The ABA works to identify and stimulate innovative programs designed to make legal services more readily available to people of average means. This area lists programs we believe are creative initiatives in the delivery of legal services to people who do not qualify for subsidized legal services and yet lack the income to retain traditional legal representation.

Listings include bar-sponsored programs, lawyer referral services, military-sponsored programs, non-profit initiatives, court-based projects and individual-sometimes entrepreneurial-endeavors. This list is not necessarily all-inclusive-this list is a selection of some of the best programs that have come to the attention of the ABA. These are independent efforts. The ABA does not operate, sponsor or warrant the quality of these programs, but provides you with guidance in locating a program as a public service.

ARIZONA

Maricopa County Superior Court's "Self-Service Center"

The Self-Service Center is being designed to assist self-represented litigants with handling matters in the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County. This program is being developed in collaboration with many other agencies and individuals, including the State Bar of Arizona, private practitioners of law and community dispute resolution. The program features: distribution of easy-reader, court-approved forms, instructions, and samples, including the development of a computer-based interactive form completion prompt system, through which the litigant will complete all required information for a particular packet of court forms, which will be completed and printed for the litigant; location on-site of court-related services for litigants, such as the IV-D agency and Lawyer Referral Service; creation of lists of community-based service providers who can help litigants with various aspects of court proceedings; education of litigants about the full array of other community services available for resolution of problems related to court proceedings, such as counselling and financial assistance.

Contact:

Bob James
Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County
201 W. Jefferson, 4th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85003

The "QuickCourt" System

QuickCourt is an interactive multimedia system introduced in May 1993 by the Arizona Supreme Court to guide individuals seeking information on a variety of court matters. The system uses text, graphics and an on-screen narrator to provide the public with step-by-step instructions in English or Spanish. Kiosks are presently located in three court sites. Users take an active role in their own court-related activities by controlling the presentation and interacting with the program simply by touching the screen. The system, written at a fourth grade reading level, is designed for individuals with varying levels of literacy and understanding. Information is available on: legal aid agencies in the state; landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities; enforcement of judgments; alternative dispute resolution; small claims; and an overview of the Arizona court system. What differentiates QuickCourt from other automated systems nationally is its unique capability to produce completed legal documents that can be used in court proceedings. The system will complete and print a forcible detainer form and all the forms and instructions necessary to file for a divorce, as well as calculate child support payments. After a year of operation, approximately 24,000 transactions have been conducted, and only a few individuals have had to ask court staff for assistance in completing a program.

Contact:

Agnes Felton
Court Services Division
1501 W. Washington, Suite 410
Phoenix, AZ 85007

CALIFORNIA

Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law

A co-sponsored project of the LA County Bar Association, Black Women Lawyers and Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. The decade-old Center provides family law assistance and education to low-income persons throughout Los Angeles County. The center developed and refined a unique delivery model using volunteer lawyers and paralegals. With close supervision by a small legal staff, volunteers are able to provide in-depth family law assistance in a variety of ways: instructing groups of clients with similar legal problems, intensive individual sessions so the client can leave with a strategy for representing themselves, or referral to a pro bono attorney. The assistance includes teaching persons with very little formal education and training to successfully represent themselves in court. The Center offers family law training for volunteers, which is approved for Continuing Legal Education credits. The Center has also published several items: a Volunteer Manual and training video, "Assisting the Limited-Income Client in Family Law Matters", a supplement to the manual, "California Child Support Supplement"; and, a video, "Going to Court on Your Own for a Divorce."

Contact:

Betty L. Nordwind
Executive Director
4317 Leimert Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90008

The Coordinated Court-Related
Alternative Dispute Resolution Service

The Coordinated Court-Related ADR Service (ADR Service) is the first California State Bar certified Lawyer Referral Service for alternative dispute resolution providers. The ADR Service provides referrals to screened and qualified lawyers who serve on our ADR Panel as mediators, arbitrators and special masters. This program is sponsored and coordinated with the Superior and Municipal Courts of Santa Clara County. For an administrative fee of $30 parties receive the names, addresses and telephone numbers of three neutrals, which are selected by the type of dispute and the type of neutral requested; a one-page information sheet on the providers' background, fees, and dispute resolution style; and a one-page checklist of questions to assist in selecting a provider. Lawyers have 10 days, upon receipt of the providers' names, to confer with opposing counsel and select a provider together. If the provider chosen is able to accept the case, a meeting will be arranged. The first half hour of the provider's time is free. Each provider sets their own fees, generally ranging from $150 to $250 per hour. The Modest Means program is for those that may not qualify for pro bono services, but cannot afford the market rate. Some providers have agreed to charge a set fee below the market rate to those who qualify under the income guidelines. Currently, the Modest Means fee is $100 per hours, which can be split between the parties. The administrative fee is also reduced to $25.

