John T. Banjak, Esq.
Principal & General Counsel
True Title Company, LLC
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John T. Banjak is a graduate of Washington University School of Law and Indiana University School of Business with over twenty years of diverse legal and business experience in the areas of real estate, title insurance, banking and general business transactions. As a respected title attorney well-versed in all aspects of real estate law, particularly in settling competing claims of ownership and control over real property, John serves as a consultant to various real estate professionals, including his peers in the legal community. He has legal expertise in the following subject areas:
• Commercial Real Estate Development
• Municipal Zoning Applications/Compliance
• Real Estate Financing, Including Public/Private
• Commercial Title Insurance Underwriting
• Condemnation
• Construction Financing, Disbursing & Lien Laws
• Quiet Title Actions
• Tax Sale Properties
• Foreclosures
• General Title Curative
Professional Background
As an assistant attorney general for the State of Missouri (1993-1996), John provided legal counsel representation to the Missouri Real Estate Commission, the administrative body charged with regulating licensed real estate professionals in Missouri. He also served as assistant general counsel to the Missouri Ethics Commission, handling ethical compliance issues pertaining to government officials and registered state lobbyists. John successfully obtained an injunction prohibiting a municipality in St. Louis County from engaging in hiring practices and housing subsidies that disparately impacted African-Americans and other minorities.
After his stint with the attorney general’s office, John worked in private practice at a St. Louis law firm that specialized in real estate and land-use law – King, Koster, King, Hellmich & Hentz (1996-1998). At the King firm, he handled claim matters for two national title insurance underwriters involving boundary disputes, fraudulent real estate transfers, competing ownership claims and mechanic’s lien disputes. John also appeared before various planning-and-zoning commissions on behalf of commercial clients and homebuilders to obtain approvals for commercial and residential development projects.
John next served as regional counsel for Old Republic National Title Company (1998-2000), one of the four largest title insurance underwriters in the United States. In this role, he served as underwriting counsel to Old Republic’s independent title insurance agents in a seven-state region consisting of Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Indiana and Louisiana. John provided closing support to the title agents by reviewing and resolving issues pertaining to corporate and LLC authorizations, trust & probate matters, bankruptcy filings, marital rights claims, mineral rights, easements, judgments and divorce decrees, boundary disputes, land tax sales, foreclosures and mechanic’s lien claims and procedure.
Following his tenure with Old Republic, John managed the commercial division of U.S. Title Guaranty Corporation (2000-2001), the largest commercial title department in the St. Louis Metropolitan area during this time period. Supervising a commercial team handling seventy-five to one-hundred commercial transactions on monthly basis, John’s roles included serving as lead underwriting attorney, claims resolution, client relations and day-to-day department management and oversight.
As president & general counsel of Abstar Title Company (2001-2004), a diverse title agency located in St. Louis, John presided over the tremendous growth of the company in the early 2000’s, with the company adding over 30 employees and steady-and-substantial revenue growth during his three-year tenure. John and his team members at Abstar Title quickly established the company as one of the most respected and highly-productive residential and commercial title agencies in the St. Louis area.
John next served as senior vice president & legal counsel of Pulaski Bank (2004-2008), a mid-sized federal savings bank headquartered in St. Louis. During his tenure at Pulaski Bank, John started a title insurance division inside the bank – Pulaski Title Company – and he served as the title agency’s president and general counsel for the next five years. During this time period, John was also the only in-house lawyer at Pulaski Bank. In this capacity, he provided legal support to the various divisions of the bank including the Commercial Loan Division, Mortgage Origination Division, Loan Servicing Department, Regulatory Compliance and Retail Banking Operations.
Following his time at Pulaski Bank, John accepted a position as president & general counsel of Insight Title Company (2009-2012). At Insight, John presided over a team of more than fifty title professionals and a company that averaged over $6,000,000 in annual revenue during his three-year tenure. Insight Title was originally known as Bankers & Lenders Title, with the name denoting the fact that over 90% of the company’s business originated from the default & foreclosure side of the lending industry. John “re-branded” the company by changing the name to “Insight Title,” and by setting the processes in motion to grow the regular commercial and residential title business by triple-digit growth during each year of his tenure.
