As foreclosures in South Florida continue to skyrocket, more and more homeowners are turning to lawyers for legal help.

And thanks to a new program at the University of Miami School of Law, graduates who recently passed the Florida Bar Exam are offering free help to people caught in the foreclosure crisis.

``People don't realize what options are available; they don't have to roll over and take whatever is happening to them,'' Barbeth Foster said.

Foster and five other newly-trained lawyers are working out of the Legal Services of Greater Miami and Legal Aid Service of Broward County. They've been taught to represent clients in court and offer other alternatives. Some options: negotiating with a lender or settling for a short sale of the home.

``When the foreclosure happens, the number of important legal defenses that may be available are not always obvious to people without legal training,'' said Michael Froomkin, a University of Miami law professor who heads the Foreclosure Defense Fellowship.

``Some of these options will buy you time, and some of these will do a lot more . . . even those that buy you time are a way of getting a lender's attention and stimulating a negotiation,'' he said.

In addition, the university has selected a handful of graduates who are studying for their master's degrees in law to work closely with local lawyers on a program called the Foreclosure Project. Created by Aventura real estate lawyer Richard Burton, the project offers free defense representation to people in need.

Burton and his team of lawyers supervise the three law students, who signed up to work 15 hours per week.

Froomkin, who specializes in Internet law, said he spearheaded the effort to create a foreclosure fellowship after a lawyer told him about the thousands of foreclosure cases stacking up at courthouses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

``Many people who can't afford to pay their mortgages usually can't afford an attorney,'' Froomkin said. ``If there wasn't a free service, they probably wouldn't have a lawyer and may go unnoticed.''

The program benefits homeowners at the same time it helps the new lawyers' careers. In addition to gaining work experience, each fellow is awarded $10,000 for completing the six-month fellowship.

``It's a unique opportunity that not many attorneys get straight out of law school,'' Foster said. ``I'm learning how to carry my own caseload, which will make a difference in how other [attorneys] view me.''

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