As the nation's foreclosure epidemic continues to worsen, the Center for Responsible Lending has formed the Institute for Foreclosure Legal Assistance (IFLA) to support groups giving legal representation to families facing foreclosure and financial ruin because of abusive subprime mortgages. The National Association of Consumer Advocates will manage the project, which recognizes that one of the biggest barriers families face to avoid losing their homes is the lack of access to quality legal services.
The Institute, launched with a $15 million grant from investment management firm Paulson & Co. Inc., will provide funding and training to organizations that help homeowners negotiate alternatives to foreclosure. The majority of the funds will be grants to support direct legal assistance to borrowers in 10 or more states to fight foreclosure, predatory lenders and abusive loan servicers. It will do this primarily by providing money to top non-profit legal-aid groups and law school clinics.
Message from the Institute Advisory Board
The Institute for Foreclosure Legal Assistance provides funding and training to organizations that help homeowners fight foreclosure. In pursuit of that mission, the Institute has appointed a 4-person advisory board made up of a diverse group of nationally recognized experts dedicated to helping solve our nation's mortgage crisis. The panel members, who have no set term limit, provide leadership, guidance and advice to the Institute as it seeks to use its funds for the protection of homeowners and the advancement of proactive legal solutions to significantly diminish the flood of foreclosures causing despair and ruin throughout our nation's communities. The four board members are: Janis Bowdler, National Council of La Raza; Prentiss Cox, the University of Minnesota Law School; Nina Simon, AARP; Michael Waldorf, Paulson & Co.