Tag: probono

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lawlibrary Pro Bono

Legal incubators: for grads and needy clients in the ABA Journal

From the ABA Journal online today an article on the use incubators that provide an office for new attorneys to work with experienced attorneys and provide service to those in need:

Legal Rebels Profile : Law firm incubators help both grads and needy clients, Posted Sep 18, 2013 8:30 AM CDT By G.M. Filisko

Other articles on the topic includes links to different law school incubator programs:

Solos & Small Firms : Growing Justice: Law Schools Hop on the Incubator Trend posted Oct 1, 2012 1:30 AM CDT By Deborah L. Cohen

Law School Disrupt Blog Creative new ideas for training community lawyers: Solo incubators and training firms posted on October 1, 2012 mentions the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

 In Maryland:

Maryland Civil Justice is an example of such a program in Maryland.  Its missoin is stated on the website: “Civil Justice, Inc is a Maryland non-profit corporation formed for the purpose of increasing the delivery of legal services to clients of low and moderate income while promoting a statewide network of solo, small firm and community based lawyers who share a common commitment to increasing access to justice through traditional and non-traditional means.”

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Anne Arundel Local Pro Bono Committee – Update

The following was submitted to the AABA newsletter, the Barrister.

A report on the Local Pro Bono Committee should begin with an overview of the Committee’s purpose.  The Local Pro Bono Committee is a separate entity from the AABA Pro Bono Committee and exists per Maryland Rule 16-902.  The rule provides that the committee  consist of a combination of judges, attorneys and the general public. The Committee is charged with working with legal services providers and pro bono referral organizations to develop a Local Pro Bono Action Plan to “promote pro bono legal service to meet the needs of persons of limited means in the county.”  Kevin Shaeffer chaired the committee that wrote the plan in 2004.  The Committee stopped meeting after a time.  In 2010 interest in pro bono service sparked by AABA president Jonathan Kagan lead to the formal reconstitution of the Committee in July 2011.  Through the work of the Committee and volunteer attorneys Anne Arundel County has established some good limited legal advice programs.  The Committee  must now concentrate on what can be done to increase pro bono representation in our county.  (Anne Arundel is again last in the state in reporting pro bono hours.)  The Committee has partnered with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service which acts as the Anne Arundel Pro Bono referral service.  There are still more clients from Anne Arundel County in need of representation than there are Anne Arundel volunteers.

The 2013 year began with the Annual Pro Bono Recognition Lunch in January.  Attorneys who volunteer in the “Ask a Lawyer” programs by providing services in the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library, at the North County Area Library of the Anne Arundel County Public Library system and at the Annual Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day were invited to lunch where they were thanked for their service and received certificates that detailed their pro bono hours for the year of 2012.  Circuit court judges Hon. Nancy Davis-Loomis, Hon. Phillip Caroom, Hon. Ronald Silkworth, Hon. Alison Asti and Master Timothy Thurtle as well as Court Administrator, Doug Hofstedt, and Nancy Faulkner, Director of Court Operations attended to show their appreciation.  The 38 volunteer “Ask a Lawyer” attorneys provided 206 hours of free legal advice to 445 clients in 2012.

