Monday, December 13, 2010

The Face of Unexpected Homelessness

By: Monique Henderson, Director of Development and Communications, AVLF

Even though it was twenty years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was thirteen and had just started my freshman year of high school. School had only been in session for a few weeks, when I ran for, and won a seat on our class student council as a “Senator”. Like most 9th graders, I was nervous and anxious about starting a new school. My trepidation wasn’t just centered around this being a new venture, but how would a middle class girl like me fit in with all the kids from the other feeder middle schools, as well as the large majority of students who came from very wealthy households?. With nearly 1,500 students, my high school was twice as large as the middle school I had just graduated from. And I had heard all through 8th and 9th grade how wealthy the kids at this school were. The juniors and senior didn’t just have their own cars; they drove BMWs and Mercedes Benzs, and lived in sprawling homes with pools and tennis courts in their back yards!

However, despite my fears, I managed well. Six weeks into the school year, I was on the honor roll, had already joined the French Club, art club, swim team, and won a seat on the student council with some of the most popular kids in our school. I easily made a ton of new friends, loved my classes and was generally looking forward to this new endeavor called high school. Life was good!

The afternoon that I found out that I was elected a “Senator”, I couldn’t wait to get home so I could call my mom at work to share the good news. When the last bell of the day rang at 2:30, I made a bee-line to my bus. I was giddy with excitement and busting at the seams with joy the entire bus ride to our neighborhood. “Congratulations, Monique” my friends shouted as they exited the bus’ double doors as we arrived at their stops. “See you tomorrow!” When we finally arrived at my drop, I bounced out of my seat, made my way down the narrow aisle, burst through the doors of the bus, and began to run the two blocks through our subdivision to our three bedroom, two story home.

As I approached our house, I began to slow my pace. I squinted my eyes. It looked like someone was moving or having a yard sale; there were massive piles of furniture and clothes, and toys strewn on the lawn, curb, and sidewalk. But there was no one around. Why would someone decide to have a yard sale in the middle of the school day, I wondered?. I’m five houses away now. Something is wrong. My heart begins to race. While it’s still in the distance, the pile appears as if it’s right in front of our house. What in the world is going on? As I near the pile of things, I begin to recognize the white dresser and nightstand from my bedroom. Are we moving? Mom didn’t say anything about us moving, I think to myself. I stop in my tracks, confused by the sight. Other kids whirl past me on their way home from the bus stop. “Look at all that stuff,” one boy exclaims. “I think someone got evicted,” his friend answers as they walk past me. Evicted? What did that mean? I’d never heard that term before. I sprinted the short distance to the pile of things awaiting me on the sidewalk. My stomach was in knots, my heart was pounding, my head was throbbing from the intense Florida sun beaming down on me like the reality of the situation I was facing. I stood over the things. I knew then for certain that they belonged to us. My dolls, clothes, and bedroom furniture. Our couch, ottoman, dining room table and television sets. My mom’s bed, her shoes, and suits. My brother’s remote control trucks and little green army men were strewn all over the front lawn and sidewalk. Everything we owned was sitting in front of our house for public display. “Are ya’ll moving?” I heard a neighborhood kid ask me from behind. I wiped the tears that were welling up in my eyes. “Yes,” I lied without turning around. “Cause Shelly Rosen said ya’ll got evicted.” “No!” I said empathically. “I gotta go.” I made my way to the front door of our house and inserted my key into the doorknob. It would not turn. I wrestled with the key, shoving it in and out of the keyhole, praying it to unlock the door. No such luck. “I think ya’ll got evicted,” the girl said, still watching in awe from the sidewalk. “They probably changed the lock on ya’ll.” I wish she would shut-up. My mind is racing. I gotta call my mom. I head to a neighbor’s house four doors down and knock on the door. A middle age woman who sells candy to the neighborhood children comes to the door. “I’m locked out. Can I use your phone to call my mom?” I ask quietly. “Sure, you okay?” she inquires.

After reaching my mother at work, she rushes home. The next few hours are a whirlwind. Phone calls to a U-Haul facility to get a truck. Phone calls to my family in our native town of Washington, DC. Phone calls to my mother’s brother, our only relative in Florida who also lives just minutes away. Night falls and my brother, Michael, now home from middle school, and I take turns guarding our things on the sidewalk while my mom, still on the neighbor’s phone, reaches out to friends and family members to figure out our plan of action. We can already tell that some of our things are missing. Some of my mom’s jewelry, a VHS player, toys, and a new coat I just got for my birthday. Did the people who moved it out of the house take it? Or was it one of our neighbors? I don’t have the heart—or interest—in sharing the good news of my election to the student council with my family. It seems so insignificant now that my life seems to have been turned upside down. As I patrol the sidewalk, I think to myself what started out as the best day of my life, slowly begins to turn into the worst day of my life.

By 10pm that night, the majority of our household items were in a storage facility and we were checking into a motel. My brother and I, seeing my mom was distraught, didn’t have the heart to ask her how we ended up here, what happened. “We will probably be here a few days,” she tells us as we bunker down for the night. We don’t sleep that night. I feel nauseous and I want to cry, but I don’t want to upset my younger brother or my mother so I hold it in. The three of us spend the next nine days in this one room, dilapidated motel. We eat out for dinner every night because there is nowhere for my mom to cook. There are no school buses serving this motel, so my brother and I walk the 1 ½ miles to and from school each day for two weeks.