Contact:

Ester Kim
Santa Clara County Bar
4 North Second Street, Suite 400
San Jose, CA 95113

Divorce Helpline

Divorce Helpline (DHL), operated by Sherman, Williams & Lober, is a hybrid law-mediation practice. Seven lawyers and eight staff serve 3,500 to 4,000 people per year - over 16,000 to date. Service is provided by highly experienced lawyer/mediators either at one of two offices or by a high-tech phone system, mail, and fax. The heart of DHL's model is a highly developed customer service program. To achieve a service that is efficient, effective, affordable, and satisfying to all parties, DHL redefined the attorney-client contract and extended the way mediation is practiced. DHL works exclusively outside the adversarial system. It concentrated on settlement and completion, offering information, advice, practical solutions, mediation, document and support services-all at fixed fees. Callers remain pro se; cases that can't settle are referred out. DHL has developed telephone mediation to a high degree, enabling successful resolution between parties in different cities.

Contact:

Ed Sherman
Sherman, Williams & Lober
202 Quarry Lane
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

The Family Law Center

The Family Law Center serves persons who are unable to afford a private lawyer and need assistance with family law matters including domestic violence, child support orders, custody and divorce. The Center helps clients fill out forms and proceed pro se, provides representation in selected cases, offers forums and classes for the community and has initiated an innovative lay advocacy program for victims of domestic violence. The Center has initiated a task force of legal service providers in the community to identify and meet unmet legal needs of low and moderate income persons. The Center currently serves over 250 clients per month with seven staff members and 125 active volunteers. Staff have developed guides for clients to prepare their own paperwork and inform the community of changes in the law through radio, television and press in both English and Spanish.

Contact:

Bonnie Rose Hough
44 North San Pedro
San Rafael, CA 94903

Juvenile Dependency Court's
Parents Beyond Conflict Workshop

There are a significant number of parents/caretakers who are subject to Dependency Court jurisdiction because of continuing conflicts about child custody issues. Many of these parents have been to Family Court several times due to visitation and/or custody issues. Due to limited finances and/or the absence of low-cost accessible legal services, some parents have not received ongoing legal assistance , but relied upon police to assist them and used confrontational tactics, which have led to violence. This constant hostility between the parents has an adverse effect upon the children. The Parents Beyond Conflict Workshop was established in response to this need. The Parents Beyond Conflict Workshop consists of three two-hour sessions with the following course content: information about family and child welfare law; developmental needs of the children; conflict resolution and management, and communication skills. Interaction between the group members is encouraged. When the workshop is completed, the parents receive a certificate of completion. They also evaluate the workshop. The parents are referred by the judge, lawyers, and the Department of Children's Services social worker.

Contact:

Edward M. Kritzman
Superior Court of Los Angeles County
110 N. Grand Ave, Room 428G
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Juvenile Dependency Court's Mediation Services

The case mediation and settlement program in the Dependency Court established a formal, nonadversarial process that is: separate from, but within the court structure; for the benefit of the court and the parties; using mediation and settlement techniques facilitated by a neutral third party other than the judge; and involving all the concerned parties. The program involves ten mediators providing services to families whose cases are heard in eighteen juvenile dependency courts. Cases fully or partially settled through mediation represent significant savings of court adjudication time, billable lawyer hours as well as reduced trauma and stress for the children and family members involved. A total of 3,086 cases were mediated in 1993.

Contact:

Edward M. Kritzman
Superior Court of Los Angeles County
110 N. Grand Ave, Room 428G
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Juvenile Dependency Court's
Free Arts for Abused Children, Inc. (FAAC)

Free Arts for Abused Children (FAAC) is a California non-profit corporation that has recruited, trained, and placed volunteers in residential care facilities where they employ the creative arts to help child victims overcome the effects of physical and emotional abuse. FAAC volunteers in dance, drama, writing, music, painting, sculpting, and film increase the child's self-worth and build character by unlocking the child's imagination. Children and families come to know the meaning of success. In 1992, the Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court was opened. This court hears child abuse and neglect cases and is the only facility of its kind specially designed and dedicated to the health and welfare of abuses and neglected children and their families. In February 1993, FAAC developed a program within the Edelman Children's Court. FAAC provides a child-parent creative arts program in the public waiting areas of the court and children's activities in the protective Shelter Care area. The purpose of the program is to create a warm, safe environment within the courthouse to allow children and families to express themselves through creative art activities thereby lessening the anxiety inherent in a court situation.

