Pro Bono Project

PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT By: Caitlin Torney

Pro Bono Project Attorney Legal Aid of East Tennessee

Serving the Legal Community in Assisting Low-Income Persons To Navigate the Justice System

ROTATING WEEKLY PHONE CLINICS- A NEW PRO BONO OPPORTUNITY

I am so excited about a new pro bono opportunity that will be up and running in February. We will be instituting a rotating virtual advice clinic and hope that area attorneys will commit to regular shifts providing telephone advice to area residents. Each Tuesday, an area attorney will commit to a 2-3-hour shift providing advice to clients in their legal area of expertise. Clients will sign up for 30-minute appointments and will understand ahead of time that the call will be limited to advice only and for a period no longer than 30 minutes. By having clients schedule appointments, clients will be able to organize their schedule and an attorney will be able to maximize their effectiveness by serving 4-6 client per volunteer slot. Volunteer attorneys will not be required to take on the client for the duration of their legal problem. We need attorneys with a wide range of legal expertise including family law and child support, estate planning and probate issues, landlord/tenant disputes, and general civil litigation issues. If you are interested in signing up for a shift please email me at CTorney@laet.org.

REPORTING YOUR TIME, IT IS ABOUT MORE THAN CLE

Twice a year we send all our pro bono volunteer attorneys who are directly assisting clients Status Report and Closure Forms. I want to thank all of you who took the time to fill out and return those forms this past December and explain why these records are so important to our mission at Legal Aid of East Tennessee. First, I want to make sure you get the CLE credit you deserve! For every 5 hours of pro bono work you complete, you are entitled to 1 hour of general CLE credit.

Even if you do not need or want CLE credit for your time, reporting your time is still incredibly important. Our grantors and funders ask us specifically to track a variety of metrics including the number of area Pro Bono attorney volunteers, the number of hours they completed, and the value for those hours. Having hard numbers helps us provide objective data when we are seeking potential grants and comply with reporting requirements for our current funders. In 2020, our reports indicated a total of 761.83 Hours of service by attorneys in our service area. Although this is an impressive number, I know that the real number of hours is much greater, and I encourage you all to send us in your time reports so we can accurately report how much time and effort our area bar generously donates to the Pro Bono Program.

Finally, by filling out the Status and Closure Reports you help us to maintain accurate records. Legal Services Corporation, our primary source of funding, requires us to conduct regular updates for our files and close files in the year that they are completed. By turning in your Closure and Status Reports, you help us to comply with these requirements. Again, I am so grateful to the majority of volunteers who turned in their reports this year, thank you all.

PRO BONO MATTERS: FEATURED CASES

We have recently updated our website and I hope you will check out our Pro Bono Matters section to peruse current case opportunities and look for cases that speak to your interests and area of expertise. Current cases available include: • A Knox county woman in her early 60’s seeking a simple will and power of attorney to help make sure her children aren’t stuck dealing with her estate after she passes. • A Blount county widow seeking help getting a conservatorship to allow her to continue to provide care for her special need’s child. • A single father from Sevier county trying to get conservatorship over his severely handicapped adult son. • A widow who needs help with a probate and life insurance issue in order to manage money left to her sons. If any of these cases appeal to you, please contact me directly at CTorney@laet.org or you can call me at # (865) 251-4951. These cases will also be posted on Pro Bono Matters and I urge you to check the site often as we will post new cases on a regular basis.

YOUR WORK MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Pro Bono Attorneys make a real difference in the lives of area residents struggling to deal with civil legal issues. I want to close by sharing two comments clients returned with their surveys after their cases were closed.

“ I am on disability and unable to afford to have my will drawn up. I no longer worry about my modest estate and helping my daughter. I feel grateful I was treated respectfully, no different than a paying client.”

“ Please note that [the Pro Bono attorney] was the most patient and respectful gentleman. … thank you for helping me get him!”