Hallock Svensk '13 on the importance of working at the clinic

I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work at the Housing Initiative this past summer. I not only received great legal experience working on worthy and important legal projects, but Jeff Leslie, the Housing Initiative's supervising attorney and current director of the law school's clinical programs, is an amazing educator, excellent attorney, and genuinely decent and thoughtful individual. I am very happy to be able to continue my work at the Clinic during the academic year.

The slowdown in the housing market has forced the Housing Initiative to look a little more broadly at its role in the development of affordable housing and the creation of sustainable, livable communities in the Chicago area. As such, our two largest projects this summer dealt with "nontraditional" approaches to the problem of affordable housing.

First, we helped a group of individuals form a limited equity housing cooperative and acquire a building in Logan Square. With help from a community lender, they were able to secure financing for the purchase and rehabilitation of the building. Our work included drafting of corporate diligence documents, revising cooperative bylaws, reviewing contracts, mortgages, and title documents, and even attending the "New York-style" - i.e. face-to-face - closing. Jeff was wonderful about including us in each phase of the closing process, including having us shadow him during some heated, last-minute contract negotiations with the seller's attorney. At the end of the deal, the seller's attorney told us that in his forty years as a real estate attorney in Chicago, he had never worked on a cooperative before. The most rewarding aspect of the project was helping a creative and driven group of individuals make their own housing ambitions a reality, and an affordable one at that.

Second, we worked - and continue to work - with the residents' association of a mobile home park in a Chicago suburb - a new type of housing for the Housing Initiative. The park is in foreclosure due to gross mismanagement by its former-owner - who has since declared bankruptcy. The residents face the prospect of eviction or at least substantially increased rents through no fault of their own. In addition, the owner cut corners in his development and maintenance of the park, leading to flooding, water-backups and other plumbing issues, and serious health, safety and environmental risks to the residents. We are working with the residents to find potential development partners and financing for the acquisition and proper redevelopment of the park. It has been a difficult road given the economy and popular misconceptions of mobile homes and their residents generally. However, the park represents the only affordable housing in the municipality and we are working hard to preserve it.

I sincerely appreciate the generosity that made my time at the Clinic possible. Not only are the projects instrumental in creating more livable communities, but they provide incredible training to young and committed attorneys. I hope in the future to give back to the school in the same manner.

Hallock Svensk '13