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The Annual Anne Arundel Homeless Resource Day was held on March 16 at Glen Burnie High School.  Even though it was not held on the traditional last weekend of March, attendance was not affected.  This was the 6th Annual Homeless Resource Day and the 5th in which Anne Arundel Attorneys have provided legal services.  There were 14 volunteers this year who took on either a morning or afternoon shift.  The volunteers consisted of a large contingent of Legal Aid Attorneys who have the experience needed to handle the issues facing many of the homeless.  This year Anita Bailey, Margaret Leonard, Amy Siegel, and Kathy Hughes represented Legal Aid.  Judson Arnold and Denis O’Connell who are with the Office of the Public Defender were able to help with criminal issues.  They performed 2 intakes for representation. The varied experience of private practice attorneys is always needed and appreciated.  This year Make Valadez, Tasnima Apol, Jim Sauer, Kari Fawcett, Gene Brennan, Scott MacMullan and Ginina Stevenson volunteered. Past experience had shown that there are usually more clients in the morning but this year the afternoon seemed just as busy.  There were 88 participants in all who used the legal services this year to find answers to 95 legal questions. While this was a small increase over last year, in 2009, the first year, there were only 4 attorneys who helped 50 clients.  The majority of those are seeking assistance with expungement or family law.  Representatives from the Homeless Persons Representation Project (HPRP), Atonia Fasanelli and Katie Scott provided support with expungement issues at the event and provided training for volunteers beforehand.  Of the 31 asking for assistance with expungement, there were 4 referrals to HPRP and only 3 that actually met the qualifications for filing.  This year we had additional assistance from the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service.  Executive Director, Bonnie Sullivan and Sally Snowberger, the Foreclosure Prevention Housing Counselor,  were able to provide assistance and perform intakes for the 7 who qualified.  The Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day was the first Homeless Day in Maryland and is being used as a model across the state at the request of Governor O’Malley.

In order to share ideas for the promotion of pro bono service the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Pro Bono Service held a regional meeting on March 18 for the Local Pro Bono Committees of Anne Arundel, Carroll, Frederick and HowardCounties. Although it was held in March just two days before the start of spring,  the winter-like weather made travel to HowardCounty difficult.  Still, most all who responded made it to the meeting. Attending from Anne Arundel County were Joanie Bellistri, Law Librarian and Chair; Anita Bailey, Lisa Sarro, and Sarah Frush of the Legal Aid Bureau; Judge North and Judge Silkworth from the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court;  Chris Poulsen,  Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services Program Manager; Scott MacMullan representing the Anne Arundel County MSBA Young Lawyers Section and Elizabeth Morris of the Office of the Attorney General.  The program involved a number of guided, small group discussions on topics such as the pro bono referral process, volunteer recruitment and retention, collaborating with the bench, and client needs v. volunteer interest and expertise.  Each group was created by assigned dinner seating so that there was a good mix based on location and background at each table for the discussion.  Group findings were reported to the larger group and all seemed to touch on the same basic points no matter the topic.  In brief, it was found that there is a need for full representation, especially in family law cases, that is not being met.  Pro bono service needs to become a part of the local bar’s culture.  Methods for encouraging increased pro bono participation included recognition of volunteers through awards programs, special treatment in the court room or free photocopies, and thank you letters from the bench; support of volunteers with training, mentoring and case costs; and awareness of legal service programs that will place volunteer attorneys  and programs that provide referrals for those in need of the services.  The evening ended with a meeting of each county’s representatives to discuss their county’s needs and to plan for that county’s pro bono activities. As a result you should see renewed efforts to increase pro bono participation in Anne Arundel County.  Right now, please consider giving pro bono service a try.  If every attorney in Anne Arundel would agree to take just one pro bono case, we could see a big improvement in the lives of those facing legal problems without assistance and an increase in Anne Arundel’s reported pro bono hours.

Please contact the Local Pro Bono Committee with any questions, ideas, suggestions or to join: 410-222-1387 or library@circuitcourt.org.

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

National Pro Bono Week: Celebrate Anne Arundel County Volunteers

It is important to celebrate the attorneys who provide pro bono service in Anne Arundel County.  Attorneys take cases through MVLS, participate in the Foreclosure Pro Bono Prevention Project, provide limited legal advice at the annual Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day and at Ask a Lawyer in the Library programs.  Attorneys provide pro bono service through formal programs and others provide pro bono service independently.  Posters of  pro bono volunteers have been displayed in the law library this week and have been added here. They are representative of the many  pro bono opportunities in which Anne Arundel attorneys participate.

The Anne Arundel Local Pro Bono Committee wishes to recognize and thank all of the Anne Arundel County attorneys providing pro bono service.

