Are lawyers kicking ’em while they’re down?

Flickr photo by Ed Schipul

Admittedly, homeowners in foreclosure face a Hobson’s choice.  Do they choose fight or flight?

In the case of a number of Florida homeowners, they are opting for fight.  At the same time, they are making what some would perceive as a pact with the devil: Lawyers who literally have them mortgage their future.

A front -page article in Sunday’s New York Times documents how lawyers who are hired by desperate homeowners lacking cash agree to represent them only if their compensation is guaranteed by a second mortgage.

What?

One expert in contingency fees allowed that the practice made him queasy.  It makes me queasy, too, close to nauseated.

The scheme sounds like exploitation.

At the same time,