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Touro Law Launches New Mortgage Foreclosure & Bankruptcy Clinic
March 24, 2010Central Islip, NY – Touro Law Center’s new Mortgage Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Clinic is helping Long Islanders who don’t know where else to turn and are in need of legal assistance. And, with Suffolk County experiencing the greatest number of foreclosure actions in New York State, there is an overwhelming need for this kind of legal work in the community.
"Already we have closed cases and helped members of the Long Island community to keep their homes though mortgage modifications and counsel,” said Clinical Director and Professor of Law Leif Rubinstein. “Based on the number of cases we have and the growing interest in our services, we have decided to move forward with a summer clinic to ensure continuity of services to members of the community and to help as many people as possible. There is a great need for this kind of legal work in the community – and our students are doing their part to fill that void."
The clinic currently has approximately 30 open cases in foreclosure and another dozen in bankruptcy and has already provided assistance to countless community members and helped families in crisis keep their homes.
Touro Law hosted an open house for the new clinic on March 19, 2010, where community leaders and advocates as well as funders joined together to celebrate the establishment of the new clinic. Speaking at the event were: Touro Law Dean Lawrence Raful; Senator Brian X. Foley, who successfully secured major funding for the clinic; the Honorable Jeffrey Arlen Spinner, Acting Supreme Court Justice; Executive Director of the Central Islip Civic Council Nancy Manfredonia; and Clinical Director and Professor of Law Leif Rubinstein.
The only legal clinic of its kind in New York State, the Mortgage Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Clinic at Touro Law will allow students to work under the supervision of experienced faculty representing clients in a wide range of legal matters. Through training and weekly seminars, students will negotiate mortgage modifications, appear in New York State Supreme Court at Mandatory Foreclosure Settlement Conferences, research and draft litigation documents necessary for foreclosure defense, assist in the preparation and filing of both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions and appear at hearings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
"This clinic is serving both community members and law students," said Professor Rubinstein. "Local members of the community will have a place to turn and a resource to help them when facing foreclosure and bankruptcy while providing students with hands-on practice skills that will assist them in becoming experienced attorneys."
Major funding for this clinic, which began on January 11, 2010, has been provided by: The State of New York, Office of Senator Brian X. Foley; Suffolk County; Capital One Bank; Bank of America. Additional funding provided by Citibank, N.A. and Astoria Federal Savings.
"Already we have closed cases and helped members of the Long Island community to keep their homes though mortgage modifications and counsel,” said Clinical Director and Professor of Law Leif Rubinstein. “Based on the number of cases we have and the growing interest in our services, we have decided to move forward with a summer clinic to ensure continuity of services to members of the community and to help as many people as possible. There is a great need for this kind of legal work in the community – and our students are doing their part to fill that void."
The clinic currently has approximately 30 open cases in foreclosure and another dozen in bankruptcy and has already provided assistance to countless community members and helped families in crisis keep their homes.
Touro Law hosted an open house for the new clinic on March 19, 2010, where community leaders and advocates as well as funders joined together to celebrate the establishment of the new clinic. Speaking at the event were: Touro Law Dean Lawrence Raful; Senator Brian X. Foley, who successfully secured major funding for the clinic; the Honorable Jeffrey Arlen Spinner, Acting Supreme Court Justice; Executive Director of the Central Islip Civic Council Nancy Manfredonia; and Clinical Director and Professor of Law Leif Rubinstein.
The only legal clinic of its kind in New York State, the Mortgage Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Clinic at Touro Law will allow students to work under the supervision of experienced faculty representing clients in a wide range of legal matters. Through training and weekly seminars, students will negotiate mortgage modifications, appear in New York State Supreme Court at Mandatory Foreclosure Settlement Conferences, research and draft litigation documents necessary for foreclosure defense, assist in the preparation and filing of both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions and appear at hearings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
"This clinic is serving both community members and law students," said Professor Rubinstein. "Local members of the community will have a place to turn and a resource to help them when facing foreclosure and bankruptcy while providing students with hands-on practice skills that will assist them in becoming experienced attorneys."
Major funding for this clinic, which began on January 11, 2010, has been provided by: The State of New York, Office of Senator Brian X. Foley; Suffolk County; Capital One Bank; Bank of America. Additional funding provided by Citibank, N.A. and Astoria Federal Savings.
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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center has a new 185,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art law campus adjacent to and working with a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro’s new campus provides a one-of-a kind learning model for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro, which has a student body of approximately 750 and an alumni base of nearly 5,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs as well as graduate law programs
For more info contact:Contact: Patti Desrochers Director of Communications (631) 761-7062 Fax (631) 761-7069 pdesrochers@tourolaw.edu