Free Legal Workshop Set To Help Military Personnel

Yesner Law to Participate in Free Legal Workshop Set to Help Military Personnel Deal with Wide Range of Housing Disputes

Active military personnel, reservists and veterans having difficulty resolving housing problems are invited to a free legal workshop where they will have the opportunity on June 12 for free, one-on-one consultations with lawyers and counselors experienced in housing issues.

One of the lawyers donating his time to participate in the workshop is Shawn Yesner of Yesner Law in Tampa.

“Our military personnel and veterans are not immune from the same housing problems that beset the civilian population,” Yesner said. “We have an obligation to help, and I am proud to be able to give back to the men and women who put their lives on the line for the rest of us.”

The workshop on Wednesday, June 12, will run from 3-7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg at 1900 Gandy Blvd.

“We wanted to hold it at a site that would be convenient for the men and women at MacDill Air Force Base,” said Elizabeth Porcelli, the coordinator and a paralegal with the nonprofit Community Law Program, a service organization based in St. Petersburg. The Community Law Program, along with Stetson Law and Neighborhood Home Solutions are the sponsors of the workshop.

Among the legal issues that will be discussed are foreclosures and short sales, landlord-tenant disputes, and homeowners association disputes. Yesner will present the foreclosure workshop, as well as working with individual participants.

Yesner has practiced real estate law in Florida since 1998 and turned his focus to foreclosure law in 2001. For the last eight years he has focused on legal ramifications for home and business owners caught in the real estate downturn, from which Florida is still trying to recover. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses fell victim to foreclosure, and both apartments and condos suffered precipitous drops in value.

“It is particularly difficult for military personnel to deal with this issues when so many of them are so far from home,” Yesner said. “We’re going to try to help as many as we can.”

The workshop also will provide presentations on foreclosure, landlord-tenant law, and the Service Members Civil Relief Act.