Contact:

Edward M. Kritzman
Superior Court of Los Angeles County
110 N. Grand Ave, Room 428G
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Los Angeles Superior Court's Domestic Violence Clinics

California law provides a means for the victims of domestic violence to seek protection through the issuance of a court restraining order. However, most victims of domestic violence require legal assistance to pursue this remedy, but cannot financially afford the cost. The Los Angeles Superior Court's Domestic Violence Clinic was initially piloted in its Southeast District in 1989 and has since been implemented in eight other Districts to provide these victims with legal assistance free of charge. The program utilizes student interns and pro-bono lawyers, referred by local bar associations, to assist victims in preparation for court hearings and completion of court orders following the hearings. By providing a sympathetic, though objective setting, victims of domestic violence face a less stressful experience upon their arrival at the Courthouse. In fiscal year 1993-94, it was estimated that the program assisted approximately 28,000 victims and saved the Court an estimated $559,000 in staff time due to the efficiencies in the preparation of legal documents and reduction in court time.

Contact:

Edward M. Kritzman
Superior Court of Los Angeles County
110 N. Grand Ave, Room 428G
Los Angeles, CA 90012

The Legal Corps of Los Angeles'
South-Central Law Center

The Legal Corps of Los Angeles is a non-profit organization of young lawyers and law students dedicated to serving the legal needs of the working residents of South Central Los Angeles. The center fills a gap in the community by working exclusively with those residents who are squeezed out of the legal system: individuals who earn too much annually to receive free legal assistance from the Legal Aid Foundation, but do not earn enough money to afford a private lawyer. Legal Corps services are provided free or for a nominal charge to clients who meet the proper criteria. Founded in May of 1993, the Legal Corps opened its first community law center in South Central Los Angeles in August of 1993. The center has five lawyers and eight law students or externs serving the community on a full-time basis. Clients are provided with quality legal assistance in housing and land use law, employment law, family law, disability law, consumer transactions, and elder law. Legal Corps lawyers and externs are actively involved as board members and catalysts in community-based organizations such as the Sunshine Mission for Battered Women, Esperanza Housing Corporation, and the CRA Community Advisory Committee to Redevelop the Western Avenue Corridor.

Contact:

Ricardo A. Torres, II
7807 Compton Avenue, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90001

The Orange County Bar Association's
Modest Means Program

The Orange County Bar Association's (OCBA) Modest Means Committee was formed in October of 1993 to develop a program which both increases the access to legal service by the middle-income public and provides adequate compensation to the participating lawyers. The program, under the umbrella of the OCBA's Lawyer Referral Service, was implemented on June 13, 1994. The Modest Means Program is designed to meet the need for access to the justice system by those of low and fixed income where access to legal aid and pro bono assistance is not possible, and household resources are insufficient to pay prevailing hourly rates. The program will meet this need by providing those residents to a panel of lawyers who will agree to charge $80 an hour for legal services. Through an OCBA Help-line lawyer participants have access to guidance from experienced lawyers in many areas.

Contact:

Donna Fouste
Orange Co. Bar Assoc.
601 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701-4002

The State Bar of California's
Pro Per Clearinghouse Project

The pro per Clearinghouse Project was designed to improve the delivery of quality legal services to moderate income people, and to demonstrate that there are effective and transferable methods for promoting new delivery structures. The Project has three components: (1) staff conduct site visits to pro per programs that may serve as models, gathering information on their structure and operations, and then analyzing the successful and the problematic aspects of each model program; (2) two publications have been developed to disseminate this information, including Pro Per Assistance, a Manual for Legal Services and Pro Bono Providers , and the Pro Per Counseling Handbook: The Guide for Lawyers Who Wish to Expand Their Practice by Helping Clients Help Themselves ; and (3) the project serves as a clearinghouse of information and materials on pro per issues.

Contact:

Mary C. Viviano
State Bar of California
Office of Legal Services
555 Franklin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Tele-Lawyer, Inc.

