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Pro Bono Project
PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT By: Caitlin Torney
Serving the Legal Community in Assisting Low-Income Persons To Navigate the Justice System
CELEBRATE PRO BONO MONTH
October was the Tennessee Bar Association’s 13th Celebrate Pro Bono Month. The goal of Pro Bono Month is to bring attention to the need for pro bono services and recognize those in the legal community who volunteer their time and expertise to help meet that need. We kicked off the statewide celebration in late September with a presentation by Legal Aid of East Tennessee’s Director of Litigation and Advocacy Russell Fowler chronicling the history of Access to Justice in Tennessee with a call to action from Chief Justice Bivins. Attorneys from across our service area answered that call by volunteering at one of the many events held in the Knoxville area in the month of October.
October was also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. On October 16th, Legal Aid partnered with McNabb Center, YWCA of Knoxville & the Tennessee Valley, and the Knoxville Family Justice Center to put on a general legal advice clinic for victims of domestic violence. With the help of volunteers from the Knoxville Bar Association and volunteer law students from UT and LMU, we were able to help many Tennesseans with their legal issues!
October also saw the resumption of the popular Tennessee Faith & Justice Alliance Advice Clinic. Our October 23rd clinic was held at the Lennon Seney United Methodist Church and featured a business incubator clinic for minority-owned businesses. This clinic is a joint project of Tennessee Legal Alliance and is coordinated in Knoxville by the Knoxville Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, the University of Tennessee College of Law, and staffed by volunteers from our local bar and law students. We look forward to continuing to partner with local faith organizations to help serve our Knoxville community in the coming year!
Finally, we continued to hold our popular monthly Legal Advice Clinic for Veterans. The clinic is the joint project of the Knoxville Barristers, the Young Lawyers Division of the Knoxville Bar Association (KBA), KBA/Barristers Access to Justice Committees, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office, the University of Tennessee College of Law, Lincoln Memorial University-Duncan School of Law, and the local VA office. The clinic is held monthly on the second Wednesday at the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office from Noon to 2:00pm. Law student volunteers are always on hand to help with intake, COVID precautions are observed, and phone volunteer options are always available. Our November 10th clinic falls the day before Veteran’s Day- a great way to honor our veterans’ service is by volunteering for this clinic!
We are so proud to work with wonderful community partners to serve our local friends and neighbors and ensure all residents of Knox County have access to high quality legal advice! Please continue to check our webpage and the “Upcoming Clinic” section of the Knoxville Bar Association website for more information about future virtual legal clinics and to sign up to participate. I also encourage you to continue to visit the Pro Bono Matters section of the Legal Aid of East Tennessee website. Pro Bono Matters provides attorneys with the ability to survey available cases and sign up to represent a client through our website. A brief description of the client and their legal needs are provided, and new cases are added regularly. Cases can be searched based on county, subject matter, and various other key factors. To check out cases currently available please visit https://www.laet.org/ pro-bono-matters/ .
Upcoming Clinic Opportunities: 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. November 10 (12:00noon – 2:00pm) Wed. December 8 (12:00noon – 2:00pm)
To sign up, please use the form on the KBA Website or email ctorney@laet.org.
FORGING JUSTICE 2021
The annual Pro Bono Project fundraiser, Forging Justice, was scheduled to be held in person on Thursday November 4th . However, after careful deliberation we have decided to postpone the in-person celebration to early 2022 to ensure the safety of our attendees. We will be sending save-the-date announcements with the new event date in the future, and all sponsorships will be honored in full at that time. In the interim, please be sure to read next month’s column where we will announce the winners of our 2021 awards and unveil our new inductees into the Donald F. Paine Memorial Pro Bono Hall of Fame. We will also be recognizing all the volunteers who donated at least 25 hours of Pro Bono time to helping Legal Aid of East Tennessee and our clients this past year.
We are so grateful for the sponsorship pledges we have already received from local law firms, businesses, and esteemed individuals. It is not too late to pledge to sponsor for 2021! Please reach out to me at ctorney@laet.org or call #(865) 251-4951 for details.
PRESENTING SPONSOR: Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis, P.C.
DAMASCUS: London & Amburn, P.C. IRON: Luedeka Neely Group
TITANIUM:
Home Federal Bank Kramer Rayson LLC University of Tennessee College of Law
COPPER:
Baker Donelson Drieser Law Group, PLLC Eldridge & Blakney, P.C. LMU Duncan School of Law Merchant and Gould P.C.
ALUMINUM:
Breeding Olinzack Carter Crippen, PC Elizabeth Meadows, Attorney at Law Frantz, McConnell & Seymour, LLP Kenneth Miller and Associates Mutual of America
Paine, Tarwater, & Bickers, LLP Tarpy, Cox, Fleishman & Leveille, P.L.L.C. Swafford Insurance UT Federal Credit Union Watson, Roach, Batson & Lauderback, P.L.C. Friend of Legal Aid of East Tennessee: Lynn P. Talley, Esq.
