Expansion of Dina Malliae’s workplace responsibilities were inspired by a proactive response to tougher banking regulations by the Staten Island-based legal practice

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Dina Malliae, operations director of the Residential Lending division at Menicucci Villa Panzella Calcagno, PLLC (MVPC Law), is celebrating her 20th anniversary with the law firm, much to the delight of its namesake founder.

“Dina has proven her capabilities over a span of two decades, working with our firm’s partners and the lending institutions we represent,” said MVPC Law Managing Partner Michael M. Menicucci. “She has never faltered in her ability to embrace vital and complex responsibilities with eagerness and self-confidence, arguably playing an integral role in the growth of our firm.”

However, Ms. Malliae said she would not have foreseen her latest career milestone 20 years ago.

“I took this position as a mom with two little kids who was buying a home and retained Mike [Menicucci] to be my lawyer,” recalled Ms. Malliae, whose employment at the firm began in December 1997. “I wasn’t looking for a job, but Mike offered me an opportunity to work at the office just a few hours a week – and it seemed like the perfect fit at the time.”

Upon her arrival, Ms. Malliae lacked an understanding of the mortgage industry, but that would dramatically change.

“Over time, Mike taught me the business,” she said. “As I was learning, the department was growing, and together we transformed it from a two-man show into a fully staffed lender-services department, representing most of the top mortgage lenders and brokers.”

As the years went by, industry regulations became stricter, guidelines become more demanding – and MVPC Law evolved with the times.

“We developed and integrated a state-of-the-art IT system, which was fully Dodd-Frank compliant,” Ms.  Malliae said.

The firm’s proactive response to tougher banking regulations inspired an expansion of Ms. Malliae’s responsibilities.

“We had to quickly learn and adhere to these demands from an operational standpoint, which led to a change in my role at the firm,” she said.

Today, as operations director of MVPC’s Residential Lending division, some of Ms. Malliae’s work involves regulatory compliance; training of staff with regard to Dodd-Frank and TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) guidelines; processing and closing loans; preparation of profit and loss (P&L) statements; conferring with the firm’s senior partners; traveling to out-of-state lender sites, and more.