Volunteer Lawyer Program For Qualified Ohio Homeowners In Foreclosure Slated To Begin In March

In Ohio, the Sandusky Register reports:

• Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, a Sandusky native, knows home foreclosures are a big problem back home in Erie County and across Ohio. Moyer is asking the courts and Ohio attorneys to reach out and help as many homeowners as they can. The chief justice has asked judges who handle foreclosure cases to use mediation to resolve as many cases as possible. And he's asked Ohio lawyers to volunteer in foreclosure cases to help families who can't otherwise afford a lawyer.

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• Ken Brown, a spokesman for the Ohio Supreme Court, said the program to provide free volunteer lawyers for homeowners who otherwise can't afford them is supposed to begin in early to mid-March. Moyer issued a call for help several weeks ago and 200 to 250 lawyer answered, he said. A more specific letter from Moyer spelling out what the chief justice has in mind is being mailed out to every attorney in Ohio, Brown said.

For more, see Moyer to lawyers: Fight foreclosure for free.

Go here for posts on attorneys fighting foreclosures on a contingent fee basis (and racking up billable hours in the process - to be paid by the lender and/or mortgage servicer in a successful lawsuit) by invoking Federal and state consumer protection statutes.

For a post referencing a case that shows how it's possible for a law firm to be awarded not insignificant legal fees by a Federal judge in a "pro bono" case based on the number of billable hours invested in the case in connection with a lawsuit invoking a statute that mandates an attorney fee award to a successful plaintiff, see NY Lawyers Land Legal Fee Of $1 Million In Pro Bono Case.