On our last day at the motel, my mom tells us that my uncle was able to get us in at an apartment near the beach. He has a friend that is the apartment manager and a unit just opened up. Michael and I were ecstatic! Not just because we were finally moving from this motel, but we would get our own rooms again…and we’d be near the beach. “That area is out of the district. Are we changing schools?” my brother asked my mother. “No, you’ll continue to go to the same school. I’m going to bring you to school in the morning and you will catch the city bus home in the afternoon. This is just a temporary move.” After getting the address and directions to the apartment from my uncle, we quickly pack our clothes and hop into the car.

As we near our new home, our excitement begins to fade. We soon realize the apartment, although near the beach, is in a seedy section of town. My brother and I sit bug -eyed in the back seat while we drive by police cars, ladies of the night, and men standing on the corner drinking liquor out of a paper bag. Having always lived in upper middle class neighborhoods, we were shocked to witness this side of life firsthand. The apartment itself is an old, one level, garden style brick building with glass doors and approximately seven units. We wait in the car as my mother retrieves our key from the apartment manager’s office. When she returns, we grab our suitcases and follow her tour new home. As she opens the door and we enter the unit, I’m shocked to see the apartment is only the size of a master bedroom. It’s an efficiency with a futon bed, a kitchenette, and an extremely small bathroom. I begin to cry hysterically. Where’s my bedroom? What is this place? My mother begins to explain that although we were not victims of abuse, this was a temporary shelter for women and their children who were fleeing domestic violence situations and that my uncle was friends with the woman who ran the apartments. She agreed to let us stay there for six months until we could move into our own place.

While some families face harsher realities, the next few months were very difficult for us. For the first three weeks, each night when we would go to sleep, we could hear the clawing of a rat scrambling around the small apartment. I was then, and am now, terrified of these pests. All I could think about was the horror movie I watched when I was 11 where the rats were eating people in London as they slept. I was certain this rat, which I had the unfortunate luck of seeing a few times as he scurried across the floor, was going to nibble my toes off during the night if I fell asleep. Needless to say, I was extremely sleep deprived for many a night. (Eventually, my brother found the hole that the rat was using to enter the apartment and we were able to seal it off.) During our second month at the apartment, the husband of another tenant who fled with their young daughter because of domestic violence, showed up with a rifle “to kill her”. Apparently, he tracked her down through family members who divulged her safe place location. On this particular afternoon, he shouted obscenities as he banged repeatedly on the front door of her unit with the weapon, threatening to break the door if she didn’t open up. Michael and I hid in the tiny bathroom of our unit until someone managed to call the police and he was arrested. I spent the next few months terrified that this man, or some random neighborhood person, would break the glass on our front door and kill us.

Back at school, my friends would constantly ask me if they could come over to our house to visit and hang out. It pained me to have to make up a million reasons as to why this was not a good day to have company over. I have swim practice after school, I would say. I have a project to work on. I’m going out of town to visit family. I’m going over another friend’s house. I never shared with any of them, not even my best friend of three years, the sad truth of where we were living. How could kids who had pools in their back yards, drove Mercedes Benz, ate lunch off campus every day understand what my family was going through…if I couldn’t understand it myself!

Shortly after Christmas my mother announced that we were moving back to the other side of town. I learned to hold my optimism and excitement until I knew exactly what situation we were moving into. As it turns out, by picking up two extra jobs while we were living at the safe house, she was able to save up enough money to get a condo a half mile away from my high school. We lived there for the next two years until my mother purchased a newly built ranch style home a few miles away.

A year later, as I was packing for college, I finally found out the details that led my family to become homeless overnight. My mother was renting the home we lived in from a gentleman who ended up having the property foreclosed on him. The bank, not knowing, and probably not caring, that we were renting the house, had our things removed from the property and the locks changed. Unfortunately, there was no Protecting Tenantsat Foreclosure Act (PTFA) back then to look after the rights of tenants like our family. Likewise, my mother, although college educated, was not savvy in the law and had no idea of her rights, if any, under Florida law. Nor was she aware of any organizations like AVLF that advocated on behalf of those families facing eviction, foreclosure, or landlord-tenant disputes.

I share this deeply personal story for two reasons. First, I think it’s important to humanize the statistics and stories you hear on the news of families being evicted from their home. Every Tuesday and Thursday at Fulton County Magistrate Court, as many as 300 families face the same uncertain future my family faced twenty years ago in Florida. Not all of them are guilty of not having paid their rent. Many of them have been illegally evicted or have outstanding landlord-tenant disputes, but just aren’t aware of their rights and may be unable to accurately articulate their case during mediation or before a judge. And, before they know it, they’ve been handed an Order to evacuate their homes within seven days. Last Tuesday I observed a dispossessory calendar at the Fulton County Courthouse. Hundreds of tenants, mostly women, many with small children in tow, were waiting to have their chance before the Judge. “I lost my job,” one would say. “They didn’t fix the heat,” another would say. Despite their pleadings, the majority were eventually told they would have to move out of their home just a few days before Christmas. I was saddened and overwhelmed as I looked into the eyes of these families.

Second, while my family’s bout with homelessness and our stay in the shelter was but one short chapter in my life, it left a profound impact on me and has a lot to do with who I am today, and why I’ve chosen this career tract. I’ve worked for nonprofit organizations for fifteen years; I value and have a deep appreciation for the work organizations such as AVLF do in the community. This year alone, more than thirty pro bono lawyers in our eviction defense program worked to protect Fulton County tenants facing imminent eviction from their homes. As a Development and Communications Manager, I also understand how much we rely on contributions from our constituents and stakeholders. Without volunteer attorneys and the donations of time and money we receive from these pro bono heroes and the firms and departments in which we work, we are compromised in our ability to protect those who face immiment eviction from their homes. The emotional shock of the world turning upside down in an afternoon is not unique to me, and we hope that you will volunteer your time, and make a donation to the Foundation, and in so doing help the next child avoid the trauma of losing her home.

