Central Florida Chief Judge Gives "First Responder" Training To Local Attorneys Assisting Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

In Central Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:

• The chief judge in Manatee and Sarasota counties spent his lunch [Friday] training what he called the "first responders" for home rescue -- about 80 private attorneys willing to help homeowners in foreclosure on the cheap.(1) The attorneys will represent homeowners who don't qualify for free legal representation. They will help homeowners during a meeting with lenders to try to settle foreclosure cases outside of the court system.

For more, see Legal-Ease: 911 for those facing foreclosure.

Go here for other posts on the foreclosure mediation program in Florida's 12th Judicial Circuit (Manatee, Sarasota, and Desoto Counties).

(1) Contrast this approach to handling foreclosures by Manatee/Sarasota/Desoto County (Florida's 12th Judicial Circuit) Chief Judge Lee Haworth, who also already requires mandatory mediation, with that of Lee County Chief Judge G. Keith Cary, whose "Rocket Docket" approach to blasting through foreclosure cases recently drew attention in a recent Wall Street Journal story as well as in a recent CBS Evening News report (here and here).