The Legal Project, Capital District Women s Bar Association

Transcription

1 The Legal Project, Capital District Women s Bar Association Overview of Achievements, Training and regular mentoring help provide support and technical assistance to our staff, pro bono attorneys and paralegals and other community volunteers. Additionally, regular trainings are held for law students, paralegals and other volunteers interested in volunteering at Uncontested Divorce Clinics where they are provided with the information, materials, and mentoring needed to assist clients. Our goal is to not only utilize volunteers, both attorney and non -attorney, to further meet the need of the clients we serve, but to also provide them with the training and support they need. During this reporting period, we served over 1,500 with the assistance of volunteers, both attorney and nonattorney. Sara toga Schenectady Rensselaer Albany This Provider At a Glance Population Served: Low Income Women and Families Area Served: 4-County Area in Eastern New York Total Funding: $981,798 Total IOLA Grant: $150,000 Staffing - Full Time Equivalents Total Staff: Lawyers: 6.80 Paralegals: 4.00 Other Staff: 3.35 Types of Services Provided Direct Civil Legal Representation Brief Services Extended Services Hotlines and Other Phone-Based Services Technology and Other Innovations Community Legal Education Pro Se Assistance Collaborations With Other Service Providers Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects The Legal Project, Capital District Women s Bar Association - 1

2 Outcomes 3,796 Individuals Benefited from 1,555 Closed Direct Civil Legal Cases Extended Representation Outcomes 185 People obtained a divorce, legal separation or annulment 95 People obtained federal bankruptcy protection 75 People obtained or maintained custody of children 75 People obtained protection from domestic violence 608 People obtained benefits from other "extended representation" Brief Representation Benefits 2,718 People benefited from legal advice and counsel 2 People benefited from non-litigation advocacy services 38 People benefited by referral to other sources of help Dollar Benefits Achieved for Clients - Total $7,700,000 Family Law - Child Support: $4,200,000 Family Law - Maintenance/Spousal Support: $3,240,000 Family Law - Equitable Distribution of Assets $260,000 Total includes back awards and total monthly benefits, estimated over 6 months (unemployment compensation), 12 months (other federal benefits, equitable distribution of assets, affirmative judgements and other benefits), 60 months (Social Security, SSI) or 120 months (child and spousal support). Examples... Outcomes for Clients client was referred to our office by her A domestic violence advocate because she didn t speak English and needed assistance with an Order of Protection. She was Spanishspeaking and was living in an apartment that was paid by her abusive boyfriend and also father of her two children. Because of her limited English, it was difficult for her to find employment and therefore she was completely financially dependent on her boyfriend. In addition, her boyfriend s brother was living in the same building and would spy on the client and keep the abuser abreast of her whereabouts, who she was with, and what she was doing. He had started to become more controlling and abusive and she started to fear for her and the children s safety. One day, he demanded that she leave the home and give him the children. She was afraid of him so the following day she contacted a local domestic violence program for help. After the domestic violence program assisted her with the safety concerns, she contacted our office and a pro bono attorney was assigned to her case. The attorney helped her obtain and Order of Protection, primary physical custody of the children and child support and has been able to move out of the apartment that was controlled by the father s family, with her children, and they have begun an independent life. Examples continued on last page Breakdown of Cases by Legal Problem Area People Cases Total 3,796 1,555 Family 2, Consumer Housing Individual Rights Other Family 64% Consumer 14% Housing 7% Individual Rights 3% Other 12% The Legal Project, Capital District Women s Bar Association - 2