All Hands on Deck

By: Toni Roberts, Paralegal, AVLF Domestic Violence Project


Remember the good old days when you could pull into a full service gas station and get everything you need to solve your car problems? A friendly attendant would meet you at the pump to assess your needs, then fill your tank, wash your windows, and check your tire pressure. If after chatting with you further services were needed, you could even pull into its bays and get an oil change or tune-up, and an evaluation as to any additional ways in which they might service your car.

Though full service gas stations are scarce these days, the comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of customers that it represents is very much alive and well. At AVLF, we recognize that when clients call or visit our offices seeking assistance with one problem, it is an opportunity for us to make a more sweeping impact than he/she may expect. Vital to the success of such an organizational concept is the ability to develop and maintain team concepts.

We have worked especially hard to implement this model in our Domestic Violence Project’s work at the Safe Families Office. Located in the Fulton County Courthouse, the Safe Families Office is a dedicated space out of which we, together with our partners, Partnership Against Domestic Violence (PADV) and the Fulton County Family Division, provide legal and safety planning assistance to survivors of intimate partner violence and stalking.

When someone visits the Safe Families Office requesting assistance with the filing of Temporary Protective Order, often many other issues are at hand. With the needs of the community steadily increasing and resources equally decreasing, it is impossible for the attorney handling the case to singularly address all of what may be uncovered. This creates the preferred circumstance wherein many advocates can participate in the process of providing solutions. Each such advocate is a key player.

For instance, our front line workers are those that do intake. When a survivor comes in, one of us will meet them at the door. Keep in mind that this is usually a very intense and stressful time for them. The incident of abuse is fresh, as many times are their bruises. They’ve reached a breaking point, still find it difficult to make public a very ugly truth that has likely been a long kept secret. And this is the time when life-changing decisions about the future will be made. What they need is a calm, friendly supporter who will be patient and reassuring. Trained to listen for certain indicators, the intake worker can also provide resources specific to the survivor’s additional needs. Just knowing that there are actually viable options for their safety and that of their children provides the survivor with a level of comfort that makes taking this step easier.

Sometimes, depending on the severity of the circumstances, going through with the filing of a temporary protective order is not the most ideal solution. This is the perfect time to call on another line of defense, PADV. Specializing in safety planning, operating local shelters, providing counseling opportunities, and hosting support groups, among other things, PADV staff and volunteers are well primed to usher survivors through the emergency planning process wherein they establish a safe exit strategy and can begin planning for their future.

Beyond receiving assistance with the pleadings, paralegals can also be very useful in getting the case ready for hearing. Sometimes that means assisting the Petitioner in obtaining phone records, police reports, photographs of injuries, or assessments of property damage. Sometimes it means contacting other agencies that can provide assistance with related matters, i.e. the Magistrate Warrant Office, for help in swearing out warrants for the abuser’s arrest on a criminal charge; or the Family Law Information Center, for assistance with the legitimation process; or United For Safety, same sex victims of domestic violence. Sometimes it means diligently pursuing alternate options to ensure that service of process is achieved.

But it also means paying special attention to situations that call for action through one of our other programs. There are numerous times when survivors of domestic violence also need a divorce, or assistance with an advanced directive, or help getting out of a lease entered into with the abuser. AVLF has programs and trained staff members that work specifically in each of these areas, allowing for an easy referral to be made on behalf of the victim. The thought of having to seek out help with these issues separately, in addition to all of the others that are looming, is enough to discourage anyone already in the throes of domestic violence from even attempting to do so. Their anxiety levels diminish greatly as they are apprised of access to what is essentially one-stop shopping.

More than any of that, being in the position to have more frequent contact with the client than, perhaps, the attorney, the paralegal/staff member assisting in the preparation of the case has the unique opportunity to become a real confidante. Oftentimes during this process, survivors are divulging extremely sensitive information for the very first time. They are exposing family secrets, sharing stories of heinous crimes, admitting embarrassing details, and shining a light on a life that they wished they hadn’t lived. All of this while processing feelings of guilt and shame. Having a consistent go-to person who listens, who doesn’t judge, who can explain the process, who essentially restores hope is, in my mind, an absolute priceless gift.

I have had the good fortune to walk through this process with so many strong, brave, determined survivors that have been willing to forsake everything material in order to take control of their lives back from their abusers. One of my favorites is Ms. Hall. She is an 89 year old woman who was being abused by her sons, both substance abusers. She had been cursed at, pushed down on the ground, hit, and even beaten with her own walking cane by them. She was so fearful that she locked herself in her bedroom every night. Mentally and physically exhausted by the time she came in, she told me that they could kill her without even touching her because her heart was so weak.

I’m pretty sure I talked to Ms. Hall every day during this process. I’d have to arrange for taxicabs to get her back and forth from the courthouse. As an elderly woman not familiar with the process, I had to explain exactly how things would work…several times. I had to get her water when she became fatigued. Very traditional in her thinking, I had to reassure her often that, although it pained her to have to do this, that she has a right to act in her own best interest for a change. I took several calls from her in tears when her family members criticized her for doing it. And, do you know what she told me? “You’re the only one who understands.” By this time, I’d become very protective of her, as well as her biggest fan.

You should know that everything with Ms. Hall turned out wonderfully. Not only were we able to assist her with her TPO, but we found out that she didn’t have a will and our advanced directives team went to her house and helped her with that, as well. Her comment to our staff was, “Thank God I found you all. Now I sleep all night long and get much-needed rest.”

