Town hall to discuss home foreclosure crisis Cooley law professor to moderate forum Oct. 29

By Jo Mathis Legal News An event this Saturday will help metro Detroiters who find themselves victims of a struggling housing market. Cooley Law School Associate Professor Florise Neville-Ewell will moderate a foreclosure forum Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward Ave. Neville-Ewell is founder of The 10 Commandments Of Real Estate (10CORE) Law Society, which, along with the American Bar Association Coalition on Racial & Ethnic Justice is sponsoring the event. "The forum is designed to educate everyone, from senior citizens to young couples and families whose loved ones are in the military," said Neville-Ewell. "Since our real estate pandemic is like a virus and has infected and affected every community, from those in the inner city to those in more affluent areas, this town hall is designed to attract every socio-economic group within driving distance." Presenters, in addition to Neville-Ewell, include Rawle Andrews Jr., regional vice president for the American Association of Retired People; Neeta Delaney, co-director of Michigan Foreclosure Task Force; Jamele Hage, assistant corporation counsel and acting director of the Mortgage Foreclosure Program for Wayne County; Abed Hammoud, assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Michigan; Judith Levy, assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Michigan; Clifford Schrupp, executive director, Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit, and Cooley Law School associate professors Stevie Swanson and Patricia Mock. The forum, which will be held in the library's Friends Auditorium, will include discussions on general property/foreclosure law, current status of Michigan law, role of certified counselors, prevalent mortgage scams, the impact of filing for bankruptcy, fair housing issues, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, challenges for seniors, reverse mortgages, and estate planning. The forum is part of a continuous series of town halls designed to educate the public about real estate issues through the 10CORE Law Society, a Michigan non-profit that operates through law student chapters. Cooley was the first school to establish a student chapter, and the goal is to establish more chapters in law schools in Michigan and across the country, Neville-Ewell said. Through 10CORE's collaboration with the ABA, town halls have been conducted in Atlanta, Georgia and Baltimore, Maryland. The plan is to hit every state, starting with the those with the highest foreclosure rates. Sadly, Michigan is part of that list. "This town hall is a larger version of what our 0CORE Law Society Student Organization has been doing since its inception," said Neville-Ewell. "Supervised students, lawyers, and other professionals prepare PowerPoint presentations tailored to accommodate the audience's demographics." "My premise is that people make better decisions if they have basic knowledge about these issues. In addition, with information about these basic protocols, they are less likely to succumb to scam artists and more likely to seek professional help because they soon realize that real estate transactions are complicated." She said she's grateful to all the speakers who've volunteered their expertise. "I'm excited about the synergy that will result once our speakers share important information with the community," she said, noting that she hopes videotapes of the event will air on public television. Published: Thu, Oct 27, 2011

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