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lawlibrary Pro Bono

Celebrate Pro Bono with a Pro Bono Law Practice

To celebrate Pro Bono during the National Pro Bono Week the Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee invited Michelle Moodispaw to our monthly meeting.  The Committee wanted to learn more about her unique pro bono law firm, the Law Office of  Michelle Moodspaw.  Not only did the Committee have a good discussion of the types of pro bono services as a result, it added Michelle as a new member.

Michelle established her law firm with a goal to provide legal services to those who otherwise would not.  Some do not qualify for legal service programs but still cannot afford an attorney.  Others who may meet the financial criteria may not fall within the guidelines for the types of cases that the service provider takes.  The law firm provides both free and reduced fee legal services.

Service provided by the firm ranges from brief limited advice consultations to full representation.  Clients are referred via a number of different organizations that include the ABA Military Pro Bono Project, Mid-Shore Pro Bono, KIND, We Care and Friends and MVLS. An article in the Sun in 2010, ” New law firm seeks clients who can’t afford a lawyer: Attorneys say they want to help fill gap for services to people of limited means,”  helped get the word out as well.

Of the 180 cases taken so far, 61 of those are civil with about half of those involving family matters.  Other civil case types include immigration, housing and denial of benefits.  Michelle is on the Public Defender’s Panel in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties and handles district court and post-conviction matters, too.  At this point, Michelle is reassessing her firm’s mission based on a desire to reach more people.

With her pro bono experience Michelle was able to offer insight as to best practices for encouraging pro bono service.  She mentioned that she finds it easier to handle a case through an established pro bono legal service provider.  The provider will have performed the intake and can have basic case information ready.  She also suggested that a local pro bono referral service might make local attorneys feel that the service was their own and would then be more inclined to volunteer.  Of course, this lead to  discussion of how such a service could be established.  This discussion will be ongoing.

While it is true that this model of a pro bono practice will not work for most, it can act as an inspiration for attorneys to provide at least the minimum of 50 hours of pro bono service each year.

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lawlibrary Pro Bono

Celebrate Pro Bono 2012: Anne Arundel County Attorneys and PBRC

Oftentimes attorneys are reluctant to take a pro bono case because the case involves issues that they do not deal with on a regular basis.  This problem can be easily remedied through the many free training opportunities offered by pro bono providers. The Pro Bono Resource Center (PBRC) as the statewide coordinator of pro bono for Maryland can not only match an attorney with the right pro bono activity but also the training and support needed to provide the pro bono service. PBRC offers training on a variety of topics in number of locations around the state.  On the PBRC website now there is an announcement about a family law training in Easton and a special education training held in Baltimore City.  PBRC  offers training via webcasts as well.  Free and discounted slots for a selection of MSBA Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Courses are offered through the PBRC and Maryland State Bar Association. These training opportunities are free but attorneys are required to provide pro bono service in return.  More details on all of these training options can be found on the  “general information page:” http://www.probonomd.org/general-info.

The PBRC highlights four pro bono projects that involve special training and opportunities on their website.  They are the Veterans’ Benefits Pro Bono Project, the Pro Bono Family Mediation Project, the Consumer Protection Project, and the Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project.

As part of their National Pro Bono Week campaign to increase pro bono participation by Anne Arundel attorneys, the Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee encouraged involvement in the Foreclosure Prevention Project.  It is hoped that with more Anne Arundel attorneys participating in the project that a Foreclosure Workshop could be scheduled in the county.  We know the need is there. Anne Arundel County had the 5th largest number of foreclosures in the state as reported in the Department of Housing and Community Development report, Property Foreclosures in Maryland Third Quarter 2012.  PBRC extended a special invitation to attend a live training on November 2: A Practical Guide for Representing Homeowners at Foreclosure Mediation.  Special arrangements can be made for viewing the prerequisite webinar for the class: The New Foreclosure Prevention 101 – A Beginner’s Guide.  Details on the training and the program can be found here: http://www.probonomd.org/foreclosure-prevention-training.

