After completing his first year of law school, Michael Benz is getting a taste of summer in Philadelphia that features a healthy seasoning in public interest law.

The Buffalo, N.Y. native is one of 28 law school students who are completing co-op placements this summer with government agencies, the courts and public-interest law organizations.

Benz is working with Philadelphia VIP, an organization that provides free legal services and referrals to indigent clients. Through the organization's LawWorks program, one of Benz's projects involves helping eligible clients secure legal representation for probate and "tangled title" matters.

Like most cities, Philadelphia has many people who live in homes owned by a deceased relative who did not leave a will. These residents may have been making mortgage payments and have a legitimate right to the property but lack the legal standing to obtain an extension on a tax or utility bill, Benz explained. Some clients have paid the mortgage with money orders, making it hard to prove that they have assumed responsibility for the property.

Benz contacts clients to determine if the resident - or another potential heir - has a legitimate claim to the home so that one of the 4,500 pro bono attorneys with whom VIP works will accept the case to help them secure ownership in his or her own name.

Since VIP clients may lack email accounts or even telephones, communications can be difficult, Benz said.

"It can take two weeks to get what an attorney can do in five minutes with a fax machine or email," Benz said, adding that clients facing multiple problems may feel too defeated to follow through with critical tasks. "I'm trying to get all the information that's needed so the attorney won't hit a wall."

Every Thursday, VIP sends Benz to work with the Court of Common Pleas Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Pilot, a model program that requires lenders to make an effort to reach an accord with delinquent borrowers before seizing the property.

Through the program, Benz said, income-eligible clients who have worked with housing counselors can be represented by VIP attorneys to negotiate an agreement that prevents foreclosure.

"We have volunteer attorneys who come to court for the day and take on those cases," he said. "The program is the last line of defense against people losing their homes."

After for the first few weeks of his placement, Benz said he had already gained insights about the realities of public-interest law.

"I always feel like I have to be super nice, but at the end of the day, sweet and sympathetic doesn't keep people in their houses," Benz said. "The attorneys are compassionate, but they also have to be willing to be direct and get their client to follow through."

Such challenges have not discouraged Benz one bit.

"I feel strongly about everybody getting their day in court," he said.