About Title Success

Marcus is Partner and Co-Founder of Title Success Solutions.  Driven to fill the void within the title industry for exit planning and acquisition services, Marcus has built a network of resources to serve the greater title community with tailored M&A solutions and exit planning strategies.

He is also the founder and co-owner of South Oak Title, a residential and commercial real estate settlement and title company located in Birmingham Alabama. Through his leadership, South Oak Title has expanded throughout the Southeast with offices in Florida, Alabama and Tennessee.

Prior to South Oak, Marcus was a partner with Duell | Hunt Law Firm. He represented real estate and franchise clients across the United States and internationally. He has helped both start-up companies and entrepreneurs reach their goals through franchising as well as established franchise companies that were expanding internationally. Together with Richard Duell, Marcus founded the Alabama Franchise Alliance, a statewide association for franchise companies and suppliers. He is a past member of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising.

Marcus specialties include: Real Estate & Title Insurance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Entrepreneurship, Business Coaching, Start-up & Small Business Consulting, and Franchise Law.

He graduated from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama in May 2004, and prior to that graduated East Texas Baptist University with Bachelor of Arts in History in May 1998. Marcus is a Licensed Title Agent in Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and a Licensed Attorney with the Alabama State Bar.

Patrick F. Smith is a Founder and CEO of Title Success Solutions. He also is a partner in the Alabama law firm Smith Kessler Smith Attorneys. At Title Success Solutions, Mr. Smith works with clients to assist title agencies with succession planning, expansion, operational efficiencies. He also serves as a consultant and fills executive positions within title agencies during times of agency transition. Smith Kessler Smith is a civil practice firm concentrating its practice in real estate, corporate and tax matter.

Prior to co-founding Title Success Solutions and Smith Kessler Smith, he was the president of TitleSouth and general counsel to RealtySouth in Birmingham, Alabama. TitleSouth is a full-service title insurance policy issuing agent of Stewart Title Guaranty Company. RealtySouth is Alabama’s largest real estate brokerage. Both TitleSouth and RealtySouth are subsidiaries of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire-Hathaway affiliate.

Earlier, Mr. Smith was a partner in the Birmingham, Alabama law firm of Dominick, Fletcher, Yeilding, Wood and Lloyd, P.A. (now Dominick Feld, Hyde, P.C.), and at the firm of Strickland, Smith & Wagnon. Mr. Smith’s private practice focused on real estate related matters, including residential and commercial real estate closings, real estate related litigation, and title insurance claims defense.

Mr. Smith often addressed real estate and title insurance industry and trade groups including the American Land Title Association (“ALTA”) and the Real Estate Settlement Providers Council (“RESPRO”). He has served as a presenter for CLE Alabama’s Real Estate Conference as well as the Georgia Institute of Continuing Education (“ICLE”), and has addressed Stewart Title agents at the Stewart Title Guaranty Company’s Agency Seminars seminars in Alabama and Georgia.

Mr. Smith holds a Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Alabama School of Law, a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (Accounting) from Auburn University, and serves as an adjunct instructor of Business Law and Accounting at Athens State University in Athens, Alabama.

Wayne M. Stanley is the owner of Bowe Digital, a marketing agency offering custom services for small businesses with hundreds of clients all around the United States. Bowe Digital works with businesses of all shapes and sizes on website creation, email marketing, social media, video, design, and much more. In 2023, Bowe Digital was named one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana for the second year in a row by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

Wayne received the 2023 October Research "Exemplary Leadership Award" during the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) for his contributions to Bowe Digital and the title Industry as a whole. Additionally, Wayne was named a 2023 Marketing Leader by HousingWire in recognition of his leadership in marketing within the real estate industry as a whole. Wayne is part owner of Title Success – Powered by Bowe Digital, which helps real estate title companies through the mergers and acquisitions process. He also owns Railroad Marketing, a turn-key marketing company for real estate professionals.

Prior to founding Bowe Digital, Wayne worked at the American Land Association (ALTA) in Washington, D.C. While at ALTA, he helped to develop the Homeowner Outreach Program (HOP) and grew the Title Action Network and ALTA’s social media presence. As a testament to Wayne’s innovative ideas, he was named a Top Association Innovator in Washington, D.C., by BizNow. Wayne got his start in marketing and communications after college as a staffer for Senator Richard G. Lugar in the United States Senate. He served as a communications director and deputy campaign manager.

When he’s not working, Wayne loves time with his Bernese Mountain Dog, Sampson, family time, traveling, music, and wineries of all kinds.