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Saturday, March 07, 2009

Ind. Courts - More on: Training on new loan modification programs

Updating this ILB entry from Feb. 26th, which announced:

"An Update on Foreclosure Prevention through Loss Mitigation and Loan Modifications," sponsored by Indiana Legal Services, Inc. the Indiana Supreme Court, and the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio and the National Consumer Law Center, with support from the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority and the Institute for Foreclosure Legal Assistance, will take place March 6th.
Today Jeff Swiatek of the Indianapolis Star reports in an interesting two-page story that begins:
The first of 30 training seminars on Friday filled all 100 seats in a meeting room in Indianapolis, which last year ranked among the 35 U.S. areas with the highest number of foreclosures. Marion County and 34 other counties across the country together accounted for more than half of all foreclosures filed last year.

Speakers doled out advice about mortgage modification plans, including President Barack Obama's just-released program to aid millions of homeowners in trouble. Participants at the all-day session also worked through a practice mortgage workout to get a feel for the legal steps.

Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, who has pushed for the training program, wants attorneys who attend the seminar to each represent for free at least one homeowner facing mortgage foreclosure. That would help fulfill a lawyer's obligation to provide 50 hours of legal advice per year, said Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Melissa May, who chairs the Indiana Pro Bono Commission that oversees the free legal work provision.

"We'll take more" than one free foreclosure case a year from attorneys, said May, who attended Friday's training session. "A lot of people need help."

I had trouble seeing the entire story online, except by using the "print" opinion. The second part of the story points to the complexity of many foreclosure cases and the time they may consume.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 7, 2009 09:49 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts