I am no artist, but I am a fan of expediency. So when my elementary school art teacher assigned a laborious paper mache project, I figured I could speed the process along. My teacher’s instructions were to apply one layer of paste-soaked newspaper, let it dry, apply a second layer, let it dry. Ad nauseum. Directions, schmer-ections. I knew better.

I piled on hundreds of wet, sticky newspaper strips, one right after the other the night before the project was due, threw it in the oven to expedite the drying process, slapped on some green paint and… VOILA! A turtle.No.  Voila. A stinking mass of sodden newsprint, leaching green onto the car seat as my Dad drove my monstrosity to school the next morning. (The oven was in bad shape as well.)

Lesson learned: Good work takes time, patience, persistence, and attention.

Last spring, I detailed the care and work the Uniform Conveyancing Blank (UCB) Task Force members put into drafting new forms and revising existing forms. They have recently “completed” a huge task – reviewing and revising existing UCB mortgage foreclosure forms in light of statutory changes in the 2008 and 2009 legislative sessions.

We would have loved to post updated forms sooner, but foreclosures are big business these days, and the Task Force did not want to slap on a Band-Aid.  The practicing bar depends on a good solid set of well-designed and substantively correct forms.

So led by its chair, Matthew Foli, the Task Force started its work.

Matthew drew on his substantial experience. He started his career as a judicial law clerk, moved to private practice and now is a Hennepin County Deputy Examiner of Titles.  As such, he sees a lot of good forms, but also a lot of not-so-good forms. He took a hard look at the existing forms and at the new legislation. He and the other Task Force members consulted with County Recorders and attorneys who do nothing but foreclosure work. After many meetings and many drafts… Voila! The new forms have arrived (sans half-baked paste and green paint). The new forms and a summary of the revisions are posted on practicelaw.

So, like paper mache, the new forms required patience, time, and focus. Unlike my turtle, one might even say the new foreclosure forms are a work of art.

Posted by Nancy Hupp