Steven J. Baum P.C.

Steven J. Baum P.C.

Headquarters	Amherst, NY
No. of offices	2
No. of lawyers	14[1]
No. of employees	89
Major practice areas	Real estate
Key people	Steven J. Baum
Date founded	1972
Founder	Marvin R. Baum
Company type	Professional corporation
Dissolved	2011
Website	www.mbaum.com/SJB/index.jsp

Steven J. Baum, P.C., was a law firm headquartered in Amherst, New York, United States. It was founded as Marvin R. Baum, P.C. in 1972, and remained under that name until Marvin Baum's death in 1999, after which his son Steven inherited the business and renamed it after himself. Its practice was primarily in real estate law, particularly in representing lenders and servicers in residential foreclosure actions in its later years.

In the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis in the late 2000s (decade), Baum handled 40% of all foreclosures in the state, the most of any law firm in New York. Many of the foreclosures it initiated were products of the robo-signing scandal, and it came under state and federal scrutiny. Homeowner activists singled out the firm for its aggressive tactics that ruled out mortgage modifications, and brought class action suits against it. After state courts instituted a rule designed to curtail fraudulent foreclosure filings, a rule the firm had fought in court, new filings by Baum's clients dropped considerably.

The firm came to national attention in 2011 when New York Times columnist Joseph Nocera published photos from the firm's Halloween party the previous year, leaked to him by an employee. They depicted costumes and decoration that mocked homeowners and critics of the firm. Shortly afterwards, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac barred lenders and servicers from using the firm for foreclosures. State and federal investigations are continuing. Within a week Baum announced it was closing the firm, citing the negative publicity and lost business.^[2]