Two from Rockville Centre among lawyers cited for innovative program

The Nassau County Bar Association’s Mortgage Foreclosure Pro Bono Project, with its unique Legal Consultation Clinics program, has won the LexisNexis Community and Education Outreach Award from the National Association of Bar Executives, for outstanding public service and law-related educational programs.

This is the third major recognition of the innovative mortgage foreclosure community assistance program.

“Unfortunately, Nassau continues to be among those counties in New York state with the largest number of residents facing foreclosure issues. Our unique clinics bring together all resources, including home modification counselors and bankruptcy attorneys, to provide services all in one room,” said NCBA President Susan Katz Richman. “We also offer assistance to families confronted by foreclosure, in Spanish and many other languages. While we may not resolve every issue in a single meeting, people leave here with a greater awareness their options. Knowing that we are here to help alleviates their fear of losing their homes,” Richman added.

In 2008, in response to the unprecedented mortgage foreclosure crisis, the Nassau County Bar Association was the first in New York to address it. NCBA convened a task force that eventually launched the state’s first free Mortgage Foreclosure Legal Consultation Clinic in March 2009, and it has held a clinic every month since.

In addition to meeting one-on-one with a volunteer attorney, housing counselors from organizations including the Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Centre are on hand to help with loan modifications. Attorneys from Nassau/Suffolk Law Services, which provide reduced-fee legal services , as well as volunteer bankruptcy attorneys, are available to assist.

In April 2010, Nassau County Bar Association attorneys began representing residents pro bono at daily court-mandated mortgage foreclosure conferences in Supreme Court.  Since that time more than 200 volunteer attorneys have assisted more than 3,500 families through the project, which is made possible in part by a grant from the New York Bar Foundation.

Next clinic is on Oct. 17

The next free clinic will be held on Oct. 17 from 3-6 p.m. at NCBA headquarters, 15th and West Streets in Mineola. Attorneys will provide one-on-one guidance, advice and direction to any Nassau County homeowner who is concerned about foreclosure matters or is already in the foreclosure process.

  Reservations are required and can be made by calling the NCBA at (516) 747-4070. Attendees are asked to bring their mortgage documents to the clinic. Bi-lingual attorneys fluent in Spanish will be on site. Attorneys fluent in Russian, Haitian Creole, Korean, Chinese, Hindi and many other languages are available upon request when homeowners make a reservation.