Ms. Hall is now my best bud. In spite of her journey, she finds joy in her present circumstances. I talk to her on the phone pretty regularly; she keeps me on my toes – like most grandmothers do -- as well as in stitches. Last week I was informed that I was to report to her house at 4pm on Christmas Eve for dinner with her family. I consider it a privilege to have walked with her through some really dark days into the light of peace. And I feel confident that each one of us who worked with her through this process holds equal value to her and helped to truly change her life.

There are thousands more Ms. Halls out there that still need your help and mine. And as was the case at your favorite filling station of old, each stage of advocacy and input exercised in meeting their needs requires time, skill and commitment equally significant to the process. Without the level of teamwork in place that we and our volunteers provide, those seeking our assistance would not be positioned to receive the extent of wrap-around services that, through our collaborations, we are privileged to provide at the Safe Families Office.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Thank You for a Terrific Year!

December 3, 2010


Dear Friend of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation:


AVLF looks quite different from the Foundation you may have known, worked with and supported even just a few years ago. Led by a solid and successful Strategic Marty Ellin HeadshotPlan, we are representing more clients, recruiting, training and involving more volunteer attorneys, and working more expansively in more courts than ever before.


It has been quite a year. In the past twelve months the Saturday Lawyer Program, now 40 years old, enjoyed a rebirth. Instead of simply being handed a file and asked to represent a stranger based on a telephone interview conducted by AVLF or Atlanta Legal Aid staff, volunteer attorneys now meet with potential clients to confirm that they believe there is a cognizable legal issue that should receive the assistance of pro bono counsel: the volunteer attorney then may decide to represent that client. This year, the Guardian ad Litem Program evolved to focus much more clearly on the placement of Guardians only in cases where the parties in dispute meet AVLF income guidelines. Our One Child One Lawyer Program matured, representing more than thirty children whose parents, having achieved stability and sobriety, graduated from the program allowing for reunification of mothers and children. As well, in 2010 the OCOL Program celebrated 8 adoptions of client children whose parents were unable to be successful in drug treatment into new "forever families."


The Chief Counsel for the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence described the Domestic Violence Program's Safe Families Office as a "model best practices program." That Office, located in Courtroom 6G of the Fulton County Courthouse, saw more than 2900 victims of intimate partner violence. AVLF's Wills Program trained 156 lawyers in the art of will-drafting, coordinated eight outings to local Senior Centers and oversaw the drafting of 130 Wills in 2010. Lawyers of the Atlanta Bar Association's Estate Planning & Probate Section continued its outstanding work in the Probate Information Center, offering free 30 minuteconsultations scheduled by the Probate Court itself to those with probate questions. The new substantive issue that grew most dramatically in 2010 was the Protection of Tenants in Foreclosure, and AVLF attorneys worked with volunteers from the private Bar, partners in the public interest community and law students studying the foreclosure issue to secure legal protections for this vulnerable population and to plan for legislative advocacy in the coming years. While this work was expanding, more than 30 pro bono lawyers maintained our Eviction Defense Program's work protecting tenants facing imminent eviction from their homes.


Our signature fundraising event, the AVLF Winetasting, hosted in 2010 by Seyfarth Shaw at their exquisite new Atlanta offices, for the ninth consecutive year broke new ground, this year raising over $330,000. Over 500 individuals and nearly seventy law firms, accounting firms and related entities made generous donations to the cause. And please mark November 3, 2011 now- the 20th Annual Winetasting will be spectacular.


But the most noticeable change about the Foundation is the fact that most of you noticed the changes! That is directly attributable to AVLF's very conscious expansion of our social network. Friend us on FaceBook. Read our blogs. Be Linked In to the AVLF Staff. Learn of our activities on Twitter. We want to make it easily possible for you to learn of pro bono opportunities, to keep pace with the news of the Foundation, and to help us to do everything we can to promote the possibility the clients, the legal community and the Courts will work together more effectively in the pursuit of equal access to justice.


While we have less funding than was available in 2009, in 2010 I am more convinced than ever that AVLF is a remarkable place, equipped to face the challenges and the possibilities that will surely mark 2011 as clearly as the opportunities and concerns that arose in 2010. Thank you for your interest in the work of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation: our Board of Directors and our Staff join me in wishing you the very best throughout the holidays.


Warm regards,


Marty Ellin, Executive Director

Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation



Visit our website to learn more about AVLF's programs and services and/or to make an end of the year donation to our organization. Thank you for your support!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Finding Passion in Your Practice


by: Elizabeth Whipple, Staff Attorney, AVLF Domestic Violence Project

I don’t meet many lawyers who would ever choose to describe themselves as “passionate about the law.” I know a great many, however, who wish they could.

We all agree that you should do something you love, but finding that elusive something seems to be the trick. Many lawyers, in particular, seem to think they have chosen a career that does not allow for such a passion at all. I have heard countless lamentations from friends and colleagues who wish they were doing a vague something else over the concrete, but unglamorous, practice they have now.
How, exactly, do you set about finding out what kind of law you’re passionate about? Let’s face it – law school teaches you a great deal, but what it really means to practice law is not really covered. Job descriptions cannot really convey what a position actually entails, especially if the applicant has never practiced law. It’s all just words until you are thrust into the reality of a job. If only you could get that reality check before you ever left school… Oh wait. You can.

As a third-year law student, I was fortunate enough to participate in the first class of the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic at the University of Alabama School of Law. Under the auspices of the Third-Year Practice Act and the guidance of a supervising attorney, ten other students and myself represented survivors of domestic violence in divorces and custody cases in seven rural counties of Alabama. I participated in mediation, discovery, settlements, and hearings. I spoke Spanish with Spanish-speaking clients. I was exposed to the roller coaster of judges and courthouse politics in various locales. Before the one-semester commitment near its end, all but one of the eleven students in the clinic had petitioned the dean for permission to re-enroll for a second semester.

