The luncheon catered by the Main Ingredient was sponsored by the Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee and provided by the Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. Volunteer attorneys were honored by Anne Arundel County Administrative Judge Nancy-Davis Loomis and Hon. Clayton Greene of the Court of Appeals.
With this being the time of year when attorneys are required to report their pro bono hours to the Maryland Court of Appeals, some program statistics for 2011 are in order. There were 44 attorneys who provided 201 hours of service to 479 clients through the Ask a Lawyer Programs. Volunteer attorneys received certificates to thank them for their services and to act as a record of their program hours.
A recent post in Richard Zorza’s Access to Justice Blog provides links to his recent articles in the Judges Journal concerning judges and the self represented. He invites comments and discussion.
He states that “the new article includes discussion of how judges can handle cases with an attorney on one side, cases with angry or mentally disturbed litigants, as well as complex and jury trials.”
Richard Zorza is the coordinator of the national Self Represented Litigation Network at www.selfhelpsupport.org.
The Maryland Judiciary’s recent press release announced that the Maryland District Court Self Help Center now offers remote access via Live Chat and phone. Until now, the Center’s services were limited to walk-ins only at the Glen Burnie District Court at 7500 Ritchie Highway. It was great for us that the first and only District Court Self Help center was located in Anne Arundel County. The law library has been making referrals to the center since it opened two years ago. However, the location sometimes proved a problem for some of those we referred there. Already we were able to refer a caller from Virginia to the Live Chat for assistance with a Maryland District Court case. The phone service will make it even easier. Based on the many phone calls we get related to the district court such as landlord/tenant, debt collections ans small claims I know that this service is needed and will be appreciated.
As the Maryland judiciary moves to institute e-filing, the question of how it might affect the self-represented litigant (SRL) is being considered. The following references could help in that discussion:
Today was the first day that the Family Law Self Help Center operated as part of the law library. The actual move took place on Friday. The Center assisted 32 people today with the majority arriving before noon. This made for an interesting, no time to think about it, adjustment. We will be working out the logistics as time goes on.
The library and the center have always cross referred. It could be difficult for the clients who would have to trek back and forth between the second and third floors. Now all of the self help resources are in one spot making it easier for the center and library to collaborate.
Homeless Day Volunteers: Anita Bailey, Amy Siegel, Lonni Summers, Bill Davis and Sarah Frush
Anne Arundel County Attorneys provided free legal advice to 70 people at this year’s Homeless Resource Day. More people than ever took advantage of the 4th Annual Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day on Saturday, March 26, 20011. For the first time ever, there were lines for services. 400 participants were reported in 2010 and more than 500 were counted this year. The event was held at Glen Burnie High School from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. which is two hours more than last year. In addition to legal services, participants received medical and dental care, could get a haircut, and meet with many benefit provider agencies. The MVA was on site to provide IDs and vital statistics was there to provide birth certificates.
The wide range of expertise of the volunteer attorneys was essential to address the varied needs of those seeking legal advice. Bill Davis, Public Defender and Anne Leitess, Assistant State’s Attorney were able to answer the many questions about criminal records and expungement. Family law attorney Kari Fawcett and Anita Bailey, head of Anne Arundel County Legal Aid, were kept busy with the many family law questions. Legal services benefited from the presence of other Legal Aid attorneys Amy Siegel and Margaret Leonard who deal with the many issues facing the homeless every day. The Legal Aid attorneys who staff the Glen Burnie Self Help Center, Sarah Frush and Lonni Summers, were also able to draw from their center experience to help the homeless.
45 people were served last year. This year, 45 people had been served by 11:00 a.m. By the end of the day, 70 people received free legal advice. Like last year, the morning was the busiest time. Many seeking legal advice had questions that involved multiple legal issues. The number one question, again, involved criminal records and expungement. There were just about as many family law questions. Problems concerning housing and denial of benefits were a close second. Other issues included employment, foreclosure, wills and personal injury. (See Homeless Resource Day 2011: Statistics for more detail.)
MVLS, The Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Service partnered with the AABA this year. One of the benefits of this partnership was access to the MVLS umbrella malpractice insurance.
Next year we hope to have more attorneys with expertise in the area of family and criminal law. It will be helpful to create an expungement information packet for all of the volunteers so that they all would be comfortable advising on this issue. We are already looking for attorneys to help with the benefits questions.
DSS has asked in the past about the possibility of offering court services at Homeless Day. We will investigate how services such as disposing of outstanding warrants, filing of fee waivers and/or petitions might be offered.
The number of questions asked and the number of people receiving assistance shows what a valuable service this is. The work and time donated by all of the attorney volunteers was more than appreciated by all served.
