Former ALTA Head Passes Away

The retired head of the American Land Title Association, James Maher, passed away on May 5, 2009. He joined ALTA as general counsel in 1984 and became its top staff person, executive vice president in October 1988. He held that role until October 2007. His successor, Kurt Pfotenhauer said, " I know Jim took great pride in his work, and he especially found joy in the time he spent using his legal skills working with the Forms Committee and the Title Counsel Committee." Mr. Maher came to ALTA from the Department of Housing and Urban Development where he was an attorney advisor in the Home Mortgage Division for 10 years. He is survived by his wife Kathy and son Matthew. A memorial service will be held Sunday, May 17th, at 2:00pm at Trinity United Methodist Church in McLean, Va.