Governor Strickland says 1,100 Ohio attorneys have volunteered to give legal services to struggling homeowners facing foreclosure.
Under the state-coordinated program, the private attorneys will mediate disputes for free and represent homeowners seeking to restructure loans. They'll join with legal aid lawyers in the effort to cut the growing foreclosure rate in the state where foreclosures rose in 85 of 88 counties last year.
Strickland, Attorney General Marc Dann and Chief Justice Thomas Moyer announced the initiative Tuesday at a Statehouse news conference.
Moyer last year asked the state bar association to help come up with ways for lawyers to volunteer to mediate foreclosure disputes for free.
