Volunteering During a Time of Crisis

BY JANINE N. HOWARD-O'RANGERS, ESQUIRE

This year marks the 12th Annual National Celebration of Pro Bono Week from October 25 through October 31, 2020. During this week we recognize the countless hours contributed by many pro bono attorneys while also encouraging and recruiting more attorneys to give of their time. Since the inception of the National Celebration of Pro Bono Week in 2009, Delaware Volunteer Legal Services, Inc. (“DVLS”) has coordinated or participated in many different events in order to recruit and train new volunteer attorneys while also providing critical legal services to those in need. This year will be no different even though we have had to modify our approach to ensure the safety of our clients and volunteers due to the Coronavirus pandemic. On October 27, 2020, DVLS and the Delaware State Bar Association will sponsor a free Legal Hotline for qualifying individuals with questions about legal issues related to landlord/tenant matters, family law matters (excluding criminal matters and property division or support-related issues), estate planning, and adult guardianships. A training for pro bono attorneys will be scheduled ahead of the event to prepare for what will be the most likely questions faced by the volunteers. The clients for this project will be pre-screened by DVLS staff for eligibility and to gather as much information in advance as possible.

As DVLS staff began discussing what we could do this year during the National Celebration Week in light of So many people have been adversely affected and continue to struggle. Although we cannot help them with all the difficulties they face, we can at least help them with their legal issues.

the restrictions and changes caused by the pandemic, it really brought home to me how the work of legal services and pro bono attorneys is so incredibly important to our community. Of course, having been in legal services for the majority of my career, I have always known that our work is critical. However, during these challenging times the vital importance of the services we provide has come to me with even greater clarity. So many people have been adversely affected and continue to struggle. Although we cannot help them with all the difficulties they face, we can at least help them with their legal issues. DVLS has provided additional trainings to recruit attorneys for family law matters involving domestic violence, for adult guardianship matters, and for landlord/ tenant matters as we anticipate a flood of eviction cases. In September, we held our first training to recruit attorneys to assist individuals with unemployment appeals as it is anticipated that the need for assistance in this area will soon surpass the resources of Legal Services Corporation of Delaware (“LSCD”), which typically handles these cases.

In addition, since this is the month in which we “Celebrate Pro Bono” I want to acknowledge and thank the many volunteers that have stepped up and accepted pro bono cases throughout the year. It was very inspiring when the state of emergency was first enacted and businesses were closing down or sending people home to work and DVLS received offers of help from many volunteer attorneys who were willing to jump right in and handle cases even though we were all stepping into the unfamiliar territory of virtual hearings and trials.

Finally, I want to encourage all Delaware attorneys to get involved if they can during these tumultuous times when so many of our fellow Delawareans are struggling and facing difficult legal hurdles like protection from domestic violence, unemployment, and eviction. We need your help now more than ever. Please contact Tom McDonough at tmdconough@dvls. org to register as a volunteer, and contact Jacki Chacona at jchacona@dvls.org if you are a current volunteer who wishes to accept a case. If you cannot volunteer, please consider donating to the Combined Campaign for Justice (www.delawareccj. org) which supports the activities of CLASI, DVLS, and LSCD.

Janine N. Howard-O’Rangers is the Executive Director at DVLS. She can be reached at jhoward@dvls.org.