A significant part of my job now is supervising law students from Atlanta-area law schools who represent clients in court under the Third-Year Practice Act. Our office relies on these students to represent clients, and their ability to take on and manage cases is truly impressive. These students are practicing law, and few of their law school counterparts can claim similar exposure.

For some students, practical experience during or right after law school confirms a desire to continue doing similar or related work. It is a way to test and redefine what they want to do. I can say with confidence that the hands-on clinic experience clarified my career goals. I had gone to law school with the fuzzy notion of doing something with women and children’s issues, and after two years, I had decided family law would be my focus. But it was not until I began to practice in the clinic that I really learned what the practice of family law entailed. For me, it was a natural fit. As a result, I committed myself to the pursuit of a family law job, with a strong bent towards domestic violence issues.

For some, perhaps the experience more broadly influences their career decisions. Leslie Hinrichs, a recent graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, says, after three months volunteering with the Domestic Violence Project while awaiting bar results, “I am starting to realize the practical benefits of a career in public interest law. Specifically, I'm starting to see that public interest jobs generally provide much more interesting work and a more relaxed, pleasant work environment than working at a law firm.”

For others, a practical experience may sway students in the other direction. One Emory law student had this to say about her experience representing clients seeking Temporary Protective Orders through the Domestic Violence Project at AVLF: “The nature of the work is different than I was expecting, not in a bad way, but in a way that I'm glad I know about now, rather than at my first job. I absolutely want to be a full time public interest lawyer, but I'm realizing through my experiences both with 3rd year practice act work and also with general DV work that individual advocacy may not be for me. “

In any economy, focus, goals, experience and confidence in what you seek to do is a boon. “As a third year law student, I feel like my experience at AVLF will give me a competitive advantage over other students who do not have similar field placement experience. I now know I will be able to competently represent clients in the courtroom, and that confidence will prove to be an enormous asset,” says Catie Fulton, 3rd-year law student at Emory. Catie is not alone.

The bottom line is that there is no substitute for real, practical experience, not just in finding a job, but also in enjoying that job once you have it. Whether that experience comes through a clinic, an externship/field placement, or a volunteer opportunity, direct contact with clients, courts and attorneys, practical experience is invaluable early in a lawyer’s career. I can say from my own experience and the feedback of people I have worked with that such experience can also plant the seed of desire to commit to public interest work, be it full-time or as a dedicated volunteer. And while nothing can guarantee you’ll find that sought-after passion, the insights gained certainly up your chances.

The Heart and Soul of What We Do!

By: Tamara Caldas, Managing Attorney, AVLF

Last week I answered a phone call from a woman in North Georgia who had just lost an eviction hearing and was ordered to leave her home in seven days. If she remained in the home after that time, she, her toddler, her 17 year-old, and all of their belongings would be thrown to the curb. She is a survivor of domestic violence. With help from the local legal services office, she had secured a temporary protective order that required her husband to provide some support for her and her children.

The husband’s check to her had bounced, which in turn caused her rent check to bounce. She was completely alone at the eviction hearing and hardly had an opportunity to speak in her own defense – a defense which, admittedly, would have consisted largely of a plea for sympathy: She had had every intention of paying her rent in full and on time, but her circumstances left her no choice but to rely for money on the good faith of a man who had already destroyed her sense of personal safety and human dignity by physically abusing her. The law and the legal process allowed him yet another way to damage her – losing her home.

Dispossessory law does not concern itself with why a tenant did not pay the rent, but rather that she did not. Even so, the outcome of this eviction may well have been different had this woman been represented by an attorney would have described her circumstances to the judge or negotiated for more time with opposing counsel. I took a deep breath as I swept away my feelings of dismay about how people experience our legal system. Although she lived 100 miles from AVLF’s service area, and it was not immediately clear that there was anything we could do to help her, I continued to listen and comb my head and my heart for legal options she might have.

Yes, this woman could file a motion for contempt against her husband in the court that issued the temporary protective order, but would that court have jurisdiction to stay the eviction? Even if it did, how could she convince the court to pay attention to her quickly enough to make this relief meaningful? Even if her husband were held in contempt, this did not mean he would immediately pay her the money she needed to pay the rent. She could appeal the order of eviction to buy herself some time, but the law requires that she deposit the full amount owed into the court registry in order remain in the house while the appeal is pending. But she still didn’t have the money to pay the rent and there really did not seem to be anything to appeal. I went on like this in my head even as I continued to listen to her voice getting higher and more strained. I know that sound – it is the sound of helplessness, anxiety, fear and exhaustion.

So I found myself turning from lawyer to social worker – pulling up what I had learned from our Domestic Violence project about safety planning. I asked if she felt safe, if she had anywhere else she could go. She had one friend who could take her in, but how could she get her stuff packed, moved and stored in just a few days? I found the number for the domestic violence task force in her community and asked if she had reached out for help. She had: they could take her and her daughter into a shelter, but not her teenage son. They could pay to move and store her belongings, but only if she moved into the shelter. She wouldn’t abandon her son. She finally asked if I would call the Governor to stop the eviction.

The story continues, and there may be some resources to which we can direct her through our network of partner organizations, but I’m not sure. I won’t be calling the Governor.

I tell this particular story, and not the story of a successful pro bono representation or a promising new project, because this is a largely unsung part of our jobs at AVLF as at so many non-profit organizations. We do not always have a quick answer, a legal remedy, a source of relief for people who call our phones suffering and crying out for help. Legal problems mix with financial and social problems in ways that we cannot easily untangle or solve. These phone calls and contacts with clients are part of the everyday challenge of our work. These voices are unscreened when they reach us – they are the voices of people in all of their raw emotion, and often we are the last or one of the last of dozens of places they have called for help. There are times that all we can do is be present and listen with compassion.

