Thought the foreclosure crisis was tapering off? Hardly. Nationwide, nearly 940,000 homes received a default or auction notice or were repossessed by banks in the third quarter of 2009. In New York State, filings were up 11% from the second quarter of 2009 . . . .
The Legal Services Corporation was created to help provide essential civil legal services to low-income Americans. In the mid-1990s, the Republican-controlled Congress imposed sweeping and unwarranted restrictions that continue to hamper the work of local legal services offices . . . .
Evidence shows that in the areas hardest hit by foreclosures, Americans are not getting the legal help they need. This report highlights the many ways lawyers can help save families' homes from foreclosure and recommends various policy steps to be taken on the national and state levels to increase access to attorneys for the most vulnerable.
Obama Administration releases "Statement of Administrative Policy" on Senate appropriations bill, again calling for repeal of three key legal services restrictions -- including the restriction on non-LSC funds -- and full funding for LSC.
As bad as America's foreclosure crisis is -- and it's very bad, with over 300,000 homes receiving a foreclosure filing every month -- it's being made even more devastating by the lack of legal assistance available to beleaguered homeowners . . . .
