Author: Chi Song

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lawlibrary Libraries Pro Bono Self Represented

National Library Week: Partnerships and Programs

ALA_NLW2015_336x280This week, the Law Library celebrated National Library Week, so what better time than now to highlight the Law Library’s partnerships and programs. The Law Library’s mission is to serve the information needs of the judiciary, court and government agencies, the legal community and the citizens of Anne Arundel County. We are committed to providing access to legal information, resources and referrals for our community. In connection with our mission, the Law Library has developed partnerships with the Anne Arundel County Public Library, the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, the Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee to promote access to justice through access to legal information and resources.

poster raglandThe Law Library coordinates and administers the Ask a Lawyer in the Library Program, which is a FREE program where volunteer attorneys provide limited legal advice on a one-on-one basis for a wide variety of civil matters (excluding family law matters). Every Wednesday, attorneys from the Anne Arundel County legal community donate their time and expertise to provide program participants with legal assistance and guidance on issues ranging from foreclosure, debt and bankruptcy, real estate transactions, landlord/tenant disputes, employment and wage claims, contract disputes and estate planning.The Ask a Lawyer program is offered monthly on the third Wednesday at the Glen Burnie Regional Library.  Program partners include the Anne Arundel County Public Library, the Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers service. Since its inception in 2009, 124 attorneys have volunteered over 1,200 hours to assist nearly 2400 participants!

In addition to the ongoing Ask a Lawyer in the Library Program, the Law Library hosts and coordinates a variety of standalone or short term clinics. One upcoming program is the Personal Bankruptcy Clinic provided by the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, which will be held on April 30, 2015 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Law Library. This clinic is an opportunity for attendees to learn experience attorney about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  This program will be repeated September 17, 2015.

For those you who cannot visit the Law Library in person, we are available via phone (410-222-1387) and email (lawlibrary@aacounty.org). The Law Library has developed and continues to update the AACPLL Self Help and Pro Bono WIKI, a public wiki that serves as a guide to pro bono and self-help resources and referrals. Check out the wiki to learn more about family law resources available online, attorney referrals, pro bono and reduced fee legal services and volunteer opportunities.

Don’t forget, the Law Library is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can provide you with one-on-one legal reference assistance.

If you are interested in participating in the programs described in this post as either a volunteer or program participant and would like more information, please contact us!

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library: Wednesday Wrap-up

IMG_1127
Thank you!

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. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

On Wednesday, April 15, 2015,  the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program.  Thank you Sam Brown of Hillman, Brown & Darrow, P.A. for volunteering and providing this service to the public. Five people took part in the program and were able to speak with the attorney to request assistance with issues such as foreclosure, car titles and estates .  The next program date is Wednesday, April 22, 2015.

kurt_roperSince this was the third Wednesday of the month, the program was also held at the Glen Burnie Regional Library of the Anne Arundel County Public Library in the evening from 4:30 to 6;30.  Cliff O’Connor of Holmes & O’Connor, Kurt Roper of Staiti & DiBlasio, and Alan Forman volunteered to help 14 people with questions about such issues real estate, bankruptcy, wills, estates and wills.  The next date for the monthly program will be May 20, 2015.  This will be the last evening program before the summer break.

It is helpful to prepare for your session with the attorney.  Here are some helpful tips:

  • Write a list of specific questions for the attorney.
  • Bring any paperwork and information related to the case.
  • Organize any paperwork from most recent on the top to oldest at the bottom.
  • Identify all deadlines.
  • Prepare a timeline of the legal issue.

cliff_and_alanIf you would like to read up on your issue prior to your session with the attorney, please come find us at the Law Library’s information desk.  We are happy to assist you.

More information about the program is available at http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.  The Ask A Lawyer In The Law Library program is a limited legal advice service. The program is not a substitute for representation. If you need an attorney to represent you, you can contact the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
 
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lawlibrary

National Library Week: National Bookmobile Day!

BookmobileDay_Logo_1Today is National Bookmobile Day! Sponsored by the American Library Association’s Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries, this day celebrates bookmobiles and the library professionals who support and provide bookmobile services.

