Florida Civil Legal UPDATE

I wanted to pass this along as an example of a wonderful release/feature.

What We Do
Donna Graf, Manager of Development
Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar, Inc.

Of course, one of the greatest reasons to donate to a charity is to help the less fortunate.  If you have been blessed, making a decision to donate to charity helps you give back and enrich your community.  And, you will gain certain tax benefits.

Poverty is an important and emotional issue.  When an applicant is screened to become a client of a Pro Bono or in-house lawyer through the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Inc. inquiries are made to ensure financial eligibility for our scarce resources.  Each case is given the appropriate intake time, to ensure they are handled in a caring, professional manner.  While LASOCBA communicates with thousands of applicants each year-each person’s legal issues are significant and challenging to that carrier.  While procedurally, “divorce” is “divorce”, when broken down as family issues, it becomes very personal.  The measurable outcome that results is often food, housing or safety for our neighbors.  At the LASOCBA, Pro Bono Attorneys, Volunteers and Staff handle the challenging intake position with  eligibility determinations being made.

One member of the Orange County Bar Association has been doing Saturday phone screenings her for 11 years and plans to continue. This Lawyer indicates that, “The intake process is designed to educate residents about the type of cases that are handled and it is designed to make referrals to other community resource that may be available to them if they don’t qualify for the services of an in-house or Pro Bono Lawyer.”  She goes on to state “Yes, lives are affected in a positive way.  Sometimes, we are in a position to give folks “”bad news”” but we also try to help them identify how not to end up in the same situation again.  Also, often times when we represent a client, they are positively impacted just by knowing that we are there to help.  Finally, many folks are grateful for the community referrals they receive through intake as it is usually information they were not aware of.”

For most, the word “poverty” suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter.  Not only is this dispiriting, the official poverty measures tell only part of the story-it is viewed as a flawed metric measure of hardship.  Research consistently shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice the federal poverty level to make ends meet.  I have been asked, “What does Legal Aid do to avoid destitution?” and my answer is always “we change lives”.  The federal poverty level for a family of four is less than $500.00 a week.  The economic hardships faced by impoverished children in Orange County include lack of affordable housing, insurance; food and medical insecurity.  To understand how we change lives, you need to look at the types of cases handled.  Legal Aid and Pro Bono Attorneys handle Family Law Cases including divorce, custody, guardianships and protection from domestic violence.  The staff and Pro Bono Lawyers work on private tenant problems and foreclosures, with consumer advocates handling personal bankruptcies’, debt collection, disputed contracts and warranty cases.   Our Public Benefits work includes TANP, food stamps, Medicaid, Social Security and SSI.  Immigration cases include adjustment of status, citizenship, and VAWA (Violence Against Women Act).  Staff and Pro Bono Attorneys handle Wage Claims and Unemployment compensation, and our Guardian ad Litem cases are handled only through judicial appointments.

The featured lawyer states that, “I am deeply affected by the number and the types of case we see as many of our clients could not navigate the system pro se.  Through intake, we do a lot to identify clients and issues that can be helped pro se and those that cannot.”

Court systems are difficult to navigate, even with professional advice.  Without Pro Bono and Legal Aid Attorneys, low-income citizens represent themselves in court and fill out legal documents on their own, causing aggravation, emotional stress, unnecessary paperwork, and in some cases property loss.  Even more troubling, some many choose not to pursue the help they need. LASOCBA does not handle Criminal Cases, Child Support Enforcement, Workers Compensation, Personal Injury, Auto Accidents, Medical Malpractice, Civil Rights Claims or any fee generating case.

Since research is clear that poverty is the greatest threat to children’s well being, your financial and volunteer support is integral to the delivery of legal services to our low-income neighbors.  Without your support, many client needs go unmet, resulting in denials of justice that could have tragic repercussions for families in our community.  We can save a home, assist the elderly/disabled prevent homelessness, protect those who have been abused and prevent the destruction of families!  But, we cannot do it without your donations of time and money.

In case you were wondering, the Attorney featured in this article is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, Larri Thatcher.  Our in-house attorneys contribute both money and do pro bono.
Our Lawyers walk the walk!  You are invited by Larri Thatcher to “come spend some time with us to see what kind of clients and cases we see.  You will be deeply affected and it will instill in you a desire to do Pro Bono work.  For more information on how to assist the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Inc., please contact Cathy Tucker, Deputy Director/Pro Bono Coordinator at ctucker@legalaidocba.org or Donna Graf, Manager of Development at dgraf@legalaidocba.org

Larri Thatcher