LEGAL HEROES NEEDED LEGAL AID OFFERS MEANINGFUL PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERY LAWYER BY DAVID M. WORMALD JR. | PRO BONO TEAM LEADER, LEGAL AID OF NORTH CAROLINA
EVERY TWO-AND-A-HALF MINUTES, an impoverished family contacts Legal Aid of North Carolina in need of help with civil legal issues. With the help of pro bono volunteers, Legal Aid assists thousands of low-income families and individuals, whose legal needs would otherwise go unmet, by providing services that range from answering legal questions to complex litigation. Unfortunately, each year there are more than 100,000 individuals that Legal Aid cannot assist due to limited resources. Every day, families are evicted from their homes and preyed upon by opportunistic fraudsters who exploit the laws to marginalize communities left vulnerable by poverty. The good news is that private attorneys can step in to help provide access to justice! The opportunity to make an impact by dedicating an hour each month is huge, and you might be surprised to learn just how accessible pro bono is through Legal Aid. Volunteers who choose to participate are supported by Legal Aid through full malpractice coverage, free webinar CLEs, and ongoing support and mentorship by experienced Legal Aid attorneys and staff. It will never feel like you are providing these pro bono services alone. Even with limited experience in the types of law that Legal Aid handles, flexible pro bono programs allow private attorneys to choose how to use their legal expertise and to get involved in a variety of ways. For example, a patent attorney remotely assisted a single mother and survivor of domestic violence with a car maintenance issue that threatened to disrupt her family’s quality of life. The volunteer successfully researched and explained the process of suing a fraudulent mechanic in small claims court to recover the cost to repair the client’s primary means of transportation. Through this simple but impactful assistance, the pro bono volunteer prevented Legal Aid’s client from losing her job, a high risk for rural clients lacking transportation, thus preserving her tenancy and maintaining stability for her family. As evidenced by this example, volunteers can impact clients’ lives with simple research and advice. If you’re not a current volunteer, please consider joining Legal Aid’s efforts to empower and uplift the most vulnerable among us by using your legal expertise to help. Many lives could be impacted with a small monthly time commitment to one of our flexible pro bono programs and providing services such as remote legal advice, representation and litigation, brief service via phone calls, or sending demand letters. Pro bono service through Legal Aid does not require a long-term commitment, and signing up is as simple as providing us with your name and contact information. Once you sign up, we will give you a call when a client in your area is in need of assistance. From there, the decision of whether or not to get involved is yours. The mere presence of an attorney can make a world of difference for clients in the midst of personal hardships. Will you take this opportunity to be someone’s hero? WBF
WAKE BAR FLYER
15
SECOND QUARTER 2020
