Nassau Bar Association Free Mortgage Foreclosure Clinics Win NYS Bar Association Top Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 3, 2010 --

The Nassau County Bar Association (NCBA), the largest suburban bar in the country, has won statewide recognition for its groundbreaking Mortgage Foreclosure Free Legal Consultation Clinics, which this year have helped hundreds of residents facing the prospect of losing their homes. The 2009 Award of Merit recognizes outstanding service to the public and profession through innovative projects and programs that serve to enhance public understanding of the law, advance and promote the work of the legal profession, and support the best interest of the public. Judging is based on ingenuity and creativity in planning the project, overall quality, and scope of the project in relation to the association’s resources.

The award was presented last month at the NYS Bar Association’s Annual Meeting by the New York State Conference of Bar Leaders, composed of the leadership of bar associations across the state. Accepting the award was NCBA Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force Co-Chair Martha Krisel, Chief Deputy County Attorney for Special Projects, Office of the Nassau County Attorney, along with other key coordinators and supporters of the project NCBA President Emily F. Franchina; NCBA Past Presidents Peter Levy, Lance Clarke and A. Thomas Levin, NCBA Administrator for Community Relations and Public Education Caryle Katz, and NCBA Director of Marketing and Public Relations Valerie Zurblis.

In response to the unprecedented mortgage foreclosure crisis in Nassau County,Long Island, NY, NCBA -- working closely with Nassau/Suffolk Law Services, the Nassau Regional Office of the Attorney General and the Nassau County Homeownership Center – was the first bar association in New York State to address the looming mortgage foreclosure crisis. The Task Force oversaw legal training on foreclosure matters for attorneys, presented a public seminar about the foreclosure process and available services to help residents, and then launched New York State’s first free Mortgage Foreclosure Legal Consultation Clinic, which was held in March 2009. Since launching the monthly clinics last spring, volunteer attorneys have helped more than 450 homeowners with individual foreclosure issues, gave advice or referred them to appropriate agencies and programs. The attorneys do not provide legal representation, but help homeowners find out if they need a credit counselor or a lawyer, and get them in touch with available resources. For more information, go to www.nassaubar.org or call 516-747-4070.

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