The Nassau/Suffolk Law Services Committee has set up its Volunteer Lawyers Project at the Nassau County District Courthouse located in Hempstead where Long Island foreclosure cases are decided every day.
The project provides an opportunity for volunteer lawyers to help homeowners who have been affected by New York foreclosures.
Volunteer Lawyers Project coordinator Roberta Scoll observed that some homeowners have gone through the foreclosure process before while others had never experienced it and anxiety and nervousness are the dominant emotions you could see on their faces.
According to Scoll, over 20 percent of foreclosure cases on the district courthouse’s docket are handled by Judge Scott Fargrieve, which represents an average total of 50 cases per day.
She adds that homeowners who want to avail of services offered by attorneys under the Volunteer Lawyers Project must earn below 200 percent of poverty level set up by the federal government which is $21,200 for every household with four members.
Lawyers usually volunteer in the project at least once for every two months.
Fargrieve praises these volunteer lawyers for offering their invaluable services to homeowners who are facing the threat of foreclosure.
He explains that without these volunteer lawyers, a lot of homeowners may be homeless right now. He adds that lawyers do treat their clients fairly, whether they are being paid or not. Rudy de Winter, a retired lawyer, volunteers his services at least twice a week. He has received the 2008 pro bono attorney award from the Nassau County Bar Association. He retired in 2002 and often represents complicated cases.
Meanwhile, Stewart Wurtzel, a New York Coty real estate lawyer, volunteers every month for almost six years now. He explains that volunteering is a way to expand the market reach of his practice.
He also adds that volunteer lawyers are given credits of Continuing Legal Education for the time they spend in the pro-bono project designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
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