How do I find a lawyer who can protect out-of-work homeowner from lenders?

I lack any details about your situation and am sorry that you find yourself facing this problem. I hope that you can quickly find new work or start a new business and put these kinds of worries behind you. In the meantime, I can provide only general guidance in response to your query.

Below I list four alternative options that you might wish to consider. Before doing so, however, you should fully understand the following two points: if your loan qualifies as a purchase-money loan under California Code of Civil Procedure section 580b, your lender or its servicer cannot obtain a personal judgment against you for any deficiency that remains after its foreclosure sale. Also, if your lender or its servicer chooses to conduct a non-judicial foreclosure sale (also called a trustee sale), it cannot afterwards obtain a personal judgment against you. That bar is imposed by California Code of Civil Procedure section 580d. You should have an attorney review the specifics of your loan to assess these matters.

Bearing those points in mind, here are four options available to you. You should confer with an attorney before deciding whether or how to proceed.

First, you can formally request from your lender or its servicer a "foreclosure alternative," such as a loan modification or loan forbearance. If you make the request in timely manner, your lender or its servicer must consider the request in good faith and follow statutory procedures when doing so, provided that your loan is secured by a seniormost trust deed (or first trust deed) on a property in California that serves as your own dwelling and contains no more than four separate dwellings. If your loan is insured by the Federal Housing Authority, your lender must provide certain kinds of relief to qualified borrowers, such as a qualified repayment plan or a loan forbearance for laid-off borrowers.  

Second, you can contact a knowledgeable real estate agent (preferably one with experience conducting "short-sales"). That agent can try to sell the property for you and, if necessary, negotiate a short-sale agreement with your lender or its servicer. There are other ways to list and sell properties. If you choose this path, you should confer with your accountant about the tax consequences of any such sale before making it. If the short-sale qualifies for protection under California Code of Civil Procedure section 580e, your lender cannot obtain a deficiency judgment against you after approving of it, nor should you be willing to make any significant concession in exchange for its approval if your lender would be barred from seeking a deficiency judgment against you under either section 580b or section 580d of the California Code of Civil Procedure.  

Third, you can confer with a bankruptcy attorney to see whether you qualify for useful relief under chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (or some other provision of that Code). For an eligible debtor, a chapter 13 plan, if confirmed, can allow the debtor to cure the loan arrears and reinstate the loan agreement during the term of the plan. While your case is pending in bankruptcy, the lender cannot foreclose on your property without first applying to the bankruptcy court for relief from the automatic bankruptcy stay. You should confer with a bankruptcy attorney about these matters. 

Fourth, you can offer to surrender your title to the property in lieu of having the lender foreclose upon it. That might cause less harm to your credit rating. Your lender has no obligation to accept the offer, and credit-rating agencies have their own criteria, but a deed surrender tends to show responsible conduct by a distressed borrower who can no longer manage a loan. You should not be willing to make any significant concession in exchange for your lender's acceptance of your deed surrender if it would be barred from seeking a deficiency judgment against you under either section 580b or section 580d of the California Code of Civil Procedure (i.e., if your loan qualifies for relief under section 580b, or if your lender means only to conduct a non-judicial foreclosure sale, which is how most lenders choose to foreclose on residential properties in California). 

Obviously, these options are different ways to try to make the best of a difficult situation. With luck, you will quickly find new employment and avert the need to pursue any of them. 

Lastly, these are complicated matters. You should consult with an attorney before making any decision about how to proceed.