Thursday, March 18, 2010

Kudos to Staten Island Legal Services for Providing Staten Island Home Owners With Quality Legal Assistance For Free

By  Nicholas M. Moccia
      Law Offices of Robert E. Brown, P.C.
Staten Island Legal Services launched the Homeowner Defense Project in 2006 to address the pressing legal needs of homeowners affected by the mortgage lending crisis.  It is the only organization in Staten Island providing free legal assistance to low and middle-income homeowners in foreclosure.  Its goal is to keep families in their homes and prevent foreclosures from destabilizing Staten Island neighborhoods.  In addition to providing legal advice and representation in state and federal court, Staten Island Legal Services offers assistance with newly required court settlement conferences, loan negotiations, and applying for refinancing or relocation assistance. 

Margaret Becker is director of the Homeowner Defense Project at Staten Island Legal Services.  Margaret started the Homeowner Defense Project in 2006, bringing to it 13 years of experience in public and private practice.  She began practicing law as a staff attorney representing farmworkers with Michigan Migrant Legal Assistance Project.  She practiced union-side labor and employment law and public utilities law (representing non-profit environmental groups) with a private firm in Wisconsin, represented homeless clients as a staff attorney with Legal Action of Wisconsin, and served as an editor for the Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy.  She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1985 and her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1992.


Staten Island Legal Services provides free online guidance for those served with a foreclosure summons and complaint.  The guide explains how to “answer” a foreclosure complaint without an attorney using the sample answer form.
This guide and the attached form should not replace finding professional assistance from a non-profit housing counselor or legal services attorney. 


Staten Island Legal Services Contact Info


36 Richmond Terrace, Ste. 205 (across the street from Staten Island ferry)
Staten Island, New York 10301
Tel: (718) 233-6480
Fax: (718) 448-2264

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