Tele-Lawyer, Inc. is a legal advice and information service established by Michael Allan Cane in California in 1989. Tele-Lawyer is a group of experienced lawyers who are available to provide legal advice on a wide variety of topics. When callers dial Tele-Lawyer's phone number, they speak immediately to a veteran lawyer (averaging more than 10 years of experience) specializing in the area of law covered by their question. Staff lawyers use a sophisticated computer system of up-to-date legal information to assure that callers get quick, complete answers. Tele-Lawyer lawyers provide legal advice, analysis of documents via fax or mail, and legal forms on file. For people who prepare their own tax returns, Tele-Lawyer also offers a tax information and preparation service. Callers have a choice at $3.00/minute of calling a designated 900 number for direct phone billing, or (800) TELE-LAW (835-3529) for Visa or MasterCard billing. At Tele-Lawyer the caller/client controls the charges. There are no fees for research, and no rounding up to the quarter or half hour. Charges are based exclusively on time spent on the phone. The great majority of questions can be handled in ten minutes or less, making the average cost of a call $30 ($3/minute). If the caller needs additional help, Tele-Lawyer lawyers can provide quick information about social services, government agencies and hot-lines in the caller's community.

Contact:

Cherol B. Katz
Business & Legal Affairs
18377 Beach Blvd., Suite 325
Huntington Beach, CA 92648

COLORADO

The Denver Bar Association's
Child Support Enforcement Clinics

The Denver Bar Association, Junior League of Denver and Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Denver began the Child Support Enforcement Clinics in 1990 to assist those in the Denver metro area with child support collection. Clinics are held monthly at a local community school. Clients need not be income qualified to attend. Clients learn to complete the appropriate forms for various methods of collecting child support. Clinics are staffed by four to five volunteer lawyers and paralegals who work in small groups to assist clients with wage assignments, garnishments, contempt citations, modifications, paternity and custody issues. Training for clinic volunteers, which is CLE accredited, is held annually with no cost to volunteers.

Contact:

Christine Northrop
Denver Bar Association
Public Legal Education
1900 Grant Street, 9th Floor
Denver, CO 80203

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Army Legal Assistance Program

The Army Legal Assistance Program provides legal counseling on adoption, divorce, child support and custody, landlord-tenant problems, bankruptcy, immigration, income and property taxes, and small claims matters. Computer programs designed by the Army are used to prepare legal documents. Pro se pleadings are prepared for many clients, and lawyers assist these clients through court proceedings. Free income tax assistance is also available to soldiers and their families. In 1994 the Army Legal Assistance Division took the lead in establishing a new legal services office in the Pentagon to handle the personal legal problems of all military service members and their families in the Washington, D.C. area. This office is staffed by three lawyers and four paralegals, provided by the Army, Air Force, and Navy and is the first jointly-operated office of its kind. The division also developed a comprehensive, computer-generated marital separation agreement for use by Army lawyers throughout the world - the first of its kind in the military. The program contains almost every conceivable option and standard clauses on military topics, as well as child visitation between families frequently separated by great distances. The division also drafted and obtained enactment of a new Federal law providing that powers of attorney drafted by military lawyers be given full force and effect throughout the United Stated. The division revised existing Army regulations to authorize Reserve and National Guard lawyers to assist Reserve and Guard soldiers whose legal needs and problems arose from their military service. A directory was created of 445 Reserve and Guard lawyers who have volunteered to assist Army lawyers and their clients on legal cases and issues throughout the world. Legal services include assistance to soldiers who have lost their civilian jobs because of deployments or lost custody of children because of their former spouses took advantage of their temporary absences.

Contact:

Colonel Alfred Arquille
Legal Assistance Division
2200 Army Pentagon
Washington DC 20310-2200

DC Bar Task Force on Family Law
Representation Pro-Se-Plus Divorce Clinic

The Pro-Se-Plus Divorce Clinic was launched in January 1994 as a joint Bar-Court effort. The Clinic is a two-session workshop held at least monthly at D.C. Superior Court. At each workshop, a team of four to five volunteers assists between 15 and 25 pro se litigants in filing for divorce. Over 240 litigants have attended the Clinic to date. Litigants register for the Clinic at the courthouse with the assistance of court personnel. At the first session of the Clinic, litigants are walked through D.C.'s filing requirements, the issues that can make a divorce contested, and the stages of the documents required for an uncontested divorce. At the second session, litigants learn about more complex issues including service of process, alternate service, and default proceedings, and participate in a mock hearing. Litigants receive assistance in completing form pleadings that have been developed specifically for unrepresented individuals. Participants may call a special hot-line staffed by volunteers if they have questions after attending the Clinic. Those with unresolved issues are referred to the court's mediation program. In addition to assistance individuals in filing for divorce pro se, the Clinic also provides an important educational service.

