The Elder Law Clinic (ELC) is part of the St. Vincent de Paul
Legal program, Inc. It is an in-house, one-semester civil
litigation and advocacy clinic. Under the supervision of two
full-time clinical faculty members, our students represent
low-income, elderly Queens residents in cases involving:
Deed Theft. Deed theft occurs when a person’s home
is essentially taken from them through fraudulent deed
transactions, sometimes as part of a foreclosure rescue scam.
When the victim is elderly, he or she may have diminished mental
capacity. The fraud is perpetrated through forged or fraudulently
obtained deeds and powers of attorney. The property is quickly sold
or “flipped” to another party, and the victim threatened with
eviction or foreclosure. Clinic students work to have title
restored to the true owner.
Foreclosure Defense and Predatory Lending. The ELC
is a leader in litigating predatory mortgage lending cases in the
Queens courts. We have had several large predatory lending cases in
which elderly clients were defrauded by unscrupulous mortgage
brokers, and entered into unaffordable mortgage loans, with the
false promise that their total debt burden would be lightened or
that the house they were purchasing or repairing would be as good
as new. Now, many of these clients are facing foreclosure and
clinic interns are fighting for our clients to keep their
homes. Some of the relief we obtain for clients are loan
modifications through the federal government’s Making Home
Affordable Program.
Home Improvement Contractor Fraud Cases. Clinic
students have filed lawsuits against home improvement contractors
who sign contracts with our clients, take their money, but never
complete the home repair work or perform defective work. In some of
these cases, the contractor assists the client in obtaining a loan
on unfavorable terms to finance the work.
Debt Collection. ELC students counsel clients who
are being harassed by debt collectors and occasionally commence
lawsuits in federal court under the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act. When clients have been sued on a consumer debt, we defend
them. We also protect clients’ Social Security and other protected
income from being seized by judgment creditors.
Other Consumer Matters. We assist clients who have
suffered from deceptive business practices in the sale of
automobiles, in door-to-door sales, and in the sale of other
consumer items.
ELC students practice law under a student practice order issued by
the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department.
Working in teams of two or three, they develop the following
lawyering skills:
- Client interviewing and counseling
- Case assessment and strategy
- Professional responsibility
- Legal research and writing
- Courtroom and oral advocacy
- Pre-trial litigation
- Negotiation, informal advocacy, dispute resolution
- Collaboration
- Policy and Law Reform
- Community Lawyering
For more information on the Elder Law Clinic at St. John’s
School of Law, please
contact us.