Firefly Legal

Firefly is back in the office and things are finally starting to return to business as usual. We had a great time at the conference, and in case you’ve missed it, we have the highlights below:

Conference Theme: Be Prepared

The conference was centered on the theme of preparation for changes in the mortgage and servicing industry. Bringing in well-known authorities, the MBA’s National Mortgage Servicing Conference and Expo aims to educate, inform, and answer questions so that no one in the industry

Location

The conference was held at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, located in Grapevine, Texas. The giant hotel (and I mean giant; you could easily get turned around trying to find a place within the hotel) stretched out over 10 acres. With plants filling every walkway, the majority of the hotel was enclosed within an atrium, which made for beautiful and temperate walks to and from meetings. For this time of year, it was relatively cool in the Dallas (high 60, lows 40 degrees F) area, so this was a great feature.

The location was good, with downtown Grapevine just a short drive away. For a bit of a longer drive, Dallas and Fort Worth were also accessible. Considering that it was rainy and chilly for Texas, I doubt anyone minded that there was not really anything outside the Convention center that was within walking distance!

The Exhibit Hall

The convention was definitely packed with exhibitors. The hall was organized into carpeted rows (100 row, 200 row, and so on through 800), with plenty of walkways in between. Large, memorable exhibitors such as Equator, Core Logic and QBE stole the show with over-the-top exhibit booth setups that could be seen from anywhere at the conference.

And don’t forget about the giveaways! There was plenty to grab before heading on to the next session. From cake pop goodies, stuffed animals, bags, and energy drinks, there was plenty to take home.

I manned the booth, and I can definitely say that the conference was well attended.

The Sessions

Plenty of informative sessions took place, including a great speech from Billy Beane. The Oakland A’s General Manager, whose speech Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game  shared his experience and definitely challenged the audience to think in new ways. He explained the similarities in business and in baseball. His insight certainly proved to be useful to those who attended. The opening general session definitely kicked off the conference with a bang and set the precedent for the rest of the speakers and sessions.

The Meetings

Off-site meetings galore! This conference was definitely valuable, as we at Firefly were able to meet with our current clients. It also provided many opportunities for us to meet new faces as well.  This conference was exceptional at allocating time to network.