Florida Bar Puts Heat On Attorney Affiliations With Upfont Fee Loan Modification Outfits; Opens 195 Foreclosure Rescue Probes This Year

In Broward County, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• A Coral Springs lawyer is being investigated by the Florida Bar Association for her involvement with a South Florida foreclosure rescue company, as trade regulators continue to file actions against attorneys involved in similar operations. Bar officials confirmed they are investigating Karen Grun and her ties to Housing Assistance Law Center, of Deerfield Beach.(1) The Florida Attorney General's Office filed legal action against the company and three afilliates in July, claiming they illegally took payments in advance and, in some cases, guaranteed a mortgage could be modified in 30 to 60 days.

• The bar has increasingly scrutinized partnerships between lawyers and foreclosure rescue firms, concerned the relationships were forged to skirt state laws barring upfront fees for loan modification work. The professional association, which monitors and disciplines lawyers, opened 195 cases regarding foreclosure rescue practices this year.

For more, see Bar investigating Coral Springs attorney (Lawyers, modification companies may have formed partnerships to bypass upfront fee laws).

(1) According to the story, Grun's name and the phrase "a private law firm" were on Housing Assistance Law Center documents, and state corporate records listed her as the center's director/president from April through June. Housing Assistance since has been dissolved and it's telephone number has been disconnected, the story states.