Non-Lawyers Giving Legal Advice on Foreclosure Defense
The information I post on this blog is accessible to the public, and I’m fine with that. I want Florida homeowners to be aware of the issues that arise in foreclosure cases and, more generally, various political issues. In today’s business world, knowledge is power, and without knowledge, we’re all doomed to be crushed (by big banks and a largely corrupt system spearheaded by Wall Street).
In recent months, I’ve come to realize my posts on this blog are sometimes copied and pasted and posted by others, and generally, I’m okay with that. If people want to share my thoughts, I see that as a compliment. Recently, however, I’m seeing my posts being copied and pasted verbatim, without citing me, by non-lawyers who are trying to use the information I provide to give homeowners legal advice on defending foreclosures. Sometimes, the information being posted is horribly wrong and very misleading. I’m very concerned, so much so that I’m writing this post.
Do I write this blog to help educate the homeowners and the public at large? Absolutely. Does that mean that anyone reading these posts is qualified to teach others how to defend foreclosure cases? Absolutely not.
I’ve worked very hard my entire career to prepare/educate myself to litigate lawsuits such as the foreclosure cases I now defend. I keep myself abreast of emerging case law, I communicate with other lawyers in the industry on a daily basis … I do everything possible to litigate as well as possible. For any non-lawyer to think he/she can read a few posts and start giving advice to the public is horribly misguided. In fact, in many instances, I’m concerned this constitutes the unlicensed practice of law, which can be deemed a criminal offense in Florida.
To illustrate, I’ve recently come across a website that encourages Florida homeowners to “take back their homes.” The site is run by a non-lawyer who seems adamant on convincing the public that homeowners should get to keep their homes, free and clear of mortgages. Among other things, he tells homeowners that the most important criteria to consider in retaining a foreclosure defense lawyer is whether the lawyer will take the case on a contingent fee. Apparently, this website author would have his readers believe that getting a house free and clear (eliminating the mortgage) for homeowners is so likely that foreclosure defense attorneys should be willing to take cases on a contingent fee.
In theory, this “advice” may sound great. Who wouldn’t want a free house? Of course, that’s precisely the problem. This non-lawyer is espousing a result that sounds very appealing but is terribly impractical and horribly misguided.
I’m not going to lie. Is it theoretically possible for a mortgage to be “eliminated” in the process of defending a mortgage foreclosure case? Sure. However, the chances of that in any given case are so infinitesimally small (and often the result of random luck, not any pre-planned defense strategies) that it is not something worth discussing, much less planning a defense strategy around.
Let’s put it this way. I’ve been defending foreclosure cases as aggressively as anyone in Florida, perhaps the country. Don’t you think if there was any reasonable chance of getting my clients a free house that I’d be incorporating that approach into my defense strategies? I’d love to get my clients a free house. Hell, I’d love to get a free house for myself. But I’m not going to blow smoke to people, giving false hope where it isn’t warranted, and I’m certainly not going to do so just because it would help me collect a fee. There’s right and there’s wrong, and misleading consumers is wrong.
I know there are some lawyers in the industry who incorporate a contingent fee into their fee agreements with homeowners. However, I know of no lawyers who charge a straight contingent fee – those who charge these fees view them as a “bonus,” something in addition to the hourly rates or monthly fees charged by that firm. I’ve spoken out against those types of fee agreements before, so I see no reason to do so again, as that’s not the point. The point, in my view, is that I cannot envision a scenario where a competent foreclosure defense attorney is going to charge a contingent fee, without any other fees, to defend a foreclosure case. Hence, if anyone is encouraging you to find a lawyer who will do so, I strongly encourage you to take a moment and evaluate with whom you’re communicating. Unfortunately, there are a lot of non-lawyers passing off advice as lawyers, and often, this advice is terribly misleading and, possibly, a criminal violation of Florida’s prohibition against the unlicensed practice of law.
Mark Stopawww.stayinmyhome.com
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