Northbrook, Ill.-based LOGS NETWORK, a network of creditor’s rights lawyers and related personnel, said Thursday that it had entered into a “strategic legal and business relationship” with Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC, one of the country’s premier mortgage banking law firms. Both firms, well known in their respective niches, said they aligned their two firms in a desire to streamline servicing and risk management needs of investors and servicers. The alliance signals an interesting shift in the default marketplace, as well. Long seen as its own niche and separate from the rest of mortgage banking, legal process surrounding default management is a critical piece of the collateral risk management puzzle. “This [strategic relationship] in effect signals that the industry may be realizing that integrating into default has some real benefits,” said one source, an attorney that asked to remain anonymous. “And likewise, the big mortgage banking firms are finding that their client base is continuing to shrink at an astronomical rate.” Washington, DC-based Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC has a large practice that addresses clients’ compliance and complex litigation needs. In a press statement, LOGS said it will look to incorporate this business alliance in to its menu of offerings to servicers — including offering expanded education and training opportunities to its clients, noteworthy because large law firms often circumvent trade associations and tout personalized training as a client benefit. Mitch Kider, managing member at the Washington-based law firm, said that the partnership “will focus on issues ranging from best practices and compliance, to litigation trends and how to properly evaluate and mitigate risk in a contested foreclosure or adversarial bankruptcy, as well as identifying when to escalate the file to special counsel.” Gerald Alt, president of LOGS, said the partnership made it possible for the company’s legal services network to offer its clients access to experts in issues that arise “beyond the scope of routine default management.” For more information, visit http://www.logs.com and http://www.wbsk.com.