What is a bookmobile? Essentially, it is a vehicle that is designed to hold books and act as a mobile library. The goal is to provide direct-delivery outreach searches, and these bookmobiles accomplish this by providing services to areas and individuals who have difficulty accessing traditional libraries. The collections of materials maintained by bookmobiles will vary based on the needs and demands of the service community and can include technology and other resources.

Here are some fun facts about bookmobiles.*

  • The first bookmobile service in the United States started in 1905 right here in Maryland. Mary Lemis Titcomb, the first librarian of the Washington County Free Library, created a specially-designed “Library Wagon” to serve the information and education needs of the largely rural county.
  • In 1931, the mobile library concept was introduced in India. This two-wheeled cart was supported and promoted by S.R. Ranganathan, the “Father of Library Science” in India.
  • Uganda boasts a camel library service.
  • Elephant libraries are available in Thailand.
  • In 2011, Maryland had 18 bookmobiles in service.
  • The average cost of a bookmobile is $200,000.

For more information about National Bookmobile Day, check out The American Library Association’s webpage.

*National Bookmobile Day 2015 – Bookmobiles at a Glance, available at http://www.ala.org/offices/olos/nbdhome.

 

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lawlibrary Libraries

Guest Column: Let’s Celebrate National Library Week

Check out this Guest Column in honor of National Library Week, written by Anne Arundel County Public Library CEO Hampton “Skip” Auld, which was published in The Capital yesterday.

Guest column: Let’s celebrate National Library Week.

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lawlibrary Libraries

National Library Week and National Legal Research Teach-In!

ALA_NLW2015_336x280This week is National Library Week! Let’s celebrate the contributions made by libraries and librarians, both past and present, across the United States. National Library Week, sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), has a long history in the United States, with the first celebration occurring in 1958. Running from April 12, 2015 through April 18, 2015 this year, National Library Week celebrates the contributions made by libraries of all types, including public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries and special libraries, all of which will participate in this weeklong celebration in order to promote library use and support. If you are interested in participating in a National Library Week event, check out the National Events posted on the ALA’s website.

In conjunction with this week’s National Library Week celebration, the American Association of Law Libraries is sponsoring the 23rd National Legal Research Teach-In. The National Legal Research Teach-In was born in 1993  to address the need to improve the research skills of students and new attorneys and to celebrate legal research instruction and acknowledge and demonstrate the value of law librarians in teaching legal research skills. Law Librarians are uniquely positioned to address the research instruction needs of the legal community.The Law Library will be celebrating the National Legal Research Teach-In by launching a series of instructional presentations later this year. Stay tuned, but in the meantime, come visit the Law Library for one-on-one training and a tour!

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lawlibrary Pro Bono

Homeless Resource Day Recap

On Saturday, March 28, 2015, Anne Arundel County held its 8th annual Homeless Resource Day at Annapolis High School.  This was the seventh year that volunteer attorneys from Anne Arundel County provided individuals and families experiencing homelessness with legal assistance. The Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee worked hard to recruit volunteer attorneys to participate in the Resource Day and to create a program to train the volunteer attorneys in assisting individuals seeking to file a petition for expungement. Prior to Homeless Resource Day, the Law Library hosted an expungement training program provided by the Homeless Persons Representation Project.

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This year, 18 attorneys provided 74 clients with legal advice on 83 different issues ranging from criminal records to wills and , the most commonly asked about legal issues were expungement of criminal records and family law.  Ten expungement petitions were filed for three participants. The Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee maintains detailed statistics, which can be found here.

Thank you to our volunteer attorneys and Local Pro Bono Committee members for providing this pro bono service to Anne Arundel County’s citizens in need. Local Pro Bono Committee members in attendance were Joan Bellistri, Michelle Moodispaw, Anita Bailey of Legal Aid and Bill Davis of the Public Defender’s Office. Other attorney volunteers from the Office of the Public Defender were Bill Cooke and Jessica Wisner. Additional Legal Aid volunteers were Margaret Leonard and Kathleen Hughes.  Volunteers Tasnima Apol, Kari Fawcett, Dallas Houston, Jessica Daigle, Kurt Roper, Gene Brennan, Ginina Stevenson and Bob Waldman provided a wide range of experience and backgrounds. In addition, Jeff Gold from the Homeless Persons Representation Project was on hand to assist with expungement questions, and Lonni Summers, Ellyn Riedl and Cansa Hatfield from MVLS provided assistance with tax and consumer issues.  MVLS reported 5 intakes. We look forward to providing even greater service next year!

