Margaret Henn Receives MLSC Rising Star Award

Rising Star Award

Congratulations to the Director of PBRC’s Home Preservation Project, Margaret Henn, for her selection as Maryland Legal Services Corporation’s Rising Star!

 

The Rising Star Award is presented to an attorney who has practiced law for 10 years or less and has significantly contributed to expanding access to justice by serving the civil legal needs of low-income Marylanders or advancing the delivery of civil legal services.

 

Margaret has an unwavering commitment to ensuring that the poor and the unrepresented have access to free legal help in their own communities. She is a creative, dedicated, and collaborative partner, and her efforts have contributed to new and increased pro bono services as well as legislative protections for low-income homeowners in Maryland.

 

Margaret joined PBRC in 2013, after previously working at Regional Housing Legal Services. She also spent time at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, as well as St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center here in Baltimore.

 

Brought on to lead PBRC’s statewide community legal clinics for homeowners facing foreclosure, Margaret hit the ground running. By June 2014—just a little over a year after joining PBRC—Margaret had coordinated a total of 26 community legal clinics in ten counties across the state, each staffed by volunteer attorneys who provided free, one-on-one legal advice to Maryland homeowners.

 

In her role as Director of the Home Preservation Project, Margaret recruits, trains, and mentors volunteer attorneys for the Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project, the Tax Sale Prevention Project, and Project Household, which stabilizes homeownership for Baltimore City seniors. She also coordinates brief advice events to assist distressed homeowners

 

Margaret is a strong advocate for government policies that will save homes and has testified in legislative hearings both in Annapolis and Baltimore City. She is an active member of the Tax Sale Working Group, and helped put in place new protections for at-risk Baltimore homeowners. These include increasing the threshold amount of unpaid property taxes or water bills that trigger tax sale to $750; increasing the amount of time that homeowners have to redeem their properties; and lowering the interest rate charged to homeowners seeking to redeem their properties.

 

Margaret has a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Boston College and her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.