John is currently general counsel and principal of True Title Company, LLC (2012 – Present), a St. Louis-based title insurance agency providing a full range of title and closing services in the commercial and residential real estate markets. A founding owner, John provides legal support to True Title’s escrow closing and title production departments, addresses client inquiries regarding status of real estate titles, and serves as the company’s primary business development officer. During the company’s first three years, revenue has grown by over 100% annually and the company has expanded from four to sixteen full-time employees, and from one central office in Clayton to six total office locations in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. True Title is underwritten by Chicago Title Insurance Company and Old Republic National Title, two of the four largest title underwriters in the United States.
John also has a small law firm practice – Banjak & Associates, LLC – where he represents clients in the following areas: real estate, estate planning, business transactions and professional licensing matters. He advises clients on general corporate matters and specifically with regard to real estate and asset-based transactions, land-lord tenant matters, and other related areas.
Instructing and Civic Roles
John lectures frequently on real estate and other related topics for a variety of organizations including National Business Institute, Lorman Educational Services, Half-Moon Seminars, the Missouri Bar and Missouri Land Title Association, and he formerly taught real estate law as an associate professor for the St. Louis Community College District. He has served in a variety of civic capacities including as chairperson of the Citizens Finance Committee for the City of Kirkwood, as hearing officer for the MSD Civil Service Commission, and as a trustee for Boys & Girls Town of Missouri.
Address/Phone/Email:
True Title Company, LLC
21 North Meramec Ave, 2nd Floor
St. Louis, Missouri 63105
Phone: (314) 768-9625
Fax: (314) 727-3301
Cell: (314) 365-5984
Email
Law Practice Areas:
• Real Estate (buying/selling, borrowing/lending, landlord-tenant, boundary disputes, title curative, easement interpretation & drafting, zoning/permitting review, etc.)
• Estate Planning (trusts, wills, powers of attorney, living wills, beneficiary deeds)
• Business Transactions & Business Formation
• Debtor-Creditor (foreclosures, collections, negotiated settlements)
• Professional Licensing Matters – administrative compliance & application assistance
Bar Admissions:
• Missouri Bar, 1992 (current-and-active)
• Illinois Bar, 1993 (currently inactive status, can activate if necessary)
Education:
• JD, Washington University School of Law, 1992
• BS Finance, Indiana University School of Business, 1989
Professional Associations and Memberships:
• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
• Associate Member, St. Louis Women’s Council of Realtors
• Missouri Title Producer’s License – Missouri Department of Insurance
Civic Involvement:
• Civil Service Hearing Commissioner, Metropolitan Sewer District, 2007 to 2010
• Citizens’ Finance Committee – City of Kirkwood, 2008 to 2012 (Chairperson, 2011 to 2012)
• Board of Trustees, Boys & Girls Town of Missouri, 1998 to 2001
Speaking/Presentations:
• 10/01/00Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Commercial Real Estate
Transactions – Title Section”
• 04/11/01BAMSL Real Property Committee Meeting – Presenter, “Real Estate
Conveyances to Non-Natural Entities”
• 05/31/01MoBar CLE – Presenter, “Annual Real Estate Institute – Title Issues Update”
• 12/12/01Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Commercial Real Estate in Missouri”
• 03/06/01MO Land Title Association Title School – Presenter, “Conveyance Issues
Involving LLCs, Corporations and Partnerships”
• 04/25/02Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Missouri Fundamentals of Real EstateClosings”
• 10/10/02The Seminar Group – Presenter, “Title Insurance Overview” (as part of advancedconference on real estate)
• 04/08/03BAMSL Real Property Committee Meeting – Presenter, “Advanced TitleInsurance Issues”
• 04/25/03Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Fundamentals of Real Estate Closingsin Missouri”
• 12/01/03National Business Institute – Presenter, “MO Real Estate Law: Problems &Solutions”
• 10/12/04MO Land Title Association, Title School – Presenter, “Escrow Agreements – TheRest of the Story”
• 02/18/05Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Title Work in Missouri – Getting itDone Right” [Escrow Closing Process Overview; Final Title Policy Overview]
