Womble Carlyle attorney Mark Henriques helped a North Carolina man get a second chance in a pro bono subsidized housing case.
Initially, the man's subsidized housing application was denied due to several criminal convictions in the late 1970s and early '80s. Henriques took the man's case through Legal Aid of North Carolina's Lawyer On The Line program.
New HUD guidelines ask landlords to consider the recency of criminal convictions before responding with a blanket "No." Given that this client's convictions were 35+ years in the past, he is exactly the type of person the HUD guidelines are intended to help.
Henriques called the apartment complex manager and shared the new HUD guidelines. Management agreed to revise their policy to match the HUD guidelines and asked the client to reapply for housing.
Mark Henriques is a partner in Womble Carlyle's Charlotte office. A business litigator with significant jury trial experience, Mark also helps lead the firm's e-discovery team. He also hosts Bulldog Bites, the firm's podcast focused on providing in-house attorneys and corporate leaders with insight from their peers.
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