Contact:

Katherine A. Mazzaferri
DC Bar Public Service Activities Corp.
1250 H Street, NW, Sixth Floor
Washington DC 20005-3908

FLORIDA

Greater Access and Assistance Project (GAAP)

The GAAP program is modeled after a program conceived and implemented Tampa, Florida, in conjunction with the Hillsborough County Bar Association/Young Lawyers Section. The Tampa model was established to provide free legal assistance to the "gap" group, or those persons whose income precludes them from receiving local Legal Services Corporation assistance, but who cannot afford the services of a private lawyer. The program is designed to supplement local legal aid efforts, not to compete with them. Replication of the GAAP program is a top priority for Michael Bedke's tenure as Chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division. In furtherance of this goal, Mr. Bedke drafted a "how-to" pamphlet entitled, "Filling the Gap: Access to Justice for Persons of Modest Means."

Contact:

Michael A. Bedke
ABA Young Lawyers Division
Chair-Elect
P.O. Box 71
Tampa, FL 33601-0071

and

Heidi McNeil
ABA Young Lawyers Division
Special Projects Coordinator
One Arizona Center
400 E. Van Buren
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Legal Aid Self Help Divorce Project

The Legal Aid Self Help Divorce Project assists pro selitigants in family court. A form package consisting of 51 forms and a 120 page instruction package has been produced. Packets are available at the courthouse for $20 and entitle the litigant to attend open-hour question and answer sessions as well as to view any or all of the topic specific video taped lectures prepared for the program by family court practitioners. Video tapes are in English or Spanish. The Project has sold over 15,000 packets and held 40 Q & A sessions servicing over 400 clients. Twice weekly an lawyer is available to answer individual procedural questions and to assist with forms on a walk-in basis. An Attorney Assisted component helps small select groups of pro seapplicants with forms in a classroom setting. These litigants are given instruction on trial techniques to better handle their cases in court.

Contact:

Randee Godofsky Breiter
Dade County Bar Assoc.
Legal Aid Society
123 NW First Avenue
Miami, FL 33128

KANSAS

Court Settlement Officer Project Kansas
Bar Association's Reduced Fee Plan

The Reduced Fee Plan (RFP) was devised in 1988 to recruit Kansas Bar Association lawyers to take the cases of eligible low income people, primarily in domestic disputes. It has expanded at the request of KBA Board members to add the "working poor." This program sets as low a fee as possible for select cases. All twelve legal services offices across the state administer variation of the RFP. Of the 902 people who had a case closed in 1993, 27% were in the moderate income level. In 1992, a Tel Law program with 54 recorded messages was added to complement the advice portion of the KBA's programs. There were 13,718 calls in the first eight months of this year. In 1993, the KBA added seven flood relief legal messages during the flood which hit the midwest.

Contact:

Art Thompson
Kansas Bar Association
1200 SW Harrison
PO Box 1037
Topeka KS 66601-1037

LOUISIANA

Eighth Coast Guard District Legal Assistance Program

Since July 1992, the Eighth Coast Guard District Legal Office has provided expanded legal services to active-duty members of the Coast Guard through its legal assistance program. At least half of its clients are junior enlisted members who have low to moderate income or dependents who often have no independent income. The program is staffed by one full-time officer/lawyer and one full-time yeoman/paralegal as well as three weekend Reservist lawyers. The office originated several procedures and methods to provide low and moderate income military members with easy access to high quality legal advice such as mailing a questionnaire with a follow-up telephone conference to provide wills and powers of attorney; seminars on obtaining a will, landlord-tenant and consumer issues, domestic relations and tax issues; and state-specific legal guides which have been distributed to every unit in each state.

Contact:

Lt. Elisa P. Holland or Petty Officer Angela M. Caldwell
Eighth Coast Guard District Legal Office
Commander (d1)
501 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

MARYLAND

The Women's Law Center's Family Law Hotline

The Family Law Hotline is an innovative project staffed by pro bono lawyers who provide free legal information to moderate income people experiencing family law problems. The Hotline was designed by the Women's Law Center's (WLC) Executive Director and its Young Lawyers Section. The WLC is a non-profit organization which educates the public about its legal rights. The Hotline began on a citywide basis in Baltimore in 1990. The Baltimore Bar Association contributed by assisting in preparing a manual for volunteers and helping to recruit lawyers to staff the Hotline. The WLC began a second hotline in 1991 which allows callers to reach it from all over the state on an "800" number. The Maryland State Bar Association assisted with recruitment of staff. WLC continues to operate both the City and State Hotlines one day a week, serving over 3,000 callers annually. To deal with the critical lack of services in family law volunteer lawyers receive calls in their own offices through a unique call forwarding system.