It is hoped that the more attorneys are aware of the pro bono opportunities, training and support provided by such organizations as the PBRC that the numbers of Anne Arundel County attorneys providing 50 or more hours of pro bono service will increase.

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lawlibrary Pro Bono

Celebrate Pro Bono 2012: Anne Arundel County Attorneys and MVLS

Celebrate Pro Bono by volunteering to provide pro bono service.  Pro bono programs are in need of more Anne Arundel County attorneys to handle cases in the county.    The number of attorneys providing pro bono service is increasing.  Based on statistics collected for the report Current Status of Pro Bono Service Among Maryland Lawyers, Year 2010 issued November 9, 2011, Anne Arundel County has moved from last to 20th place in the number of attorneys who have provided 50 hours or more of pro bono service. It is clear that Anne Arundel County attorneys can do more and can continue this trend.

Anne Arundel does not have its  own pro bono referral service but by partnering with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) there is a way for Anne Arundel attorneys to be matched with clients in need of pro bono representation.  The Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service reports that many cases needing representation in Anne Arundel county are taken by attorneys from other counties.  It is easy to add your name to the MVLS roster. Just visit the volunteer page on the MVLS website and simply fill out the online form.   The MVLS supports its volunteers with malpractice insurance, mentors, free training, use of their offices to meet with clients and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.

The types of cases placed by MVLS include administration of small estates,  adult guardianship, bankruptcy (Chapter 7 only), child custody, collections, consumer disputes, criminal record expungement, deed changes, denial of public benefits, divorce, foreclosure, landlord/tenant, living wills, name changes, power of attorney, school suspensions, tax disputes, and wills.

MVLS also administers a  family law reduced-fee program called Judicare.  According to the MVLS website “Judicare has funding to pay attorneys up to $1,600 per client representation.  Attorneys are paid at the rate of $80 per hour for the first 20 hours of representation in a contested domestic matter.  The attorney must then provide the next five hours pro bono.  For matters that require additional time for resolution, attorneys are eligible for an additional ten hours of paid representation at $80 per hour. In return, “Judicare attorneys are asked to accept one pro bono domestic case for every Judicare case referred.  The pro bono domestic matters are generally uncontested or less complicated than Judicare cases.  Attorneys must have at least three years of family law experience to participate in this project.”

Volunteering is easy with the help of MVLS.  Anne Arundel County attorneys are encouraged to take advantage of the service provided.

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

National Pro Bono Week: Anne Arundel County

This year for the National Pro Bono Week Celebration, October 21- 27, 2012 the Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee seeks to encourage pro bono representation by Anne Arundel County attorneys.  The campaign to increase the numbers of pro bono volunteers began with a blast email sent to all members of the AABA. The text of that email follows:

Pro Bono Week News from the Local Pro Bono Committee

The National Pro Bono Celebration focuses the nation’s attention on the increased need for pro bono services during these challenging economic times and celebrates the outstanding work of lawyers who volunteer their services throughout the year. The Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee is calling on all Anne Arundel attorneys to provide pro bono service. We know the need is great and that more attorneys from our county are needed.

A Word from the Bench:

I represent the Circuit Court on the Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee.  I am a strong advocate for local attorneys volunteering their time to represent litigants who cannot afford counsel.  In my experience, there is now an even greater need for volunteer lawyers than there has been in the past. I have seen Plaintiffs come into court without any witnesses and state they do not want to call themselves as a witness either.  In that event, there is no evidence.  In some cases, if the Plaintiff, himself, is encouraged to take the stand, the litigant will often just sit there, in the witness box, not saying a word without any knowledge of what his or her burden of production is.  This results in unjust and inequitable results. 

Through my participation in the Pro Bono Committee, I learned that in 2009 Anne Arundel County ranked last in the state in the number of lawyers who provided 50 or more hours of pro bono service.  Anne Arundel has since moved to the twentieth position.  But why not make Anne Arundel County come in first in the number of lawyers who volunteer?  Please consider donating your time and expertise to such a worthy cause.