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Free Tax Sale/Foreclosure Clinic for Baltimore City Homeowners!

"Sign of the Times-Foreclosure" by respres - http://www.flickr.com/photos/respres/2539334956/. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sign_of_the_Times-Foreclosure.jpg#/media/File:Sign_of_the_Times-Foreclosure.jpg
“Sign of the Times-Foreclosure” by respres*

Are you a homeowner who is behind on your property taxes or water bills? If so, you might be interested in attending the free, brief legal advice Tax Sale Clinic organized by the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland.

There are two upcoming clinic dates.

  1. Thursday, April 9, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Urban Business Center, 1200 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21223
  2. Wednesday, April 15, 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.: Enoch Pratt Library, Southeast Anchor Branch, 3601 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224

Homeowners should bring all recent property tax or water bills and notices, any proof of payment of the property tax or water bills and all notices from the Baltimore City Circuit Court with them to the clinic. For more information, please visit www.probonomd.org/legal-help or contact the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland at (443) 703-3052. You can also check out this Resource Guide for Tax Sales and Tax Foreclosures.

In addition, the Foreclosure Mediation Brief Advice Project is a free, walk-in clinic open to homeowners facing foreclosure without legal representation. Located at 11101 Gilroy Road, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031 at the Office of Administrative Hearings (Administrative Law Building), the clinic’s hours of operation are Mondays and Wednesdays, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (new intakes are not accepted after 4:00 p.m.). The clinic is first-come, first-serve. For more information, check out our past blog post here!

*http://www.flickr.com/photos/respres/2539334956/. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sign_of_the_Times-Foreclosure.jpg#/media/File:Sign_of_the_Times-Foreclosure.jpg
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lawlibrary Self Represented

Prince George’s Co. District Court Self-Help Resource Center

The Prince George’s County District Court Self-Help Resource Center is now open and ready to assist litigants! Staffed by three attorneys from Maryland Legal Aid, the walk-in self-help center is open to the public and offers self-represented litigants with assistance with civil matters, including assistance completing court forms, answering legal questions, and assisting with trial preparation. Civil matters include landlord/tenant issues, small claims (up to $5,000), certain large claims (up to $30,000), debt collection, the return of property (replevin/detinue), peace orders and protective orders. The self-help center cannot help with criminal or traffic matters.

Here are the details.

Address: District Court Bourne Wing, Room 069B, 14735 Main Street, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Phone Services: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Call 410-260-1392
Online Chat Services: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m
See the Live Help button on this page.

 

For more information, check out http://mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/districtctselfhelpctr.html! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Law Library!

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library: Wednesday Wrap-up

photo 1 (3)
Thank you Chris!

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. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

On Wednesday, March 11, 2015, the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program. Thank you Chris Boucher for volunteering and providing this service to the public. Seven people took part in the program and were able to speak with the attorney to request assistance with issues such as bankruptcy, foreclosure, homeowner’s association issues, installment contracts and contract disputes. The next program date is Wednesday, April 15, 2015.

Do you have a criminal law matter? Criminal Law matters are best addressed by the Office of the Public Defender. Information about the Office of the Public Defender is available at http://www.opd.state.md.us/.

More information about the program is available at http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library. The Ask A Lawyer In The Law Library program is a limited legal advice service. The program is not a substitute for representation. If you need an attorney to represent you, you can contact the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
 
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lawlibrary

Courthouse News!

Judge Laura S. Kiessling has been named as a the new administrative judge for Anne Arundel County and the Fifth Judicial Circuit! Our current administrative judge, Judge Paul A. Hackner retired earlier this month after serving eighteen years on the bench. Judge Kiessling’s appointment will be effective later this week, on April 10, 2015. As some of our readers may know, the Law Library is located on the main floor of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, and the Law Library’s mission includes serving the information needs of the Maryland judiciary and the Circuit Court. We look forward to continuing that mission under Judge Kiessling’s leadership. For more information, the press release is available here!