Contact:

Kathleen F. Shemer
The Womens Law Center, Inc.
PO Box 5362
Lutherville, MD 21094-5362

MISSOURI

Pro Se Divorce Project

The Pro Se Divorce Clinic is designed to provide information and assistance to individuals who wish to obtain a divorce pro se. The clinic began in August 1994 and consists of three sessions held over a four month period. A comprehensive manual containing forms which must be filed to obtain a divorce, a step by step explanation of how to obtain a divorce, and practice and sample forms have been developed for use by clinic participants. At the first session, participants are taught how to fill out the forms. The second session is held at the courthouse where a tour is given and participants file their divorce petitions. The third session consists of role playing to prepare participants for their hearing. The clinic anticipates serving 15-20 persons per clinic and will hold three clinics per year.

Contact:

Nina Balsam
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
625 North Euclid Avenue
PO Box 4999A, Field Station
St. Louis, MO 63108

NEW YORK

Angelo Digangi and the Preventive
Legal Services for the Elderly Program

Angelo DiGangi wrote the blueprints for the Preventive Legal Services for the Elderly Program in New York City. In 1988, Mr. DiGangi founded the Community Advocacy Center Inc. (CAC). CAC was established to make society aware of the socio-economic and legal problems which affect senior citizens. The Community Advocacy Center has as its specific goal to work with foundations, universities and community leaders in order to stimulate the development of Preventive Law for the Elderly Programs throughout the United States. Preventive Law is based on the concept that the best legal service is most often accomplished through educating a target population. To this end, Mr. DiGangi established the Legal Awareness Clinic. Staff lawyers, interns and volunteers go into senior citizen centers to lecture on various topics of law which affect the senior population. After such lectures, there is an opportunity provided for private consultation, with any senior citizen who feels she/he may be in need of assistance. Mr. DiGangi is also the founder of the Legal Awareness Bulletin, a newsletter which is distributed quarterly to over 10,000 seniors throughout New York City. Annual events include the "Preventive Law Fair Day," the Annual Dinner Dance which is a private fundraiser, and a "Night Out Against Crime for Seniors."

Contact:

Leon Von Holden Angelo DiGangi
The Community Advocacy Center The Community Advocacy Center
68-33 Fresh Pond Road 68-33 Fresh Pond Road
Ridgewood, NY 11385 Ridgewood, NY 11385

NORTH CAROLINA

Pro-Active Legal Assistance of the
Consolidated Legal Assistance Office

The Consolidated Legal Assistance Office provides in-office lawyer advice, aid, and referral. Lawyers also administer a preventive law program that promotes legal readiness and education. Classes are offered regularly on finances, marriage preparation, installment sales contracts, consumer fraud, wills, basic estate planning, powers of attorney, and means to legally protect themselves while absent. The legal assistance program located in Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune provides free legal services to service members and their dependents. Three to six lawyers and six legal specialists staff the office. The office provides assistance with wills, powers of attorney, adoptions, immigration applications and notarization of documents free of charge. The office operates a tax center year round which assisted over 26,000 tax payers last year. Services are provided for service members and retirees and their dependents.

Contact:

Capt. Mike Miller
Consolidated Legal Asst. Office
Office of the Staff Judge Advocate
Marine Corps Base
Camp Lejune, NC 28542

OHIO

Columbus Bar Association's Lawyers for Justice Program

The Lawyers for Justice (LFJ) program involves local lawyers in the direct representation of indigent residents of central Ohio. Since LFJ began accepting cases on July 1, 1993, it has joined 296 lawyers-from small, medium and large firms, sole practices, corporate legal departments and governmental entities-in its effort to improve the delivery of legal services to that segment of the population whose legal needs were not being adequately addressed by existing legal aid providers. To date, LFJ volunteer lawyers have committed 6,190 hours of pro bono civil legal services, and have provided representation to approximately 290 individuals. LFJ is operated as a telephone referral service and will accept cases that are not handled by other organizations providing legal services. Clients cannot earn more than 150% of the federally determined poverty level.

Contact:

Hannah L. Blumenstiel
Columbus Bar Association
175 S. Third Street, 11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215

RHODE ISLAND

The Rhode Island Bar Association's Legal Information
& Referral Service for the Elderly/Reduced Fee
Services & Programming

The primary objective of the Legal Information & Referral Service for the Elderly is to make legal services readily available to senior citizens ages sixty and over. Last year alone over 1,500 elderly clients, the majority moderate income, contacted the Elderly Referral Service for help. For those elderly citizens who needed further legal services lawyer members provided reduced fee representation in the areas of income maintenance, consumer finance, civil, criminal, real estate and family law. Lawyers participating in the reduced fee service for the elderly agree to provide the initial consultation at no charge and to charge a fee that does not exceed $25 per hour if the client needs further legal service. Outreach programming includes, "Ask a Lawyer" and "Legal Clinic" programs, celebration of May as Older Americans' Month and Law Day with team presentations and the Senior Citizens Handbook, Taking Care of Business.