• 03/07/05MO Land Title Association, Title School – “Good Funds Law (Missouri)”; “Check21 – Check Clearing for 21st Century Act”; “Overview of Real Estate Taxes &Section 1031 Tax-Free Exchanges”
• 05/06/05MoBar CLE – Presenter, Annual Real Estate Institute [“Title Insurance – ClosingProtection Letters”; “Clearing Title Issues”; “2006 ALTA Endorsements”;“Endorsements for LLCs”]
• 02/28/06Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Practical Issues in Real Estate Title inMissouri [Ethical Considerations for the Real Estate Lawyer]”
• 10/26/06MO Bankers Association 13th Annual Bank Legal Issues Conference – Presenter,
“Banks Offering Title Insurance Through In-House Title Agencies”
• 11/16/06HalfMoon, LLC Seminar – Presenter, “Real Estate Title Issues – Using TitleInsurance Endorsements”
• 01/10/07Pulaski Bank Internal Compliance Training Seminar – Presenter, “AvoidingFraudulent Real Estate Practices & Proper Conduct as Licensed Notary”
• 03/16/07National Business Institute – Presenter, “Boundary Disputes: Resolving Issues
Without Going to Court”
• 04/17/07Center for Financial Training – Presenter, “Title Insurance for CommercialLenders”
• 12/11/07Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Fundamentals of Real Estate Closingsin Missouri”
• 05/07/08National Business Institute – Presenter, “Real Estate Law: Advanced Issues –
Title Law Overview”
• 02/05/09Kansas Land Title School – Presenter, “Underwriting REO Sales”
• 03/02/09National Business Institute – Presenter, “2009 Real Estate Law Update: Truth-in-
Lending Act, Summary of Changes & Overview of TILA Litigation”
• 04/15/09MO Land Title Regional Meeting – Presenter, “Foreclosures 2008”
• 06/08/09National Business Institute – Presenter, “How to Obtain Good Title in Real EstateTransactions” [Overview of Title Searches; Liens; Reviewing Surveys, Plats &Legal Descriptions; Easements & Rights-of-Way; Authority & Capacity Issues]
• 03/08/10MO Land Title School – Presenter, ” LLC’s, Corporations and Partnerships”
• 08/13/10Kansas Land Title Association Annual Convention – Presenter, “Insuring
Foreclosures” [Common Pre-Foreclosure Defects & How Cured; Deeds-in-Lieu; Short Sales Overview]
• 10/14/10HalfMoon, LLC Seminar – Presenter, “Solving Recession-Related Title Problems”
• 02/07/11National Business Institute – Presenter, “Advanced Title Insurance Issues”
• 10/18/11National Business Institute – Presenter, “Boot Camp: Foreclosure and Loan
Workout Procedures” [Troubled-Debt Restructurings; Loan Modifications; Short Sales]
• 03/14/12National Business Institute – Presenter, “Foreclosure-Related Title Problems; Mechanic’s Lien Overview Missouri”
• 04/03/12Mortgage Bankers’ Association (St. Louis Chapter) – Presenter, “Short Sales
in Detail”
• 06/11/12National Business Institute – Presenter, “Title Workshop – From Examinations to
Commitment” [Title Search & Exam; Remedying Boundary Disputes; Curing Title During Foreclosure; Ethics in Real Estate]
• 06/18/12National Business Institute – Presenter, “Common Title Underwriting Issues”
[National Phone Presentation
• 02/04/13National Business Institute – Presenter, “Resolving Title Issues: From Surveys
and Liens to Restrictions and Endorsements”
• 03/06/14Women’s Council of Realtors (St. Louis Chapter) – Presenter, “Deal or No Deal – Title Issues that Can Put Real Estate Transactions in Jeopardy”
• 06/08/15National Business Institute – “Quiet Title Actions in Missouri”
• 06/16/15National Business Institute – “Resolving Real Estate Related Disputes”
• 12/18/15National Business Institute – “Resolving Easement, Encroachment & Setback-
Related Title Defects
John Duckworth
President
General Information, Closing and Title Matters
Email
John Duckworth is the president and managing partner of True Title Company, LLC, a full service residential and commercial title agency based in Clayton, Missouri, with operations in Missouri and Illinois. He received a BS in Marketing and BA in Spanish from the University of Missouri. Mr. Duckworth is a distinguished veteran of the title insurance industry; he has served on the education committees for both the Missouri and Kansas land title associations and served on the Board of Directors for the MLTA. He is a regular instructor for continuing education programs in the real estate & title industry, and he also prepared the Study Guide for the Missouri Department of Insurance Title Insurance Producer’s Examination, the accepted study guide for new title professionals across the state of Missouri. Prior to his beginnings in the title industry, Mr. Duckworth worked in Prague, Czech Republic as a global networking consultant for a venture capital firm. In that position, he helped locate start-up software firms for investment, and manage these firms’ entries into foreign markets around the world.
