Attorney & Legal Aid Overview

Polanco Firm Association, a private ecclesiastical homeowner justice collective, doing business as “The Polanco Firm.”

This page is for attorneys, legal aid, and allied advocates who want to understand what we do, what we don’t do, and how we fit into the foreclosure ecosystem you’re already working in.

We are not trying to be your competition.
We’re trying to improve the quality of what lands in front of you.

Who We Are (In One Paragraph)

The Polanco Firm exists to help homeowners in foreclosure understand what’s actually happening in their case, organize their facts and documents, and locate aligned legal resources and oversight channels. We are a private ecclesiastical homeowner justice collective, not a law firm. We don’t give legal advice, we don’t represent anyone, and we don’t sell “magic bullet” solutions. We build education, intake structure, and a neutral referral environment that makes your eventual conversations with homeowners more focused and grounded in the record.

How the Homeowner Side Works

(What they see before they ever reach you)

Homeowners don’t start on the attorney site. They start on polancofirm.com, where the language and flow are built for them.

Step 1 – Start Here: Orientation & Decompression

Homeowners are first directed to a Start Here page that explains:

  • What a foreclosure case actually is (as a legal process, not a personal verdict).
  • Common patterns we see: defective service, questionable assignments, repeat filings, FAPA/timeliness issues, pressure tactics.
  • Emotional triage: guilt, panic, and shame are named so they can step out of paralysis.

The goal is not to tell them what to do in court.
The goal is to show them they’re not crazy, and their situation is not unique.

Step 2 – Guides & Worksheets: Pattern Awareness

From there, they move through a set of plain-language guides and checklists, including:

  • Service & Notice 101
  • Assignments & Standing 101
  • Timelines, Acceleration & Time Limits
  • Behavior & Pressure Tactics
  • Homeowner Timeline Worksheet
  • Document Folder Checklist
  • Pattern-Spotting Cheat Sheet

These guides help them:

  • Build a basic timeline of what actually happened.
  • Gather core documents into a single place.
  • Spot red flags that might matter to you later (without promising that they’re “automatic wins”).

We consistently remind them:

“Seeing a pattern does not replace legal advice. You still need a licensed professional if you want representation.”

Step 3 – Intake & Referrals: Finding Help

Only after that do we invite them to complete a Homeowner Intake Form, which captures:

  • State and county
  • Case stage (threat letters, filed case, sale scheduled, post-sale)
  • Their main pain points (service, assignments, timelines, harassment, etc.)
  • Whether they already have counsel

From there, they’re directed to a Referrals & Legal Resources area where they can see:

  • Foreclosure / consumer defense attorneys
  • Legal aid and nonprofit organizations
  • Complaint channels (CFPB, AG, regulators)
  • Court & agency self-help materials

They choose who to contact.
We neither guarantee nor assign representation.

What This Means For Your Practice

If you choose to be listed or involved as a partner, this is what you can realistically expect.

1. Cleaner, More Structured Intakes

By the time a homeowner reaches you, they’ve been nudged to:

  • Write down a chronological timeline
  • Gather their key documents into one place
  • Recognize at least the names of concepts like service, assignments, standing, FAPA, etc.

You’re still doing full legal analysis.
But you’re not spending the entire consult just untangling “what happened, and when.”

2. More Realistic Expectations

We deliberately avoid promising:

  • Guaranteed dismissals
  • Overnight “quiet title” miracles
  • One-size-fits-all remedies

Instead, we normalize:

  • That cases take time
  • That judges have their own constraints
  • That some paths are defensive, some offensive, and some are simply damage control

This makes your fee conversations and outcome conversations less adversarial from the start.

3. Better Signal, Less Noise

Because our work is grounded in records, timelines, and repeatable patterns, the homeowners who resonate with us tend to be:

  • More serious about documentation
  • More open to long-term strategy
  • Less interested in fantasy solutions

You’re free to decline any prospective client, as always.
We’re simply trying to make the pool less chaotic.

Boundaries & Ethics: What We Do NOT Do

To protect both homeowners and practitioners, we draw hard lines:

We are not a law firm.

  • We do not give legal advice.
  • We do not represent anyone in any court.
  • We do not draft or file motions, pleadings, or notices on behalf of homeowners.

We are not a pay-per-referral service.

  • We do not sell individual “case leads.”
  • We do not share in legal fees or contingency fees.
  • Any future membership or directory visibility for attorneys will be structured around platform access and visibility, not fee-splitting.

We are not endorsing or certifying specific counsel.

  • Inclusion in any directory or resource list is informational.
  • Homeowners are explicitly told that they must perform their own due diligence and that we do not guarantee results with any provider.

Our role is to build a healthier information environment, not to practice law through the back door.

Who This Platform Is For (And Not For)

This is for:

  • Foreclosure & Consumer Defense Attorneys
    Actively working in foreclosure, mortgage, or related consumer cases and open to more structured, better-prepared homeowners.
  • Legal Aid & Nonprofit Advocates
    Who want clients to show up less overwhelmed and more organized, even when they’re under-resourced.
  • Practitioners Who Welcome Educated Clients
    Attorneys who don’t feel threatened when clients arrive having read guides and thought through their own timeline.
  • System & Pattern Thinkers
    Those who see value in tracking recurring issues (service defects, assignment chains, FAPA timing, robo-signing, etc.) across multiple cases.

This is not for:

  • High-Pressure “Sign Today” Operations
    If your model depends on rushing clients before they understand their situation, we will not be a comfortable fit.
  • Outcome-Guaranteed Marketing
    Anyone promising guaranteed dismissals, “secret tricks,” or universally winning strategies.
  • Fee-Splitting or Bounty Models
    If you are seeking pay-per-case referral deals, this platform is not designed that way and will not be modified to do so.
  • Lawyers Who Resent Informed Clients
    If you prefer clients who “don’t ask questions” or feel that reading anything before meeting you is a problem, this ecosystem will work against your preferences.

How Participation Works (Current Beta Phase)

We are moving slowly and deliberately. At this stage, participation generally looks like this:

1. You Request a Listing

You complete a short Attorney / Legal Aid – Request a Listing form on this site, sharing:

  • Where you practice
  • Your main practice areas
  • Your experience with foreclosure/consumer issues
  • The client profile you serve best
  • Your fee structures

This does not create a listing automatically.

2. We Curate, Not Rubber-Stamp

We review submissions to see whether:

  • Your practice aligns with our current focus.
  • Your tone and materials are compatible with how we speak to homeowners.
  • Your presence would add real value to a homeowner trying to navigate options.

If the alignment is there, we may:

  • Add you to the Referrals & Legal Resources directory, and/or
  • Invite you into an early Attorney Partner beta as those tools develop.

3. No Promises, Clear Expectations

We do not:

  • Promise any specific volume of contacts.
  • Guarantee results, reviews, or ratings.
  • Interfere with your independent professional judgment in how you handle any case.

You remain fully responsible for:

  • Conflicts checks
  • Engagement letters
  • Fee arrangements
  • Strategy choices and ethics compliance

Our commitment is to keep the front-end information and intake environment as clean and reality-based as possible.

Your Next Step

If this resonates, there are two logical next moves:

  • See How the Homeowner Side Works
    Click through to the homeowner-facing site and walk the same path they see: Start Here, Guides, Intake, and Referrals. This is the world they arrive from before they ever see your name.
  • Request a Listing
    If your practice or organization aligns with foreclosure and related consumer work, and you’re open to working with more prepared homeowners, you can submit a request to be considered for inclusion and future beta partnerships.

Links:

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