Contact:

Helen Desmond McDonald
115 Cedar Street
Providence, RI 02903

TEXAS

Southeast Texas Legal Clinic

The Southeast Texas Legal Clinic is a legal clinic in the Houston area providing services to HIV infected and affected individuals. Its work plan goes beyond attaining the goals outlined in various grants. It focuses on eliminating barriers to service created by location, culture, language and ignorance. With the full funding of the Legal Clinic in April, 1994, it has provided services to approximately 225 persons. The Legal Clinic has set up various sub-sites in the other HIV-service providers' offices throughout 11 county service delivery area. The Legal Clinic has staff lawyers and an internship program with Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Contact:

Robert J. DiVito
Southeast Texas Legal Clinic
PO Box 667007
Houston, TX 77266-7007

The Tejas Project - Texas Equal Justice Access Services

The legal community of Bexar County united to host the TEJAS Project, a pilot program that could serve as a pattern for other cities. All clients will receive free, full legal services during clinics held on two days in November 1994. Clients are referred by the Bexar County Legal Aid/pro bono Law Project and are people who cannot afford a lawyer but cannot be served by Legal Aid because their specific needs do not fall within the scope of available services, or people whose needs fit the scope but Legal Aid resources are unavailable. After initial telephone intake evaluations, appointments were scheduled and a TEJAS brochure was mailed. A volunteer handbook was developed to prepare lawyers and paralegals for the clinic. The clinic will handle first time homebuyers' simple deeds and closings; social security disability; landlord/tenant; divorce; child custody; child support; consumer law, name changes and estate planning and probate.

Contact:

Lowell Keig
Keig & Thomas, L.L.P.
700 N. St. Mary's Street
Suite 1000
San Antonio, TX 78205

San Antonio Community Law Center

The Law Center was founded by Brother William Dooling, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, and David C. Lopez, a San Antonio native. The two Harvard classmates submitted a proposal to Patrick Florez, the Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese in San Antonio, who agreed to donate start-up costs and agreed to serve as the chairman of the center's board of advisors. Another religious order contributed, the founders' Harvard classmates donated and the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation awarded the center funds through the IOLTA program. The center operates on a sliding fee schedule and requires that the clients submit an affidavit that their case has been rejected by other lawyers.

Contact:

Brother William Dooling
San Antonio Community Law Center
San Antonio, TX

UTAH

The Senior Lawyer Volunteer
Project of Utah Legal Services

The Senior Lawyer Volunteer Project (SLVP) is an estate planning pro bono legal services program for low-income Utah residents. Since April 1993, SLVP has utilized twelve retired or semi-retired lawyers to provide free wills, health-care directives, and simple estate planning services to socially and economically needy clients, addressing unmet legal needs. As the project has developed and become a part of the network for the aging in Utah, it has provided increased assistance with planning for incapacity, powers of attorney, property transfers, and financial exploitation and physical abuse of the elderly. SLVP has provided free legal services to approximately 500 low-income clients over the last nineteen months. The privately funded project, while essentially self contained, is affiliated with Utah Legal Services (ULS) and shares their offices, computer network and telephone system. ULS also provides the SLVP with professional liability coverage, CLE training opportunities, part-time secretarial services, access to its library and staff lawyers, and a part-time lawyer who serves as the SLVP coordinator. The coordinator screens all applications and responds to 50 calls a week. SLVP is in the process of training volunteer lawyers to speak to community groups about living wills, special powers of attorney, and health care directives.

Contact:

Mary Jane Ciccarello
Senior Lawyer Volunteer Project
254 West 400 South, Second Floor
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

VIRGINIA

Alexandria Bar Association's Videotape
"Your Day in Court: Representing Yourself
in General District Court in Virginia,"

The Alexandria Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service has produces a 45-minute videotape entitled, "Your Day in Court: Representing Yourself in General District Court in Virginia." This project is an instructional video for pro se litigants in Virginia's General District Courts. It is a valuable resource for those civil litigants with moderate incomes, for it provides them access to information on how to represent themselves in court without counsel. The video clearly identifies the proper way to complete frequently used forms and pleadings necessary to maintain or defend a civil suit in General District Court. In addition, there is a presentation of the post-judgment collection process. A mock trial in a landlord/tenant dispute is presented on the videotape with action paused at key points for instruction on proper courtroom conduct and procedure.

