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New York Lawyer
October 10, 2008

Bar Associations Nationwide Bulk Up Pro Bono Efforts in Foreclosure Cases By Vesna Jaksic
The National Law Journal

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Justin H. Dion wasn't getting paid for his 2 p.m. client meeting on Oct. 8, but said he was glad to it — it was another pro bono case involving the subprime mortgage crisis.

Dion, an associate in Bacon Wilson, of Springfield, Mass., helped start the Hampden County Bar Association Foreclosure Task Force, which provides pro bono help to area residents facing foreclosures.

"As lawyers, we felt an ethical obligation to get involved and see if there is any way we could help these families and help keep some of them in their homes," said Dion, one of more than 20 lawyers who has volunteered his time for the task force.

Lawyers across the country are doing their share to help homeowners facing foreclosures stemming from the subprime mortgage crisis. From Massachusetts to California, bar associations have formed task forces and organized pro bono projects offering services such as hotlines and free consultations regarding foreclosures, an issue many lawyers say could only get worse.

Hampden County's task force has been in the works for about eight months, but began offering services within the last three months, Dion said. Lawyers who volunteer their time may not necessarily take on a full predatory lending case, but can provide free consultations within 24 hours after a resident calls a hotline, he said.

Dion said that he has already met with at least six clients. He estimated that dozens of calls have come through the hotline. He expects the calls to keep coming, especially given the financial crisis afflicting the nation's leading banks.

"Although it's a scary concept, I think we have not seen the top of the hill yet," Dion said. "I think that things are going to get worse regarding foreclosures before they get better.”

In North Carolina, lawyers are compiling a list of volunteers for the Foreclosure Prevention Project, a pro bono effort in response to the state's commissioner of banks' call to the bar, said Robert Allen, chairman of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Real property section.

Lawyers will assist the commissioner with reviewing documents to see whether there have been any violations involving mortgages, Allen said.

"In connection with that review, there will be opportunities for further assistance to these homeowners in terms of negotiations and hopefully arriving at modifications to allow these homeowners to remain in their homes," said Allen, who practices in the Charlotte, N.C., office of Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson.

Like other bar associations, the North Carolina Bar Association has teamed with organizations such as the local legal aid provider to offer training in foreclosures for attorneys. Tuition fees will be reduced or waved for attorneys who agree to offer at least several hours of pro bono work, Allen said.

In New York State, the Nassau County Bar Association's Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force has been at work since the spring, thanks to a coordinated effort with organizations such as the county's district attorney and the state attorney general's office, said Peter H. Levy, the bar association's president.

About 50 attorneys have volunteered for the project, said Levy, who is in private practice in Jericho, N.Y. Levy said that in New York State, foreclosures typically take about 18 months to get through the system, so the worse may be yet to come.

"We are still dealing with cases now that started maybe a year ago," he said. "Add to that what we'll call the financial crisis and the fact that if people are relying on income for equities they no longer have...I believe that will make it worse."

The San Diego County Bar Association has teamed up with a local non-profit organization, the Housing Opportunities Collaborative, to offer free legal services during monthly clinics for homeowners. More than 70 attorneys have participated in training sessions and then volunteered in the clinics, said Heather Rosing, the bar association's president. The lawyers provide free consultation and help refer residents depending on whether they need a bankruptcy or a litigation attorney or an expert in another area, said Rosing, an attorney in San Diego's Klinedinst.

The problem is, people don't even know where to go and what to do they don't even know what types of lawyers they need," she said. "So our volunteer attorneys are essentially pointing them in the right direction."

Since the clinics started in June 2007, lawyers have volunteered more than 940 hours, said Myrna Pascual, who works in the San Diego office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is coordinating the volunteers for the clinics.

Other bar associations involved in pro bono foreclosure projects include the Collier County Foreclosure Task Force, in Naples, Fla., and the Boston Bar Association.