On Wednesday, September 19, 2017, the law library offered three different brief legal advice programs.
Crighton Chase of Hillman, Brown and Darrow was the “lawyer in the law library” in the morning at the courthouse. He was able to help three people with issues such as debt collection, custody (referred by the FLSHC), and discrimination. One of the clients was a Japanese speaker and we were able to use the Language Line as mentioned in a previous post on language services. At the same time, we had the MVLS Foreclosure Brief Advice Clinic via videoconferencing via Google Hangouts. A client facing a tax sale foreclosure was assisted by Ellyn Riedl, an MVLS staff attorney, who was in her office in Baltimore.
While the two programs were going on we got a request from the FLSHC for the ASL laptop so they could better assist a client who was hard of hearing. I was able to use the service, too, when the client was referred to the library for help in locating examples of separation agreements.
In the evening the program traveled to the Glen Burnie Regional Library. Josh Tabor of the Law Office of Marla Zide with Cliff O’Connor and Katelyn Maloney of Holmes and O’Connor were the volunteer attorneys. Issues for which help was provided included real estate, estate administration, power of attorney, and guardianship. Towards the end of the program a young woman stuck her head in the door. She just wanted to say “thank you” for the help she had received before. A nice way to end a long day of self-help services.
The Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program sponsored by The Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can talk with a volunteer attorney for up to 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary, but sign-up is required at the law library’s information desk. Sign-up begins at 10:45 a.m., and time slots are determined by a lottery. On the 3rd Wednesday of the month the MVLS Brief Limited Advice Foreclosure Clinic is hosted by the library. Participants are encouraged to register for the clinic by calling 410-547-6537, but pre-registration is not required. The Ask a Lawyer program is also held monthly in the evening at two Anne Arundel County Public Library locations – at the Glen Burnie Regional Library on the 3rd Wednesday of the month and at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library on the last Tuesday of the month. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.
AACPLL Blog: Law Library News 