3 Other Services Hotlines and Other Telephone Based Legal Services Phone consultations are conducted by staff attorneys for those victims of domestic violence who need legal advice and information but are unable to come to our office. Legal Services Coordinators speak with callers seeking legal assistance, providing information regarding available services, safety planning, making legal consultation appointments with both staff and pro bono attorneys, conducting intake, and making referrals when appropriate. Additionally, we have a Spanish speaking Legal Services Coordinator who is able to speak with Spanish speaking callers who are looking for assistance. In addition, we have numerous clients who contact us after they have attended our Uncontested Divorce Clinic with questions and clarification on filing the documents and next steps. Under the supervision of a staff attorney, a Legal Services Coordinator will walk the client through the next steps and make any additional follow-up appointments if necessary. The Military Families Project provides technical assistance to attorneys and advocates nationwide who are working with military-related domestic violence clients provide appropriate and effective services. Our staff attorney who has expertise in military related issues provides information, advice, and guidance to attorneys and advocates nationwide via telephone. The target population of direct services is lowincome residents of Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady Counties who are seeking legal information, advice, and representation. We also provide services in adjoining counties of the Capital Region, including Columbia, Greene, Fulton, Warren, and Washington when there are limited civil legal services available. Regarding the Military Families Project, the target audience is to attorneys and advocates across New York State and nationally who are working with militaryrelated victims of domestic violence. Technology and Other Innovations During this reporting period, we have started discussing the development of a step-by-step instructional video that will be available on our website for clients who have attended our Uncontested Divorce clinic but who need additional assistance in filing the documents. Clients will continue to be provided with written instructions and our contact information and this video would serve to enhance the support we provide to clients once they leave the clinic. Our Counsel and Director of the Military Families Project has presented and moderated several national training webinars on topics including Military Cultural Competence for Civilian Attorneys and Advocates, Family Advocacy Programs and Transitional Compensation- Military Response to Intimate Partner Violence, and Military Justice and the Legal Assistance Program. She has also used videoconferencing as an effective method of training individuals ultimately reaching a broader audience. In addition Listserves have also become an effective way to share information and resources. For example, we are an active participant in a Listserve that includes service providers who work specifically with the Hispanic community. While we hold quarterly meetings with these organizations, the Listserve is an effective tool in discussing matters and distributing vital information to members of the group. Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation Uncontested Divorce Clinics are conducted with the assistance of Legal Project staff, staff attorneys, law students, and paralegals to provide assistance to low income individuals with the preparation and filing of the necessary documents in pro se divorce actions. The Legal Clinic Program offers free half-hour, private consultations with an attorney and is located in areas of greater need to allow those with few resources to easily access them. The goal of the program is to offer the client an opportunity to discuss their problem, to find out if there is a legal Number of People Benefited by Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation Total: 17,967 People Community Legal Education: 5,815 People Pro Se Assistance: 152 People Legal Hotline Services: 12,000 People The Legal Project, Capital District Women s Bar Association - 3

4 Other Services, continued or non-legal remedy for their problem and is a starting point in the legal system. In addition to our Small Business Legal Clinic, we have expanded our Legal Clinic Program to include specialized clinics for veterans and also individuals with Immigration matters. Wills Clinics are held at The Legal Project office, domestic violence programs, and other locations in the community. These clinics are conducted with the assistance of Legal Project Staff, volunteer attorneys and paralegals and were established to provide assistance to low income individuals and families who are in need of end of life legal documents, including wills, living wills, health care proxies, and powers of attorney. The Pro Bono Appeals Program is a collaborative project with the NYSBA Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction, Rural Law Center and The Legal Project which provides pro bono legal representation on issues related to essentials of life, such as housing, homelessness, access to health care and education, low income wage issues and consumer debts, domestic violence and family law in the Third Department. This program recently expanded into the Fourth Department. Legally Speaking Workshops offer free, custom designed education programs to community groups and organizations on a wide variety of legal topics.. Each workshop is tailored to the requesting group s needs and is provided by either a staff or pro bono attorney. Collaborations With Other Service Providers In addition to the on-going collaborations that we engage in with our community partners such as the Rural Law Center, Empire Justice Center, Legal Aid of Northeastern NY, Albany County Bar Association, NYSBA, our PULSE partners and local and regional advocacy organizations, we have worked in coordination with a number of additional partners during this funding period. The Legal Project s Immigration Pro Bono program was developed and has inspired a number of partnerships. In the summer of 2013, our staff began working with MAMI Interpreters (Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters) to create a unique training program for interpreters, specifically on how to do legal interpreting for consultations with clients, to help fill a gap for attorneys who are providing information, advice or consultations prior to representation on a variety of legal issues such as family law, bankruptcy and foreclosure, to non-english speaking clients. This resulted in our staff not only developing the curriculum but also participating as faculty for the 20 hour training sessions. MAMI now provides pro bono and low cost interpretation as needed in our consults and legal clinics, as part of our collaborative relationship. Having trained interpreters to assist in our legal consultations, in our immigration program as well as our legal clinics, domestic violence and other legal services that we provide, has significantly assisted us in being more approachable for clients who do not speak English as a first language, and has helped Sources of Funding Total $981,798 IOLA Grant $150,000 State Funding $553,429 Income from fundraising events $88,608 Other Federal Programs $65,601 Other $124,160 State Funding 56% Income from fundraising events 9% IOLA Grant 15% Other Federal Programs 7% Other 13% The Legal Project, Capital District Women s Bar Association - 4