Contact:

Lisa S. Frey
Alexandria Bar Association
520 King Street
Room 202
Alexandria, VA 22314

Hunton & Williams Church Hill Office

Hunton & Williams' commitment to pro bono legal service is embodied by the firm's entirely separate and self-contained pro bono office in the Church Hill area of Richmond, Virginia, the oldest and one of the poorest neighborhoods of the city. The office was founded in June 1990 and serves the working poor throughout the city. Through it, the firm provides legal representation for basic family, guardianship and housing problems at an affordable cost to people whose incomes are too large to make them eligible for legal aid, yet too small to hire a private lawyer. During the Church Hill office's first year in operation, ten volunteer lawyers handled 120 cases and recorded more than 1,200 hours. Each subsequent year, the number of cases and the number of volunteers have increased dramatically. As of late 1994, there were more than 40 volunteers. The office has become a model for 38 projects across the country.

Contact:

George H. Hettrick
Hunton & Williams
2300 East Marshall Street
Richmond, VA 23223

The Metropolitan Richmond Women's Bar
Association Pamphlet "Understanding Your
Domestic Relations Rights in Virginia"

The Public Service Committee of the Metropolitan Richmond Women's Bar Association (MRWBA) produced the pamphlet entitled, "Understanding Your Domestic Relations Rights in Virginia." The 1994 edition of the pamphlet, the fourth edition, is in the process of being distributed to numerous government offices and private agencies serving women's interests across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The purpose of the pamphlet is to provide families experiencing domestic problems with an understandable summary of the domestic relations laws and information about their rights and how to assert them. The pamphlet covers a wide range of domestic issues including but not limited to: divorce, spousal support, child support, custody and visitation, property settlement, protective orders and injunctions, martial sexual abuse, name change, adoption, paternity, annulment, and mediation. The Public Service Committee targets distribution of the Pamphlet to government offices and private agencies to which low income persons are likely to turn in the event of domestic problems.

Contact:

Jessica M. Lane
McSweeney, Burtch & Crump
11 South 12th Street
PO Box 1463
Richmond VA 23212

The Metropolitan Richmond Women's Bar
Association Emergency Shelter Visitation Project

The Emergency Shelter Visitation Project seeks to inform battered and temporarily homeless women about the legal system and to answer their specific questions. Members of the Metropolitan Richmond Women's Bar Association (MRWBA) visit local shelters and meet with the residents on a regular basis. The lawyers make brief presentations on such legal issues as domestic relations and family law, consumer issues, and housing. Following their presentations, the lawyers answer questions in both group sessions and private conferences. Program volunteers often go beyond the basic shelter visits in their efforts to help the women. Although they generally do not take pro bono cases directly from the shelters, it is not unusual for the volunteers to research questions or seek out additional information in the days following their visits.

Contact:

Virginia E. McConnell
VOF 203 Governor Street
Richmond, VA 23219

Waterfront Legal Services Office

The Naval Legal Service Office Northeast's (NLSO Northeast) Waterfront Legal Services Office is located at Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut. One of NLSO Northeast's missions is to provide a wide range of legal services to those who serve their country in the United States Armed Forces, their family members, and those who have retired from military service. The Waterfront Legal Services Office was opened in May of 1994 to provide legal services at a more convenient location for sailors working under severe time pressures in the restricted access area directly supporting the submarines and ships. Sailors can obtain walk-in service two mornings a week for powers of attorney and notarizations, and meet with an lawyer for assistance with personal legal problems, without having to leave their lower base work area.

Contact:

Cdr. Jan Rosen-Serafini
Office of the JAGC (Code 36)
Department of the Navy
200 Stovall St.
Alexandria, VA 22332-2400

WISCONSIN

Teresa House

Beth Roney Drennan established Teresa House in Baraboo Wisconsin last February 1994. Since then she has helped more than 400 clients who have simple, noncriminal problems if their incomes would qualify them for food stamps. She refers people to whatever free or low-cost legal services are available and will not take a case if a lawyer is representing the opposing side. For reasons of efficiency, Drennan will not actually represent people. She has created many fill-in-the-blank forms with directions on what to do with the documents at the courthouse, how many copies to make and what to take where.

Contact:

Beth Roney Drennan
Teresa House
Civic Center Building
Baraboo, WI