Jeanette Frankenberg has spent more than three decades building a reputation for solving the kinds of problems that can bring default operations to a standstill.
As Managing Member of Stern, Lavinthal & Frankenberg, Jeanette leads a woman-owned, full-service default and real estate law firm serving clients across New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Her practice spans foreclosure, creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, commercial and real estate transactions, REO and complex litigation, with a particular focus on helping lenders and servicers navigate difficult files, changing regulations and operational challenges.
Jeanette began her career in the default industry as outside counsel to the FDIC during the savings-and-loan crisis, assisting with the disposition of significant bank-owned assets throughout New Jersey. That work led to relationships with major financial institutions and GSEs and helped establish the foundation for a career defined by both legal experience and practical problem-solving.
During the financial crisis, when evolving case law and foreclosure requirements left large numbers of New Jersey files stalled, Jeanette worked with in-house counsel to develop a strategy designed to create a legal path forward. The resulting case law allowed portions of the default process to resume—an example of the approach that has defined her career: understand the problem, challenge the conventional answer when necessary, and find a workable way forward.
Jeanette began her own practice in 1992 and joined Stern, Lavinthal & Frankenberg in 2000. Today, she oversees the firm’s default, litigation, bankruptcy, transactional and loan-origination practices while remaining closely involved in client relationships and strategy. Her leadership reflects the same qualities that have carried the firm through multiple market cycles: resilience, responsiveness, strong legal judgment and a willingness to adapt as the industry changes.
She has been recognized by DS News among its Top 25 Women of Law and is a longtime participant in the mortgage servicing and creditors’ rights community.
What distinguishes Jeanette, however, is not simply how long she has been in the industry. It is the combination of institutional knowledge, directness and hands-on problem solving she brings to the relationships she builds. She understands both the legal work and the business realities behind it and has spent her career helping clients move difficult matters forward.
