Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney Draws Overflow Crowd For One-Day "Boot Camp" In Tampa

In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:

• Millions of homeowners across the nation have been sued by lenders who seek foreclosure. Their biggest cheerleader may be April Charney. The lawyer with the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid agency wants to shout from the top of her lungs that every one of them - regardless of circumstance - should fight back. Problem is, she said, there aren't enough lawyers who take these cases, and many don't have enough training to be successful.

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• On Thursday, Charney spent the day with 200 lawyers and other real estate professionals. Part of her requirement for the one-day, boot-camp-style training: 20 hours of pro bono service. "I've been drafted for this work," she said of her position with the legal aid group, which represents low-income clients for free. "I'm trying to train other recruits."

• Landing Charney in Tampa was a coup for the Hillsborough County Bar Association and Bay Area Legal Services, which presented the seminar. The crowd was so large that some had to sit in an overflow room and listen to Charney through speakers. Sixty people couldn't get in.

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• Catherine Peek McEwen, a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Tampa, attended and said she wants to gain a better understanding of foreclosure law. "I think the learning curve was up a notch for the Tampa Bay area," she said. "The state court judges are going to have more to chew on if these lawyers get in front of them."

For more, see Lawyer Provides Foreclosure Arsenal.