Finally up for air after a terrific training yesterday for our new volunteer attorney-mediators, I am delighted to announce that Marquette will be starting a Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program.  You can link here for the website giving the background details (generous funding by the city and state–see the announcement by the dean here) and also to our training materials.  As my dean has pointed out (perhaps too gleefully?), this is an area of the law about which I know nothing.  Totally true.  Although after yesterday’s training and reviewing all of the materials, I clearly have a better idea of how we reached this foreclosure crisis (7500 homes in Milwaukee in foreclosure) and what options might exist for working this out.  The fact that I knew nothing about foreclosure law also reminds me of the lovely skillset that dispute resolution professionals bring to the table.  Much like good trial attorneys who know how to sell a case, regardless of the facts, good mediators should be able to apply their skills to any case.  I don’t expect that all of these cases will magically work out (and some are absolutely ripe for litigation).  At the same time, I am optimistic that this program can help people save their homes.  We will start mediating cases soon and be tracking not only our immediate settlement rate but whether people are in their homes six months, 12 months, and 24 months down the road.  I will keep you posted…