Morgan, Countrywide, Wachovia, & others
  • Example: due diligence & consulting regarding asset pricing strategies for a $1.2 billion SBA loan purchase transaction

Hillard Law Firm LLP, Largo, FL., Partner, Apr. 2006 – Sept 2006

  • Business transactions, Corporate and real estate law, M&A and general business litigation

Mortgage Data Management Corporation (MDMC), Sussex, Wisconsin,  Consultant, Dec. 2004 – Apr. 2006

  • Loan purchase and Mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) purchase due diligence and analysis including: credit and collateral underwriting and review, state & federal legal compliance review of loan documents

Dickerson Law Firm, Brandon, FL., Associate, March 2005 – Aug 2005

  • Commercial and construction litigation, shareholder disputes, stock purchase and business acquisitions, etc.

Walter Industries, Inc., (NYSE: WLT), Tampa, FL., Intern/law clerk with in-house counsel, Spring, 2004

  • Compliance and corporate legal strategy, primarily in the area of compliance with federal lending regulations

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Tampa Division, Federal Judicial Internship, Tampa, FL., Intern/Law Clerk, Fall, 2003

  • Legal research and drafting memoranda in both substantive and procedural bankruptcy law

Moss, Henderson, Blanton, Lanier, Kretschmer & Murphy, P.A., Vero Beach, FL.                   Law Clerk, Summer, 2003

  • Litigation assistance including legal research, drafting pleadings, motions and contracts

Award Business Brokers, Inc., North Palm Beach, FL.,  Associate, Mar. 2001 – Nov. 2002

  • Business sales, acquisitions and business valuations
    • Had primary responsibility for, or participated in acquisitions transactions ranging from $2 million to $195 million
    • Conducted all aspects of commercial asset acquisitions including: deal selection, underwriting [loan documents, real estate and non-real estate collateral, legal compliance, title, environmental and litigation review], leveraged asset pricing, credit committee presentations, negotiated purchase & sale agreements for sub-investment grade commercial asset acquisitions including loans, commercial real estate and bankruptcy claims
    • Conducted individual asset underwriting and overall project cash-flow analysis for CMBS & CLO transactions
    • 1st wholly managed transaction [$19M] resulted in a net gain of more than $2.1 million at greater than 90% ROE
    • Completed management development program: formal training in banking, negotiating, supervisory, etc.
    • Purchased hundreds of millions of assets/loans from the FDIC, RTC and SBA.

Ocwen Financial Corporation, (NYSE: OCN) W.P.B., FL, Analyst, Sr. Analyst & Manager; Commercial Acquisitions Group. Sept 1997- Jan 2001

Ocwen Financial Corporation, (NYSE: OCN) Legal Coordinator, Legal Department, May 1996-September 1997

  • Responsible for a portfolio of up to 700 mortgage foreclosures in 15 states by managing more than 60 “outside counsel” attorneys; making legal counsel hiring and firing decisions, and litigation management

LICENSES

  • Florida Bar & Middle District Federal
  • Florida Real Estate Broker
  • Former Licensed Florida Title Agent
  • Former Florida Appraiser

EDUCATION

Stetson University School of Business, St. Petersburg, FL – MBA

Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg, FL – Juris Doctor

  • Education focused on Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring

Palm Beach Atlantic College, West Palm Beach, FL

  • B.S. Business Management; GPA: 3.66 – Cum Laude Graduate

WHAT SETS ME APART

  • Developed an investment strategy [investing in distressed securities] and utilized the strategy in a stock portfolio that achieved average annual gains in excess of 64% per year, for 6.5 years, beginning in 1999
  • Published in the Florida Bar Journal, February 2008: “Judgment Liens on Real Property: Recent Decision Causes Uncertainty for Title Companies, Bankers and Lawyers”
  • Published in Forbes Magazine: Letter to the Editor, 2006
  • Former semi-professional beach volleyball player including “men’s open” wins at the Maryland Invitational;  “men’s open” 2nd place finish at University of the Florida; 1st place finish Bud Light “AA” Florida
Page created on July 7th, 2009