As its national commercial title business continues to expand, Chicago-based Proper Title, LLC hired Kerry Walsh as commercial operations and underwriting manager, adding more than 20 years of legal, underwriting and litigation experience to its growing commercial platform.
In her new role, Walsh will leverage her varied experience in real estate and title law to oversee complex commercial transactions across the country, while maintaining the responsive, hands-on service Proper Title customers have come to expect. She will serve as a key technical resource for underwriting and closing operations, working with the national commercial team to identify and resolve complex title issues, manage risk and move transactions to closing.
Most recently, Walsh served as national underwriting counsel for a major commercial underwriter in Chicago. Before that, she was underwriting counsel with a large commercial title agency based in Minnesota. Prior to moving into commercial underwriting, Walsh spent more than 15 years in real estate litigation both in private practice and, most recently, in-house as vice president and litigation counsel with another large national underwriter, representing its policyholders in litigation involving land disputes, escrow and closing services, contract enforcement and fiduciary matters while working closely with internal stakeholders to develop solutions to underwriting challenges identified through the litigation and claims process. She also spent several years in private practice as a real estate attorney.
Walsh has a law degree from DePaul University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Notre Dame. She also completed executive education programs at Harvard Business School, Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Walsh’s appointment is the latest investment in Proper Title’s commercial platform. In February 2024, the company launched Proper Title National Commercial Services to provide title and escrow services for commercial real estate transactions nationwide. This serves clients with transactions and portfolios extending beyond Proper Title’s core Illinois and Northwest Indiana markets while providing a single point of contact throughout the title and closing process.