So, I want to acknowledge the work of the administrative assistants, paralegals and lawyers on the frontline of this work who listen with patience and active interest. Your work cannot always be measured in “outcomes,” but it is the heart and soul of what we do. Thank you for listening.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Celebrating Pro Bono Service

by: Martin Ellin, Executive Director, AVLF

I went to law school in part because I wanted to be Atticus Finch. Never mind that my neighborhood was the city of Baltimore, hardly rural or particularly Southern; never mind that my neighbors were more likely to be named Jacob and Sarah than Jem and Scout. And never mind that by the time I went to law school American society had evolved enough that 20% of my class looked like Tom Robinson.

At that point of my life I had little direct focus, but as was true for the people of Harper Lee’s Maycomb, it was for me, as I entered law school, a time of vague optimism: what seemed likely to me was that wherever and whenever good lawyers were tested, there was the possibility of heroism and nobility.

And I was right.

Immediately upon entering law school I began to see the real-life embodiment of Atticus Finch’s sense of the importance of doing the hard work to promote justice. Whether it was the Judges of the 5th Circuit continuing to shape and sharpen civil rights, or lawyers on the Judiciary Committee fighting a President’s efforts to undermine the Constitution, or VISTA lawyers scrambling to find a legal toehold for migrant workers, there was validation of my belief in the profession.

Thirty five years of legal practice later, and especially from my perspective as the Executive Director of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, I continue to be amazed by the dimension of the concern for the welfare of our people, our legal system and our country by lawyers. The profession, continuously tested, still presents opportunities to be moved by the expressions of dignity, integrity and, yes, nobility and heroism displayed by those of commitment and courage. Those virtues are visible in a number of settings, and at AVLF is demonstrated, among other ways, through the volunteer efforts of private lawyers conducting civil pro bono work for the poor of Atlanta thousands of times each year.

The ever-expanding participation of pro bono attorneys has become both an integral and indispensable part of the delivery of legal services to poor people. The American Bar Association has announced the second annual National Celebration of Pro Bono Week, October 25–31, 2010; the celebration is designed both to highlight the important work that lawyers do to provide equal access to justice and to invite greater participation in pro bono work from the legal community. As the Bar notes: “Ongoing efforts to expand critical representation to the growing numbers of people living on the social margins depend heavily on the involvement of volunteer lawyers… More than at any other time in the history of the country, there are both the resources and the technology needed to connect low-income people with critical needs to lawyers with the skills to address them. The National Celebration of Pro Bono promises to build on efforts already made and has the potential to be the tipping point for widespread, systemic pro bono participation.” The National Celebration of Pro Bono website, www.celebrateprobono.org, is the primary resource for information, publicity materials, and news about the celebration.

In Atlanta, among other things, the Atlanta Bar Association will hold a Celebrating Service luncheon on October 22nd (see the Atlanta Bar’s web site, www.atlantabar.org for details), at which the Atlanta Bar, Atlanta Legal Aid and AVLF will give their annual Pro Bono Awards. We congratulate all award winners- in fact we congratulate all lawyers who perform pro bono legal service- and we hope that you will share in the festivities.

I am proud to work among the open-minded, the generous, the ethical and the judicious, those whose work would make “the bravest man who ever lived” proud.

“When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2008 Homicide Data.”

by: Jenni Stolarski, Director, AVLF Domestic Violence Project

In mid-September, the Violence Policy Center issued its annual report entitled “When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2008 Homicide Data.” Using the most recent national data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Report, the report details 2008 homicides involving one female victim and one male offender and ranks the states by rate of female homicides. Regrettably, Georgia ranks 10th in the nation in 2008 for females murdered by males in a single victim/single offender homicide. This ranking not only marks a change from Georgia’s ranking of 15th in last year’s annual report, it gives Georgia the dubious honor of securing a place within the top 20 for all eleven years of the study.

Although the study itself does not focus strictly on intimate partner violence, it highlights important lessons. First, it determines that the vast majority of females were murdered by someone they knew -- more often than not, an intimate partner. In Georgia, 82 females were murdered in 2008. In 76 of these homicides, the victim to offender relationship could be identified, with 95% involving a situation where the female victim knew the male offender. In 63% of those cases, the relationship was a current or former intimate partner relationship. Second, the study serves as a reminder of how lethal a combination intimate partner violence and guns are: in Georgia, where weapons could be identified, handguns were involved in more instances than any other type of weapon combined. The report concludes that “. . .women face the greatest threat from someone they know, most often a spouse or intimate acquaintance, who is armed with a gun.”

The release of the Violence Policy Center Report coincides with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which takes place every October. In many ways, it is a call for honoring those victims who lost their lives and those survivors who continue to face the many and complex challenges involved in leaving an abusive relationship. Throughout October, domestic violence agencies in the metro-Atlanta area and the state will host candlelight vigils and other events to provide community forums for reflecting upon and discussing this issue.

But even more, this report must also be a call for action. Making a permanent break from an abuser is complex and dangerous work, often requiring some form of legal action, particularly when the parties are married or when children are at issue. Research has shown that access to civil legal representation has the most impact on a survivor’s ability to make a permanent break from her abuser.[1] However, access to legal representation continues to be the biggest unmet need for survivors in the metro-Atlanta area. Attorneys, paralegals, law students, and legal professionals have skills and knowledge that can be used to make a difference in the lives of survivors and their children.

