Episode 30 - Judge Annette Rizzo

The 30th episode of “What the M” features the Honorable Annette M. Rizzo. 

Judge Rizzo was gracious enough to drop by to discuss mortgage foreclosure mediation programs, how the model was developed for courts, the success rates seen by these programs, and how the model program spread throughout the United States.

Judge Rizzo served as a Judge in the First Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for 16 years, with the majority of that time spent in the Civil Major Jury Trial Program. Prior to her tenure on the bench, she worked in both the public and private sectors. Her many roles included litigating at the oldest continuous law firm in the United States, serving as Senior Counsel at a global insurance firm, and serving as an Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia.

In 2008, Judge Rizzo developed the Philadelphia Court’s Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program. This program, which continues to thrive today, is a pioneering achievement that brings together homeowners, lenders, attorneys, and housing counselors in an effort to keep city residents in their homes. The program has been a model for similar programs in Pennsylvania and in other jurisdictions and six other states.

Judge Rizzo has since testified about the Program before TARP, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the U.S. House of Representatives. She continues to speak nationally about the program at trainings for the judiciary, mortgage finance companies, public interest entities, lender servicers, and government agencies including the Federal Reserve, FTC, FDIC, CFPB, the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, NeighborWorks America and many others. Internationally, our guest participated in a European Union Conference and CLE program in Italy regarding the merits of Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Foreclosure Diversion Program, and international mediation systems.

At the invitation of Philadelphia’s City Council in 2020, our guest joined a creative team that developed an innovative Eviction Prevention & Diversion Program modeled after the successful Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program. In her spare time, our guest serves as an Adjunct Professor for the Temple University School of Law State Court Clinical Program, which she developed in 2007.

Welcome to the podcast, Judge Rizzo!