Director Q&A with Liz Fiscus
Written by Alexandra Ross, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Liz Fiscus brings a lot of valuable knowledge and experience to Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic. Currently, she wears two hats as the Clinic’s Senior Director of Legal Services and Director of Housing & Consumer Justice. She has been an attorney for over 20 years and has years of management experience through her work at a major state agency, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA). Most of her legal career has been as a public servant. She served as a Deputy Prosecutor for Marion County, Deputy Attorney General for the State of Indiana, managing attorney for FSSA, and litigation attorney on the frontlines at the Indiana Department of Child Services, specifically protecting children from neglect and abuse. In addition to eviction work, Liz’s legal areas of practice have included complex litigation, class actions, constitutional law, administrative law, Medicaid, disability law, and HIPAA compliance. She also has private practice experience concentrating on family law and criminal defense.
To understand Liz’s role here at the Clinic better, I asked her some questions pertaining to the Housing & Consumer Justice Program to help glean important information for our clients.
What role does the Housing & Consumer Justice Program play at the Clinic?
“Our Housing and Consumer Justice Program provides legal services to individuals who are at risk of homelessness during a time of a housing shortage crisis and high volume of evictions. There is a state-wide shortage of 120,796 affordable and available rental homes for individuals that are at or below the poverty level. Our services help with the very basic need of housing through defending individuals at eviction hearings, helping with sealing eviction records, and providing legal counsel and advice.”
What is the most rewarding part of working in the Housing & Consumer Justice Program?
“One of the most tragic events an individual can go through is losing their home. Sadly, Indiana laws favor landlords, which often results in leaving vulnerable renters without many options. Our little victories are the most rewarding aspect of our work, such as being able to listen to our clients and help them through their time of need by providing legal and practical guidance, helping a client obtain housing stability by assisting them to gain extra time to move out of their home and find a new place to live, or having a client's eviction case record sealed. We live for the days when we are able to keep a client in their home or help a client resolve a habitability problem like mold or unsafe living conditions.”
What advice would you offer someone seeking to address challenges related to housing?
“Before renting a home, budget all your expenses to make sure you can afford the rental home. Closely read the lease to understand all your obligations (including all the expenses on top of rent). Take pictures of the apartment when you move in, so you will not be charged for damage that you did not cause.”
For more information about the Housing & Consumer Justice Program, please visit our website at nclegalclinc.org/housing-consumer-justice.