Siobhan Siobhan Grant, Bradley Matt Weintraub (all of whom graduated May, 2009)inwork at2009) Legalwork Services of Greater Miami, ABOVE: Grant,Shapiro, Bradleyand Shapiro, and Matt Weintraub (all of whom in graduated May, at Legal Services of Inc. Greater Miami, Inc. “I have a banking background and a legal degree and I still find some documents confusing,” she continues. “For many of my clients, it isn’t that they aren’t intelligent or that they’re uneducated or incapable of understanding, but really that they aren’t familiar and often overwhelmed with the format, presentation, language barriers or volume of information they receive. This paralyzes a lot of people.’’ Even when they cannot resolve the problems faced by clients, for countless cases, advice is the primary tool in the Fellows’ toolkit. “I just hope I can give good advice to at least one person,” says Grant. “It’s fine on both sides when the homeowner says they don’t want representation, but just need advice. This is a perfect match of what they want and what we often can provide.”
severe poverty and have no social, familial or economic support. If advice helps save just one home, then that preserves the value of the other houses on the street and in the neighborhood. So in helping the client, we’re really serving the entire community.” The reviews are in. Without exception, each participant found the real world legal experience with the Foreclosure Defense Program meaningful, productive and tremendously educational. “Overall, the fellowship has been very rewarding, providing me with a perspective and a face to the financial meltdown,” says Grant. “I never really thought of consumer advocacy as an area of law that I’d consider, but I’ve found it eye-opening, rewarding and interesting because consumer, banking and foreclosure laws are changing so rapidly.”
Harley, the Supervisor in Broward, is a strong proponent of that as well. “You cannot discount the advice. Our biggest service to the community is to provide advice. Many of our clients come from
FALL 2010
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