Since the creation of its DV Project in 1990, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation has provided legal assistance and representation to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault, primarily in the areas of civil temporary protective orders and divorces. In addition to the army of solo practitioners and smaller-firm participants, our Domestic Violence Project specifically enjoys the support of several local and national law firms, including Arnall Golden Gregory; Alston & Bird; DLA Piper; Kilpatrick Stockton; and Sutherland. Working with Emory University School of Law, Georgia State University College of Law, and Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, we also provide a field placement for law students seeking real legal experience in assisting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

In February, 2009, AVLF, Partnership Against Domestic Violence (“PADV), and the Fulton County Superior Court strengthened our long-existing partnership by opening the Safe Families Office in the Fulton County Courthouse. At the Safe Families Office, free legal and safety planning assistance is available on a walk-in basis to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. With the full and ongoing support of the Court and its Family Division, the Safe Families Office is staffed and managed by seasoned employees of AVLF and PADV as well as numerous volunteers from both organizations. Committed to the core belief that survivors must be equipped with legal and safety planning information in order make the best and safest decisions for their individual circumstances, AVLF and PADV work alongside each other to provide coordinated services to survivors. This client-centered collaboration allows legal assistance, social services assistance, and safety planning assistance to take place in one location during one intake appointment. After intake is completed, appropriate cases are considered for placement with volunteer lawyers who are trained and mentored by AVLF staff. Since launching in 2009, over 4000 survivors have received assistance at our Safe Families Office. In a site visit this past summer, Vivian Huelgo, Chief Counsel for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence described our work at the Safe Families Office as “a model best practices program.”

Since opening the Safe Families Office, we have seen how client-centered, collaborative work can present survivors with real alternatives to staying in abusive relationships. We have been inspired by the courage and resilience that our clients demonstrate in the face of adversity. And we have been inspired by the scores of advocates and legal volunteers who step out of their daily practice to answer the call for help. To mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month, National Pro Bono Celebration Week, and the virtual one-year anniversary of our Safe Families Office, there will be a volunteer appreciation reception on Friday, October 29, 2010, from 2:30 – 4:30, at our Safe Families Office, located in Courtroom 6G of the Fulton County Courthouse. We invite you to attend and see for yourself the work that is being done to stop intimate partner violence in our community.

As a community, we do not have to accept our ranking. We have the ability to collaborate and work together to end intimate partner violence.

Won’t you join us?

Jenni Stolarski is the Director of AVLF’s Domestic Violence Project. For more information on AVLF’s DV Project, please visit www.avlf.org.


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[1] Farmer, A. and Tiefenthaler, J. Explaining the Recent Decline in Domestic Violence, Contemporary Economic Policy, 2003, vol. 21, issue 2, pp. 158-172.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

AVLF Volunteer Honors Domestic Violence Awareness Month


By: Sarah Cash, Associate Attorney, Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP- (AVLF Domestic Violence Project Volunteer)

As a Commercial Real Estate Associate in last year’s tough real estate market, I was looking for a way to satisfy my desire for high productivity and community involvement. Being familiar with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation because my firm, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, is an avid supporter of the organization, I began researching their various volunteer programs.

I knew that domestic violence was a growing problem and wanted to learn more about what I could do to make a difference, so I attended a training session for AVLF’s Domestic Violence Project. The Project matches pro bono attorneys with domestic violence clients who need representation in civil temporary protective order hearings in Fulton County Superior Court and mentors volunteers attorneys throughout the duration of the case. You do not have to be a litigator or have family law experience to participate. The requirements sounded straightforward but, to be honest, I was anxious about the possibility of an abuser redirecting his or her anger at me for getting involved.

When I met my first client, a young mother whose abuser choked and punched her when she tried to end the relationship, my fears quickly dissolved. After all, if this woman could stand in front of the judge and a courtroom full of people and tell her story, the very least I could do was help guide her through the process. And so I did, time and time again. Each case gave me more confidence, and each grateful hug gave me determination to help even more.

One Tuesday afternoon last month, the firm’s receptionist told me I had a visitor, a former client – we’ll call her Angela – who I helped obtain a Temporary Protection Order almost a year prior. I will never forget Angela’s case. It involved some of the most terrifying details I’d heard since I started volunteering: after years of physical and verbal abuse, her abuser held her hostage in her own home with a knife to her throat. As I hurried upstairs to meet her, I worried that she was visiting because something terrible had happened.

I was wrong. Angela looked happy and relaxed, with a huge smile on her face. As we talked, she told me that she had been doing great since the hearing. She now lived in a new apartment and was dating a new man who treated her like a lady. She was visiting me that day to say thank you and to let me know how my help had positively changed her life. I was speechless. While my clients always express sincere appreciation at the hearing, I rarely hear from them afterwards and often wonder how they’re doing. This was the first time a client had ever contacted me to let me know how their life had changed since our interaction. It was a very fulfilling moment.

As I reflect on my experiences this October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I realize that AVLF’s Domestic Violence Project taught me the real meaning of courage. Not from facing my own fears, but from watching those who were threatened, insulted and beaten confront their attackers and demand an end to the abuse. I am honored to stand next to them, and I encourage you to do the same.

For more information about AVLF’s DV Project or any of AVLF’s other volunteer programs, please visit www.avlf.org. If you are interested in volunteering with AVLF’s DV Project, please contact Toni Roberts at troberts@avlf.org.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Better Angels of Our Nature


By: Michael Lucas, Staff Attorney, AVLF

Earlier this month, the East Point Housing Authority’s poor handling of the opening of their waiting list for subsidized housing vouchers attracted national media attention and much criticism. Estimates were that a crowd of 30,000 turned out, three times what the agency had originally anticipated. It has been reported that some sixty people required medical attention and twenty were transported to the hospital. 13,000 applications were handed out, but the housing agency director stressed that none of her agency's 455 housing aid vouchers was even available at that time.

