Maryland Chief Judge Urges Attorneys To Step Up Pro Bono Efforts To Level Playing Field For Homeowners In Foreclosure

In Maryland, The Daily Record reports:

• The chief judge of Maryland’s highest court is calling on lawyers to lend a hand to people facing foreclosure. According to Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell, Maryland is one of the 10 states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, with 11,000 foreclosures anticipated for 2008. Meanwhile, the General Assembly changed the foreclosure procedures this year, but borrowers may not be aware of their rights. “Lawyers can help level the playing field,” Bell said. “Lawyers are uniquely qualified to help homeowners assert their rights under the new legislation.”

***

• He highlighted the efforts of the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland and Civil Justice Inc., which are putting together a “pro bono foreclosure prevention” program in conjunction with MICPEL, the Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers Inc. The groups hope to recruit and train 500 volunteer lawyers to serve in a number of ways. [...] Bell said he soon would be making a personal appeal to each lawyer via letter.

For more, see Lawyers urged to help distressed homeowners (Bell tells attorneys to level the foreclosure playing field by volunteering) (if link expires, try here).

For more on foreclosure defense in Maryland, see The New Nuts & Bolts of Foreclosure Defense - A First Look at Maryland's New Foreclosure Law.