5 Other Services, continued ensure much better communication flow resulting in better service. The immigration pro bono project also has resulted in increased collaboration with the regional members of AILA (American Immigration Law Association), and additional pro bono attorney involvement in our panel as a positive outcome. This partnership between Empire Justice Center and our private bar members who provide immigration services has helped us fill a gap in assistance for immigrants in the Capital Region which has been a tremendous benefit to our community. We are also in the process of developing a more formalized collaboration with the Adirondack Women s Bar Association, to plan additional domestic violence legal clinics in the North Country, modeled after The Legal Project s existing Legal Clinic Program. There is a dearth of services for domestic violence survivors in that rural, vast area of the state, and we are working together with the Adirondack Women s Bar to help provide information and referrals for those who are facing the legal system alone and with little guidance. Further, we have worked with a new partner, the Albany Guardian Society, to provide a series of five Legally Speaking workshops for senior members of the community and service providers on legal issues such as powers of attorney and guardianship, wills, health care proxies, reverse mortgages and mortgage scams. The Guardian Society has also provided their excellent training space to The Legal Project for holding several CLE programs related to our domestic violence pro bono program and other community education sessions, which is extremely helpful as it is a state of the art training room that allows for full use of technology and more space for participants. Backup or Support Services Training and regular mentoring help provide support and technical assistance to our staff, pro bono attorneys and paralegals and other community volunteers. Additionally, regular trainings are held for law students, paralegals and other volunteers interested in volunteering at Uncontested Divorce Clinics where they are provided with the information, materials, and mentoring needed to assist clients. Our goal is to not only utilize volunteers, both attorney and non-attorney, to further meet the need of the clients we serve, but to also provide them with the training and support they need. During this reporting period, we served over 1,500 with the assistance of volunteers, both attorney and non-attorney. Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects Oswald v. Oswald In 2005, the client married her husband. The ceremony was performed by a minister of the Universal Life Church in Washington County. Five years later, the husband sought to have the marriage declared void based upon the fact that the ceremony had been performed by a minister of the Universal Life Church, and a 1989 Second Department decision stated that ULC ministers were not valid officiates. Supreme Court agreed, granted summary judgment and declared the marriage void. The applicant was left with no marital property or support. If upheld, the Supreme Court decision would also have resulted in thousands of marriages in the 28 counties of the Third Department being declared void. Based on an analysis of the provisions in Domestic Relations Law regarding who may solemnize a marriage and Religious Corporations Law regarding the definition of a minister and a church, the Third Department reversed, finding that Supreme Court had erred in declaring as a matter of law that ULC ministers could not officiate at weddings simply because of the unconventional nature of the method used to select ministers, the vague belief system of the church, and one outdated decision. The matter has been remanded for an evidentiary hearing to address the genuine factual issues created. Pro Bono Volunteer Involvement Our pro bono programs are different from many, in that we provide ongoing case management, technical assistance, mentoring, and other services. The Legal Project has approximately 225 pro bono attorneys who volunteer in a variety of ways including representation for; victims of domestic violence in family court and matrimonial matters; homeowners who are facing foreclosure, individuals who are in need of a bankruptcy; those in need of a Will, Healthcare Proxy, or other end of life issues resolved; and low income home The Legal Project, Capital District Women s Bar Association - 5

6 Outcomes for Clients continued from page 2 A client was referred to us by a housing counselor after she sought their services regarding a foreclosure. She was a disabled veteran, could no longer afford her mortgage payments, and had attempted numerous times to obtain a loan modification from her bank. We assigned a pro bono attorney to her case in the hopes of saving her home. Working with the lender was truly a frustrating experience because of their lack of communication, lack of response to legal documents, and overall disregard of the loan modification process. It took almost two years consisting of countless phone calls, letters, and faxes from our pro bono attorney but the client received a trial loan modification and ultimately a final loan modification which allowed her to remain in her home. Other Services, continued from page 5 buyers who need an attorney to review a contract or at a closing. Additionally, pro bono attorneys volunteer at Legal Clinics, providing free legal advice on a wide variety of legal issues as well as presenting legal topics at Legally Speaking workshops. The Legal Project has a longstanding collaboration with the Albany Law School, working directly with their Pro Bono Society in various capacities. Law students are trained and supervised by a select group of experienced pro bono attorneys to volunteer at the Uncontested Divorce and Wills Clinics. In addition, for the past several years we have successfully secured a paid internship through the Zonta Club Foundation for an Albany Law School student to work in our domestic violence program. This law student works under the direct supervision of the Supervising Domestic Violence Attorney, providing legal services to victims of domestic violence. The Legal Project also works closely with the Albany Law School s Public Interest Program and each semester has had a law student intern. The Legal Project uses non-attorney volunteers who include retired professors, students, state employees and other community members, to coordinate individual Legal Clinics and to assist with the Uncontested Divorce and Wills Clinics as well. During this last reporting period we have increased our pro bono attorney involvement and therefore have been able to provide additional services to those in need which is a significant achievement. Over the past several months, our Pro Bono Statistics During , the following volunteers provided services in our program: Attorneys: 200 Volunteers 4,100 Hours Law Students: 34 Volunteers 725 Hours Other Volunteers: 55 Volunteers 1,750 Hours Total Cases Completed by Attorneys: 281 Cases Dollar Value of Attorney Services*: $1.03 million *estimated at $250 per hour Veteran s Legal Clinics have expanded from serving a handful of veterans at one location to a total of 5 locations throughout our service area. We have an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer whose primary focus has been developing these clinics, recruiting pro bono attorneys, and conducting outreach to veterans. Clinics are held 5 times each month and have served over 100 clients. Another significant achievement has been the development of a panel or pro bono immigration attorneys who provide legal advice and representation to individuals needing assistance with immigration matters. During this reporting period 45 individuals were served through the Immigration Legal Clinic. The Legal Project, Capital District Women s Bar Association - 6