                                                                        Judge Pamela L. North

 Opportunities:

● The Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee has partnered with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) for the placement of  Anne Arundel County residents in need of pro bono representation. The Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service reports that many cases needing representation in Anne Arundel county are taken by attorneys from other counties.  It is easy to add your name to the MVLS roster. Just visit the volunteer page on the MVLS website and simply fill out the online form. MVLS supports its volunteers with malpractice insurance, mentors, free training, use of their offices to meet with clients and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.

● The Foreclosure crisis continues to affect our state with Anne Arundel County ranking fifth in the state in the number of foreclosures. The Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project needs volunteer attorneys to help. Volunteers receive free training and are asked to provide two homeowners pro bono representation in their foreclosure cases and/or provide pro bono representation to one homeowner and volunteer at one foreclosure solutions workshop where homeowners receive free legal advice.  The Project provides access to malpractice insurance and mentoring support.

Anne Arundel County Attorneys are invited to attend the newly developed program on Foreclosure Mediation on November 2.  Since the basic training is a prerequisite you will be asked to view the webcast of the basic program for background. Your invitation follows:

Pro Bono Resource Center and Civil Justice are pleased to offer the below pro bono training program, A Practical Guide for Representing Homeowners at Foreclosure Mediation, as part of Maryland’s Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project.  Since the Maryland foreclosure mediation program took effect in July 2010, we have learned a lot about how to achieve positive outcomes through mediation and we want to share our tips and strategies with you.  This training program is designed for existing Project volunteers who have already taken the Project’s basic training course.  If you have not yet taken the basic training course, please contact Annie Brinkmann of Pro Bono Resource Center to gain access to the webcast of the basic course (443-703-3050 or abrinkmann@probonomd.org).

Friday, November 2, 2012, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM 

University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law – ROOM 205

500 W. Baltimore Street

Baltimore, MD 21201-1786 

  To register, please visit www.probonomd.org/foreclosure-prevention-training. 

 Questions?  Please contact Annie Brinkmann at 443-703-3050 or abrinkmann@probonomd.org.   

 If you are interested in participating but cannot attend on November 2, please complete the registration process indicating that you would like to receive the webcast of this training once it becomes available.

● For those who prefer to donate to a worthy organization, the local committee suggests that donations be made to the Anne Arundel Legal Aid Bureau through AAcares.org.

Celebrate Pro Bono Week:

You can find out more about pro bono opportunities for Anne Arundel attorneys at the AACPLL Self Help and Pro Bono WIKI.  Posters of Anne Arundel Pro Bono Volunteers will be on display in the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library during Pro Bono Week.  Visit the library to see what other Anne Arundel attorneys have done to volunteer and to add your name to the roster of those “doing good.” (There will be chocolate.)

Please make the Local Pro Bono Committee’s campaign to increase pro bono service a success as we celebrate Pro Bono week this year Volunteer now!

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lawlibrary

2012 Herbert S. Garten Special Project Award

The Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day received the 2012 Herbert S. Garten Special Project Award on June 16, 2012 during the business meeting of the Maryland State Bar Association.  The award was presented to Chris Poulsen, Program Manager Community Initiatives Unit, Coordinator Homeless Resource Day of the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services by Chief Judge Robert M. Bell, Herb Garten and Sharon Goldsmith, Executive Director of the Pro Bono Resource Center.  Joan Bellistri, Local Pro Bono Chair and Law Library Director, attended.

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Anne Arundel Homeless Resource Day to Receive Award

The Anne Arundel County’s Homeless Resource Day will receive the Pro Bono Resource Center Herbert S. Garten Special Project Pro Bono Service Award this year.  The award will be presented to Christine Poulsen, Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services Program Manager Community Initiatives Unit, Coordinator Homeless Resource Day at the Annual Meeting of the Maryland State Bar Association on June 16, 2012.

The Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day was initiated in 2008 at the request of County Executive John Leopold.  Christine Poulsen of DSS is responsible for the creation and ongoing development of the program.

Homeless Resource Day provides one location where those who are homeless or those who are in danger of becoming homeless can take advantage of a wide array of services.  The issues that affect homelessness are many and the agencies that can help are varied.  Having many of these service providers in one place makes it easier for the homeless to address those issues. Examples of the services include medical care, mental health counseling, social security benefits, birth certificates, and even hair cuts.  Food and clothing are available for distribution and lunch is provided each year. Volunteers act as guides for the clients and assist the participants in finding the service providers needed.  Over the last 5 years the event has grown to provide service to more and more individuals.  The first year there were 411 homeless served, 300 volunteers and 56 service providers.  In 2012, there were 654 individuals served, 474 volunteers and 83 providers.

After the first year, the Anne Arundel County volunteer coordinator reached out to the Anne Arundel Bar Association to see if legal services could be added.  The Anne Arundel Bar Association Pro Bono Committee was able to recruit four volunteer attorneys to provide legal services.  Legal services in the form of brief legal advice and referrals have been provided by Anne Arundel County volunteer attorneys since that second Homeless Day in 2009. The number of participants seeking legal assistance has increased each year.  In 2009 the four volunteers provided services to 50 and in 2012 there were 13 volunteer attorneys who saw 80 clients.  Those seeking legal assistance were referred to appropriate legal service providers or given advice on how to deal with their legal issue.

The Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day Planning Team  lead by Chris Poulsen has made it easy for the attorneys and the other providers to participate in the Homeless Resource Day.  Each year the services provided have been reviewed and needs assessed.  There were 56 service providers on the first Homeless Resource Day.  This year there were 83 as the gaps in services needed have been identified.  It is through this process that the legal services became a part of the Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day.

In 2011, Governor Martin O’Malley asked that all Departments of Social Services replicate the event so the Homeless Resource Days be held throughout the state.  Organizers of those events have sought to follow the model of Anne Arundel County by working with their local bars to provide legal services.

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lawlibrary

Attorneys Provide Legal Advice at the 2012 Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day

The Anne Arundel County’s 5th Annual Homeless Resource Day was held on March 31, 2012 at Glen Burnie High School. This was the fourth year that Anne Arundel County attorneys participated in the event by providing brief, limited legal advice.  This year 13 attorneys served 80 clients (1o more than last year) by answering 89 legal questions.  Again this year, questions about criminal records and expungement were the most asked.  Family law questions, as in previous years, were a close second. Detailed statistics can be found on the statistics wiki page.

This year the Local Pro Bono Committee worked to create a program where those who needed to file a petition for expungement would be able to get assistance in filling out the form with the waiver of costs and financial statement.  The Homeless Persons Representation Project had provided training for the Homeless Day volunteers in the library.  HPRP Executive Director, Antonia Fasanelli and Danielle Cover, HPRP Director of Pro Bono Programs, even came to Homeless Day to offer their expert assistance on the spot.  As a result, 2 clients were recommended for HPRP intake and 4 petitions with waivers were filed in the District Court on Monday.   Many did not have criminal records that would qualify for expungement.   Others were able to take advantage of going through intake by the Office of the Public Defender thanks to Bill Davis.

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It helped that there were 13 attorneys on hand to help this year.  With  the nine attorneys who volunteered in the morning to help, wait times for the clients were minimal.  As in past years the afternoon is slower and the four afternoon volunteers were kept just busy enough.

Morning volunteers were Bill Davis of the OPD, Anne Leitess of the SAO, Andrew DiBlasio, Kurt Roper, Kathy Hughes of Legal Aid, Chris Brown, Jessica Qunicosa of Legal Aid, Lonni Summers of Legal Aid and Kari Fawcett with her associate, Ann Marie Dunn.  In the afternoon, Denis O’Connell of the OPD took over for Bill with three attorneys from Legal Aid: Amy Siegel, Lisa Sarro and Anita Bailey.