One positive by-product of the recessionary economy in the United States has been the emergence of innovative legal assistance programs geared to the needs of those underserved by the system. The 10CORE Project in the State of Michigan is an excellent example of such an innovative idea.
In the State of Michigan, a recent study by the State Bar found that while more than three million people qualify for free help from legal aid programs, three out of every seven who request assistance are turned away for lack of resources. This denial of legal assistance is occurring at a time when the housing market in Michigan is facing a record number of foreclosures and, not surprisingly, also a record number of mortgage/ foreclosure fraudulent schemes.
To address this issue, Professor Neville-Ewell, a former general counsel of the Detroit Housing Commission and former chairperson of the Michigan State Housing Development, started the 10CORE Project at the Cooley Law School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The project, which is in its infancy, pairs volunteer attorneys with law students to write articles on various aspects of real estate transactions, to be published on a website for the general public. The purpose of the articles is to educate state residents on the protocols of real estate transactions in an effort to make them less likely to succumb to mortgage and foreclosure fraud.
The success of the 10CORE Project depends, in no small part, on the willingness of lawyers to devote time to the program. Because the Michigan Bar has a pro bono service requirement, there is significant optimism that the goals of the Project can be achieved. If the 10CORE Project is successful, it provides an interesting model for attacking a variety of other legal problems where education of those unable to obtain legal assistance is critical.
Posted by
Patricia N Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee
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Very useful initiative. There seem to be other private initiatives out there with the same premise of using the Web as an informational tool. I practice in immigration and know that there are several sites out there, such as Avvo.com, that provide the public with free legal information, as well as an opportunity to pose questions to lawyers who answer for free. I also believe that some of these free legal publishers have been criticized by the organized Bar for breaking the mold of the traditional attorney-client relationship. I believe that the more attorneys (as opposed to non-attorneys) can contribute to getting accurate, informative information out to the public, the better off we all are.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely seems worthwhile and timely as the public turns more and more to the Web for legal guidance.
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