National Consumer Law Center Foreclosure Experts Train Attorneys in Puerto Rico to Help Stave Off Foreclosures in the Wake of Hurricane Maria

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 -- The National Consumer Law Center issued the following news release:

The year-long moratoriums on foreclosures and legal actions in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria are expiring. To address this potential foreclosure crisis, National Consumer Law Center staff attorneys Alys Cohen and Geoff Walsh traveled to San Juan to conduct a Foreclosure Prevention training on October 3, 2018. The day-long training was held at the San Juan Convention Center to accommodate over 200 legal services and pro bono attorneys in attendance as part of NCLC's Disaster Relief & Consumer Protection Project.

NCLC attorneys toured the area and met with Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico (SLPR), the largest legal services provider in Puerto Rico; and with the University of Puerto Rico School of Law's Consumer Legal Aid Clinic. SLPR and NCLC sponsored the training after NCLC began working with Servicios Legales and other Puerto Rico advocates following the hurricane last year. After the training, SLPR Executive Director Hadassa Santini Colberg sent a note to NCLC Executive Director Rich Dubois noting that the "training was deemed a success; all attendees expressed how valuable was the information and materials provided." And NCLC Of Counsel Tara Twomey "has been invaluable in helping our clients resolve complicated insurance and servicing issues," added SLPR Foreclosure Project Manager Rafael A. Rodriguez Rosello.

Additionally, NCLC has provided the two legal groups' free access to its legal manuals, disaster-focused written materials, and legal expertise in particular cases. According to Santini Colberg, "The access to NCLC legal treatises has been a valuable tool for our attorneys, offering them with most needed resources to effectively represent our low-income clients. Almost a hundred PRLS attorneys have already benefited from them. We look forward to more collaboration in the future."