Law Firm That Hosted Foreclosure Costume Party To Close

Well, it couldn’t happen to a nicer company:

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A New York law firm that specializes in foreclosures and was criticized for a Halloween party that mocked the homeless will close, a spokesman said Monday.

Steven J. Baum P.C., one of the largest-volume mortgage foreclosure firms in New York, filed notice of mass layoffs with the state Department of Labor and local officials, indicating at least a third of its employees would lose their jobs. On Monday, spokesman Earl Wells III confirmed the law firm would close altogether.

While it had been on the radar of federal and state investigators for some time, the Baum firm became the target of widespread public ire last month after The New York Times published pictures from its 2010 Halloween party, which showed people dressed to look homeless and part of the office decorated to resemble a row of foreclosed homes.

One person had a sign around her neck that read: “3rd party squatter. I lost my home and I was never served,” apparently mocking the explanation of some homeowners facing foreclosure proceedings. The Times said the pictures were provided by a former employee.

About three dozen protesters from the Occupy Buffalo movement against corporate greed picketed outside Baum’s offices last week.

via Steven J. Baum P.C., Law Firm That Hosted Foreclosure Costume Party To Close.