Serving the Legal Community in Assisting Low-Income Persons To Navigate the Justice System
PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT By: Caitlin Torney Pro Bono Project Attorney for Legal Aid of East Tennessee
THE PRO BONO PROJECT IN CHATTANOOGA This month I wanted to explore a pro bono program in another city and invited our former Pro Bono Staff Attorney Matthew Huff from the Legal Aid of East Tennessee Chattanooga office to guest write this month’s article. I am excited to implement some of the successful, innovative programs from Chattanooga here in Knoxville in the near future. “Here each day the old, the unemployed, the underprivileged, and the largely forgotten people of our Nation may seek help. Perhaps it is an eviction, a marital conflict, repossession of a car, or misunderstanding over a welfare check—each problem may have a legal solution. These are small claims in the Nation’s eye, but they loom large in the hearts and lives of poor Americans.” –President Richard Nixon East Tennessee is home to many great attorneys. From Bristol to Chattanooga, Legal Aid of East Tennessee works with pro bono attorneys across the Eastern Grand Division of Tennessee. My office in Chattanooga handles cases in the southern counties of Eastern Tennessee, from Sequatchie to Monroe. The need for legal assistance is great in this area. Even though there is finally the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, the repercussions of the virus will be long felt. The most vulnerable members of our East Tennessee community suffered greatly from shutdowns, and I had countless clients who were out of work for several months and were forced to prioritize their spending. Hiring an attorney for their legal issues was out of the question for a lot of these individuals, whose legal issues vary from complex real property disputes to name changes. In Chattanooga, we offer a wide variety of pro bono aid for those who need it. The backbone of our program is the wide array of individual attorneys from Chattanooga and the surrounding counties who are willing to accept pro bono cases through the Chattanooga Pro Bono Project. These cases are not exclusively simple matters that take only a few hours to complete, we have several attorneys who have devoted over 80 hours to clients in complex litigation. In particular, the law firm of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel has explicitly asked us to keep an eye out for complex, difficult litigation for their team to tackle on a pro bono basis. In addition to full case placement, we have general advice phone clinics twice a month, in which volunteer attorneys advise clients in thirty-minute appointments about their various legal issues. Due to the housing crisis, we have also begun a weekly housing advice clinic. July is shaping up to be a massive month for evictions and the need for housing assistance is great, but we have been fortunate to have several members of the local bar who were willing to take up the call for aid. We also have several clinics in the works to aid individuals with legal issues we cannot handle in-house, such as an expungement clinic and a benefits clinic. One of our program’s goals is to identify the needs of the community and respond to them through new projects. A recent innovation we are especially proud of is the Pro Bono Christmas Tree. In conjunction with twelve judges at the Chattanooga courthouse, we set up a Christmas tree on the main floor of the courthouse. The tree was decorated with justice themed ornaments that were hung by the judges in an informal ceremony at the beginning of December. In the past, attorneys would take an ornament as a commitment to accept a pro bono case through our program. However,
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this year we directed attorneys to our online website “Pro Bono Matters” where they were able to pick a case that appealed to them and suited their practice area. Some judges allowed attorneys who committed to taking a case from the tree to get priority on the docket the day they committed to take a case. We love this tradition because it encourages attorneys to give back during the season of giving through pro bono service. One of the more significant projects we are beginning is our mentorship program where we hope to create a network of experienced attorneys in a particular area of the law who would be willing to mentor other attorneys on the nuances of handling those types of legal cases. This would allow Legal Aid to be a resource for attorneys who are interested in expanding their practice by taking on pro bono cases in areas that they may not be as familiar with but with the comfort of knowing they would have help if they need it. This program will help us expand the pool of pro bono attorneys in our area that not only serve our clients through pro bono representation, but it will also help new attorneys to develop the scope of their practice and provide a networking connection as they establish their professional careers in Chattanooga and the surrounding counties. We are grateful for all the work our pro bono attorneys do. The outcomes they achieve for our clients are beyond what most of them would have ever hoped for in their situation. It is life-changing work for those who would have never received it otherwise. Though we have a lot of support for pro bono, we still have over thirty cases that need representation in the Chattanooga area, and I’m sure even more in the Knoxville office. I encourage all attorneys to reach out to their local Legal Aid and see if there are any cases that you would be willing to take. To check out cases that are currently available on the Pro Bono Matters section of our website go to www.laet.org. We truly appreciate whatever time or assistance you can provide.
Upcoming Clinic Opportunities:
DICTA
Legal Advice For Veterans:
In person at the Public Defender’s Community Law Office at 1101 Liberty Street in Knoxville. Phone advice options available.
Wed. August 11 (12:00noon – 2:00pm) Wed. September 7 (12:00noon – 2:00pm)
To sign up, please use the form on the KBA Website or email ctorney@laet.org.
Saturday Bar Advice Clinic:
In person at the Legal Aid Office at 600 W. Summit Hill Drive in Knoxville. Phone advice options available.
Sat. September 11 (9:00am – 12:00noon) To sign up, please email ctorney@laet.org
August 2021
