Shore Legal Access Mid Shore Regional Pro Bono Committee Annual Meeting

About Shore Legal Access

Shore Legal Access (SLA), formerly known as Mid-Shore Pro Bono (MSPB), is a nonprofit organization that connects people with limited resources to legal representation for civil matters. Our mission is to connect individuals and families in need of civil legal help with volunteer attorneys and community resources. Our vision is that all people are empowered to resolve civil legal issues. SLA connects over 3,000 clients on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with legal representation every year SLA is based in Easton, Maryland and has a satellite office located in Salisbury

SLA serves eight counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland (Kent, Queen Anne's, Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset). The areas of law practiced through SLA include family law, landlord/tenant, life and estate planning, foreclosure, bankruptcy, consumer debt, and criminal record expungement

Maryland Rule 19-502 requires the establishment of a local pro bono committee and creation of a local pro bono action plan for each county. The Mid-Shore counties (Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot) have coordinated their efforts since 2005 through MSPB. In 2019, each county bar association and administrative judge entered into agreements designating MSPB as the convening entity for the Mid-Shore Regional Pro Bono Committee (hereinafter “the Committee”) This year, those agreements were updated to designate SLA as the Committee in collaboration with the judiciary and bar associations of the Mid-Shore counties (see pages 8-10).

SLA clients must meet income eligibility guidelines (50% of Maryland Median Income) provided by the Maryland Legal Service Corporation (MLSC).

In September 2020, the first annual Committee meeting was held virtually. In May 2022, the Committee convened in Easton, and the group decided to rotate the meeting locations each year to engage a variety of local stakeholders This year, the meeting was held in Caroline County, hosted by the Honorable Judge Heather L Price of the Caroline County Circuit Court

This meeting is a perfect forum to discuss opportunities for pro bono service to meet emerging legal needs in the community, particularly considering the many ongoing legal challenges faced by people with limited means resulting from the pandemic. Through the Committee, both bench and bar can craft a plan to meet the needs, working with the various legal services providers that serve our counties such as SLA, Maryland Legal Aid, Mid Shore Council on Family Violence, and Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service.

2024 Annual Meeting

The Mid-Shore Regional Pro Bono Committee met at the The Chesapeake Culinary Center in Denton, Maryland on May 2, 2024 Special guest, Justice Angela M Eaves of the Maryland Supreme Court, provided opening remarks

Objectives:

1. Identify the legal needs of the community

2. Develop an action plan

Questions to facilitate discussion included:

What legal needs are currently unmet for people with limited financial means?

Which communities face significant barriers to accessing legal assistance?

What actions can the Committee take to address the unmet legal needs in the community?

What specific actions can you and others in your community take to address the top priority legal needs?

Outcomes:

The legal needs of the community were identified as:

1.

Legal representation in cases involving: family law, guardianships, heirs property and deed issues, as well as immigration.

2.

Language assistance for Haitian Creole and Spanish speaking people.

3. Barriers to accessing legal assistance include:

Lack of awareness for free legal services

Lack of transportation in rural communities

Lack of technology and phone/internet access Fear or lack of trust

2024 Annual Meeting

The Action Plan:

For the Community: 1.

Knowledge:

Promote community education and awareness campaigns about important legal rights

Raise public awareness about the need for more legal assistance within the legal community

Accessibility:

Use libraries as hubs for legal information and resources

Make services available outside of work hours and/or offer remote services

Trust:

Conduct family oriented outreach, through churches, firehalls, and schools

Conduct listening tours or town halls in underserved communities

For the Bar & Bench: 2.

Incentivize:

Establish a “Pro Bono Honor Roll” for public recognition

Allow for easier access of legal documents through MDEC for pro bono attorneys

Allow remote hearings, where possible, for pro bono cases and/or call pro bono cases first on the docket

Make pro bono hours mandatory or in place of required CLEs

Create incentives for attorneys to practice in rural areas, such as the Eastern Shore, through student loan forgiveness programs or small business loans for firm startups

Recruit & Engage:

Promote pro bono service within law schools and students

Encourage legal careers within local high schools

Support diversification of lawyer networks

Engage the bar associations, perhaps through the creation of a regional bar association

Survey attorneys on their needs and what would encourage them to do more pro bono

Establish quarterly, virtual meetings of the Mid-Shore Regional Pro Bono Committee, to begin in August 2024.

*Judge Lynn Knight of the Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court volunteers to host the 2025 meeting in Queen Anne’s County.*

Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court

Judge John Nunn Kent County District Court

Magistrate Dorchester Co

Tim Ab Volunte SLA Boar

Holland B Office of the SLA Boar

Anthony R Volunte SLA Boar

Dr. Clin SLA Boar

Jim M

SLA Boar

Tawe SLA Boar

Ruth SLA Boar

Donce

Executive Director, SLA Boar

*Special thanks hosting the 202 Supreme Court

endees!

Meredith Girard, Esq SLA Executive Director

Laura L. Chafey, Esq. SLA Legal Director

Julia Jester SLA Housing Case Manager

Cody Pfeiffer SLA Outreach & Case Manager

Rachel Wolpert Bitters, Esq. Maryland Legal Aid

John Hardt, Esq Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service

Katherine Hager Queen Anne’s County Clerk of Court

Wendy Schneider District Court of Maryland Regional Alternative Dispute

Maryland Rule 19-502

Maryland Rule 19-502

Judicial MOUs