Community Corner

NCBA Receives Award of Merit

Award given for projects to help prevent mortgage foreclosures in Nassau County.

The Nassau County Bar Association (NCBA), the largest suburban bar in the country, has won statewide recognition for its groundbreaking mortgage foreclosure pro bono project and free legal consultation clinics, which have helped hundreds of residents facing the prospect of losing their homes.

The Award of Merit for Large Bar Associations (2,000 members or more) recognizes outstanding service to the public 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 Nassau County Bar Association was honored for designing a public service project to help Nassau County residents keep their homes by avoiding mortgage foreclosure during the continuing housing crisis. The project helps provide free legal assistance to Nassau homeowners on how to stave off foreclosure. To date, the NCBA has held eight Mortgage Foreclosure Legal Consultation Clinics. Fifty-three attorneys have volunteered their time and talents to help more than 350 individual residents and families keep their homes while educating many more people about the foreclosure process.

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"Local bar associations from Long Island to Buffalo play an important role in educating the public and improving access to the justice system with innovative and timely programs that meet real community needs," said New York State Bar Association President Michael E. Getnick (Getnick Livingston Atkinson & Priore, LLP of Utica and of counsel to Getnick & Getnick of New York City). "The State Bar is pleased to honor all the awardees for their terrific work in helping the public, and I commend the Nassau County Bar Association for its excellent efforts on behalf of these homeowners in real need."

The award was presented last month at the NYS Bar Association's Annual Conference by the New York State Conference of Bar Leaders, composed of the leadership of bar associations across the state.

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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.

The Nassau County Bar Association — 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.

In 2008, NCBA convened a task force composed of NCBA members and representatives from appropriate Nassau County agencies and service providers to explore the local mortgage foreclosure problem and develop and implement a strategy to help homeowners. 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.

"Long Island had the highest foreclosure rate in New York State, and the Nassau County Bar Association did an incredible job of educating its community about all aspects of the mortgage foreclosure process," said Linda J. Clark of Albany (Hiscock & Barclay LLP), chair of the Conference of Bar Leaders. "I am very honored to present our Award of Merit to them, and I applaud their valuable contributions to helping struggling families save their homes during this difficult economic time."

This is the fourth time NCBA has been recognized with the Award of Merit in the large bar category. NCBA previously received the state award for the "Murder in the Library" public education program, the creation of the WE CARE Fund, which is the charitable arm of the Association, and the attorney-student mentoring program for middle school students at risk.

The next mortgage foreclosure legal consultation clinic will be held Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Nassau County Bar Association, 15th and West Streets, Mineola, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Nassau homeowners who would like to attend must first pre-register by calling 516-747-4070 or e-mailing info@nassaubar.org.


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