Profile in Brief-- Vanessa Fluker Woman on a mission

By Taryn Hartman Legal News If there's one constant that connects the legal work that Vanessa Fluker does on behalf of homeowners facing foreclosure and children suffering from lead poisoning, it's her use of the word "fight." "Since I started practicing law, I've always fought for the underdog," the Highland Park native says of what she feels is her duty as an attorney to help combat her two specialty issues. "There's no other way to put it than to say 'fight.'" Those underdogs are typically populations that usually don't have the resources to afford legal representation outside of a legal services organization, she says. "I just have a problem with people who may not be able to afford quality legal representation not getting it," Fluker says. Many of her clients are senior citizens who have been in their homes for 20, 30, and sometimes even 40 years, got roped into predatory loans and now risk losing their homes for as little as one missed payment on a skyrocketing mortgage. To them, the idea of losing their homes is "just surreal," Fluker says. Even though she works out payment plans with clients when she can, much of her work ends up being pro bono, "and my colleagues call me crazy," she laughs. But for someone who calls being an attorney "not just a job for me, I believe it's an assignment from God," the fact that most of her hours end up being donated to the community she so diligently serves does anything but faze her. "I'm not the one pulling up to depositions in the new BMW, but I sleep very well at night," Fluker says. The three-time Wayne State graduate (for her undergraduate, master's in public policy, and law degrees) was close to 40 when she felt compelled to attend law school after watching problematic policies implemented that had a negative effect on citizens. "It was really to help people who couldn't get any help," she says, and it wasn't long before she found her first case that met that mission. "I think I had been sworn in all of one month," she remembers, when in the building where she was clerking, Fluker met a woman who was struggling with her landlord over a possible eviction and treating a son who suffered from lead poisoning, which can lead to long-term cognitive impairments. The risk of lead poisoning is particularly strong in urban areas like Detroit where the housing is often much older than 1978, when lead-based paint was banned from residential use by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The 15 to 20 cases she has open at any given time in district, circuit and federal courts put Fluker's free time at a premium, but she stays committed to her causes through the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs and the Coalition for a Lead Safe Highland Park/Hamtramck. Last month, Fluker's work was recognized by the Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan with its prestigious Harriet Tubman Award. Fluker says she considers it an honor to even be recognized in the same category as the legendary Underground Railroad pioneer, adding that she admires Tubman and her legacy for her "tenacity in difficult situations." "I find it very humbling," she says. "It obviously encourages me to continue on my assignment -- and I do consider this an assignment -- but it also makes me want to fight even harder." Even though she's never kept track of the numbers of people she's helped stay in their homes over the years, Fluker said the recognition of the Tubman Award has made her realize the scope of the impact she's had on people's lives and helped her "muster the strength to fight another day." "That's what I do," she says. "And I will fight until the end." Published: Wed, Mar 17, 2010

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