Pressure On State Bar To Implement Special Review Process To Discipline Florida Attorneys That Play Fast & Loose When Representing Foreclosing Lenders

In Sarasota, Florida, Sarasota Herald Tribune columnist Tom Lyons comments on the recent news from The Florida Bar, which will reportedly look into implementing a special review process to specifically discipline attorneys for foreclosing mortgage lenders guilty of playing fast and loose with their court filings in, and representations to judges presiding over, foreclosure actions:

• Lawyer jokes aside, the legal system only functions as well as it does because most lawyers are honest. That is, most don't make flat-out lies and forgeries a routine part of their work. They spin the facts, yes, and they are adept at dodging and weaving around troublesome features of reality while presenting a case.

• But filing fake documents to establish the right to take possession of someone's home? That's not something a lawyer should do. So what if that were suddenly happening in cases all over the nation? What if some law firms that specialize in bulk handling of mortgage foreclosures for the lending industry were having so much trouble finding original loan documents, and documents showing the ownership trail as debts were packaged and resold, that many started filing forged documents in their place?

• That seems to be the fact, according to a study by a Florida Bar group. And Harley Herman, a lawyer who is part of a Florida Bar group pushing for a special review of ethics violations in foreclosure cases, says this is a serious problem.

For the story, see Foreclosure chicanery not a funny lawyer joke.