AABA President, John Gardner with Joan Bellistri, Coordinator and Anne Leitess, volunteer.
The Maryland Access to Justice Commission has issued its 2010 Annual Report. The report outlines the work of the commission over the last year. The mission of the Access to Justice Commission is to give “… meaningful voice to the public whose interest it serves…” and to …”develop, consolidate, coordinate and/or implement initiatives designed to, and enhance the quality of civil justice for persons who encounter barriers in gaining access to Maryland’s civil justice system.” The activities, projects and programs described in the 2010 Annual Report are evidence of this mission.
Highlights of the report include the information gained from a series of “Listening Events” held across the state so that stakeholder organizations, their clients and the public could voice their concerns and experiences with Maryland courts. Through the work of various committees the commission was able to adopt a definition of “access to justice” and investigate and advocate for the access and delivery of legal services in areas such as the funding of legal service organizations. A report, Implementing a Civil Right to Justice, was published by the Commission. The needs of the self-represented were addressed in the assistance in the creation of the District Court Self Help Center and the promotion of limited scope representation, or unbundling, by drafting rules and forms that have been presented to the Rules Committee of the Court of Appeals. The public education committee developed a series of posters that can be ordered without charge at the Access to Justice website and viewed in the Appendix of the Annual Report. Other issues studied were language barriers and how the needs of those who do not speak English might be met. Most recently the Commission created a number of awards that would promote access to justice activities.
I have mentioned just some examples of the work of the Commission illustrated in the Annual Report. I recommend that anyone with an interest in the equitable provision of legal services read the entire report and the appendices to find a wealth of information on access to justice in Maryland.
The first “Ask a Lawyer” event at the North County Area Library last Wednesday was a great success. Three volunteer attorneys were on hand to answer legal questions. Cliff O’Connor, who has a law practice in Glen Burnie with his wife Cassie Holmes, was instrumental in getting this program going. He was able to enlist the help of Bill Trevillian, Jr. and Gene Brennan in providing legal services to north county residents. Cliff indicated his interest in bringing the “Ask a Lawyer” program to the public library in Glen Burnie last year and coordinated a pilot program at the Anne Arundel County Public Library Brooklyn Park Branch last May.
The program began at 4:30 after a lottery to determine the time slots for the ten people who had already arrived to see one of the attorneys. There were two more participants that arrived after the lottery bringing the total to twelve. The attorneys were busy the whole time, sometimes taking a little more time than the allotted twenty minutes. The wide range of issues addressed included credit, housing, replevin, unemployment, foreclosure and social security benefits.
The meeting room which is located just inside the door to the parking lot made access to the program easy. The staff of the library was more than gracious and accommodating in helping to get the program established in the library. The assistance and guidance of Wanda Wagner, Jackie Langdon, Susie Herron, and Mary Ann Keicher were instrumental in our being able to reserve the room for 2011 and getting the work out about the program. There was a great display inside the door and the program was also advertised on the library’s webpage. Mary Ann had the room set up and ready to go for the program upon my arrival and provided me with support during the evening.
The “Ask A Lawyer” Program will resume in March and continue on the third Wednesday of the month through June. There will be a summer break during July and August but the program will be back on schedule in September through the rest of 2011.
The library finally received the June 15, 2010 issue containing the article, “Ask a Lawyer” Gains Momentum by Adrienne Hagepanos in the PRO BONO Profile of the MSBA Bar Bulletin. It is now available at the MSBA website, too.
I am proud to say that I just attended my first in person Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service meeting last Wednesday on June 16 as the newly appointed public member.
This was a joint meeting with the local and regional pro bono committee chairs of Maryland. All of the chairs described the pro bono activity sponsored by their committees. Dan Andrews, the AABA Pro Bono Committee Co-chair, was there to report on Anne Arundel County’s pro bono projects. He concentrated on the “Ask a Lawyer in the Library” program that has gotten underway this year. This meeting was a great source of inspiration for new ideas for the pro bono committee in Anne Arundel.
Another source of ideas for local committees can be found in the new Best Practices Manual for Local Pro Bono Committees written by Claire A. Smearman and edited by Sharon E. Goldsmith of the PBRC who staff the Standing Committee. Each meeting attendee received a copy of the new manual.
The standing committee is established by Maryland Rule 16-901. Maryland Rule 16-902 calls for the creation of local pro bono committees. The rule outlines the composition of the local committee and requires the creation of a local plan. I am not aware of the existence of any local committee in Anne Arundel County other than the bar committee chaired by Dan Andrews and Elizabeth Leight. I hope to obtain more information about the local committee and the local plan through my participation on the statewide committee.
AACPLL Blog: Law Library News 