Address/Phone/Email:
True Title Company, LLC
21 North Meramec Ave, 2nd Floor
St. Louis, Missouri 63105
Phone: (314) 727-3000
Fax: (314) 727-3301
Cell: (314) 583-8694
Email
Speaking/Presentations:
- Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Commercial Real Estate
- BAMSL Real Property Committee Meeting – Presenter, “Real Estate
- MoBar CLE – Presenter, “Annual Real Estate Institute – Title Issues Update”
- Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Commercial Real Estate in Missouri”
- MO Land Title Association Title School – Presenter, “Conveyance Issues”
- Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Missouri Fundamentals of Real Estate Closings”
- The Seminar Group – Presenter, “Title Insurance Overview”
- BAMSL Real Property Committee Meeting – Presenter, “Advanced Title Insurance Issues”
- Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Fundamentals of Real Estate Closings in Missouri”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “MO Real Estate Law: Problems & Solutions”
- MO Land Title Association, Title School – Presenter, “Escrow Agreements – The Rest of the Story”
- Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Title Work in Missouri – Getting it Done Right”
- MO Land Title Association, Title School – “Good Funds Law (Missouri)”; “Check 21 – Check Clearing for 21st Century Act” “Section 1031 Tax-Free Exchanges”
- MoBar CLE – Presenter, Annual Real Estate Institute [“Title Insurance – Closing Protection Letters”; “Clearing Title Issues”; “2006 ALTA Endorsements”; “Endorsements for LLCs”]
- Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Practical Issues in Real Estate Title in Missouri [Ethical Considerations for the Real Estate Lawyer]”
- MO Bankers Association 13th Annual Bank Legal Issues Conference – Presenter
- HalfMoon, LLC Seminar – Presenter, “Real Estate Title Issues – Using Title Insurance Endorsements”
- Pulaski Bank Internal Compliance Training Seminar – Presenter, “Avoiding Fraudulent Real Estate Practices & Proper Conduct as Licensed Notary”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “Boundary Disputes: Resolving Issues”
- Center for Financial Training – Presenter, “Title Insurance for Commercial Lenders”
- Lorman Educational Services – Presenter, “Fundamentals of Real Estate Closings in Missouri”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “Real Estate Law: Advanced Issues”Kansas Land Title School – Presenter, “Underwriting REO Sales”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “2009 Real Estate Law Update”
- MO Land Title Regional Meeting – Presenter, “Foreclosures 2008”
Transactions” [Overview of Title Searches; Liens; Reviewing Surveys, Plats & National Business Institute – Presenter, “How to Obtain Good Title in Real Estate Legal Descriptions; Easements & Rights-of-Way; Authority & Capacity Issues] - MO Land Title School – Presenter, ” LLC’s, Corporations and Partnerships”
- Kansas Land Title Association Annual Convention – Presenter
- HalfMoon, LLC Seminar – Presenter, “Solving Recession-Related Title Problems”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “Advanced Title Insurance Issues”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “Boot Camp: Foreclosure and Loan”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “Foreclosure-Related Title Problems”
- Mortgage Bankers’ Association (St. Louis Chapter) – Presenter, “Short Sales”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “Title Workshop”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “Common Title Underwriting Issues”
- National Business Institute – Presenter, “Resolving Title Issues”
- Women’s Council of Realtors (St. Louis Chapter) – Presenter, “Deal or No Deal – Title Issues that Can Put Real Estate Transactions in Jeopardy”
- National Business Institute – “Quiet Title Actions in Missouri”
- National Business Institute – “Resolving Real Estate Related Disputes”
- National Business Institute – “Resolving Easement, Encroachment & Setback