While there is plenty to say about how the waiting list was handled, it is the desperation that this unfortunate East Point event laid bare which should concern us all. In that crowd—and across our city—there is palpable desperation. According to the most recent data, the unemployment rate in Fulton County is 10.8 percent. The national average is 9.5 percent. There were 13,130 foreclosure notices published in the 13-county Atlanta-metro region in August; skyrocketing 59 percent from July. The Fulton County eviction court is overflowing; with hundreds of evictions on the calendar every Tuesday and Thursday. And that is just Fulton County.

For many, these are desperate times. And like the disgraceful profiteering that sometimes occurs after a natural disaster, there are those who seek to take advantage of others’ desperation. Through AVLF’s various programs, we see this first-hand. We are seeing a rise in employers refusing to pay already-struggling employees their due wages, knowing that they will not risk quitting in this job market. We are seeing more slumlords forcing tenants to live under intolerable conditions, knowing they do not have the resources to leave or the hope of finding and affording another place to raise their children. The results include the recent rash of untreated bed-bug and other infestations, some causing the hospitalization of children, and most ruining of our client’s already limited possessions. Lawsuits by debt collectors are on the rise, including those trying to collect on debts that are beyond the statute of limitations, or from seniors living only on social security—income which cannot legally be garnished. Predictably, calls seeking bankruptcy assistance are up as well. In all of these examples, the perpetrators appear more brazen, the victims more vulnerable.

While my position does expose me to the human toll of these desperate times, it also allows me to witness the better angels of our nature. Every Saturday, lawyers volunteer to come downtown to help low-income clients through our Saturday Lawyer Program, assisting with unpaid wage claims, landlord tenant disputes, and aggressive debt collection. Every Tuesday and Thursday, volunteer lawyers from Troutman Sanders and King & Spalding represent tenants in the Fulton County dispossessory court. Every week, volunteer lawyers represent victims of domestic violence seeking protective orders through our Safe Families office at the Fulton County courthouse. Just when the injustices begin to chip away at the faith necessary to continue this work, the generosity and compassion of these volunteers restore hope—not just to the clients who are so grateful for the respect they are shown and the assistance they are given, but also to the staff at AVLF whose privilege it is to do this work.

One particular day comes to mind. John, a client I met at the Saturday Lawyer Program, had worked for and been a tenant of what appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a true East Point slumlord. Desperate for affordable housing for his girlfriend and young infant child, John felt compelled to work for this landlord in exchange for illegally low wages and very low rent—in a building that should be condemned. After John completed a week’s worth of painting at one of the landlord’s houses, the landlord picked up John, told him he was taking him to get dinner, and dropped him off on the other side of town—with $20 for his troubles. What John did not know is that the landlord had also already dropped his girlfriend and infant child off at a shelter and illegally evicted the family. All of John’s family’s possessions were locked inside and inaccessible.

John’s ordeal illustrates this desperation and advantage-taking all too well. But all was not lost. As a result the tireless work of AVLF volunteer Michelle Sirwen, an associate with McKenna Long & Aldridge, John obtained a judgment awarding him the value of all his lost property, damages as a result of what he was put through, the costs of all the efforts made to recover what little was left, back pay, punitive damages for the landlord’s wanton and willful conduct, attorneys fees, and a writ of immediate possession to enter three premises where his belongings were reportedly being stored. Earlier this month, John had the protection of that court order and two Fulton County sheriffs, the use of a U-Haul truck provided by AVLF and McKenna Long & Aldridge, the assistance of a professional locksmith, and two AVLF attorneys—one being yours truly—who were putting their law degrees to use as professional movers that day—all to help John recover what was left of his belongings and make an accounting of what was lost.

Though it turned out to be an emotional (some belongings, while still there, were ruined) and at times a very tense day (it included a confrontation with the landlord) of chronicling the destruction one person can cause in another’s life, it was also a day that restored our faith. The sheriffs were consummate professionals who had a real sympathy for what happened to John, staying with us—free of charge—far longer than they were scheduled. Neighbors provided bottled water and needed tools. Friends of John’s children showed up and helped us move furniture—and Michelle, the AVLF volunteer, sent pizzas and drinks for the whole group. Finally, with nowhere for John to put the furniture that was recovered, a local storage facility owner allowed us to unload before the bill was paid—which was later that evening taken care of by John’s new employer, and a man of faith who wanted to help his employee in a time of need.

At every turn, the people we needed to show some compassion and give some assistance exceeded our expectations. I dropped off the U-Haul truck that night in wonder of the malevolence some can display toward others already down on their luck, but more so of the compassion that volunteers and even strangers can have to help pull someone through desperate times. At AVLF, we simply try to provide an outlet for that compassion that comes naturally from our volunteer attorneys. That day, amidst the desperation, it was my privilege to see that compassion—and those better angels of our nature—reaching out to John.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Working for the Best Interest of Children

By: Lila Bradley, Staff Attorney, AVLF

For the past five years, I have had the privilege of directing AVLF's volunteers in the legal representation of children in foster care, with cases in Fulton Juvenile Court. Since June, I have taken on the additional responsibility of directing AVLF's volunteers who serve as guardians ad litem for children in contested custody cases in the Family Division of the Fulton Superior Court. In the Juvenile Court, our volunteers act as attorneys for the children. A lawyer for a child must establish an attorney-client relationship with the child, to the extent that such a relationship is possible, given the child's immaturity. Lawyers serving as GAL are officers of the court and assist the court in reaching a decision regarding child custody, visitation, and other child-related issues. Whatever the relationship, however, lawyers for and on behalf of children do much of the same work as any lawyer in any legal matter. We gather and review documents relating to the case. We interview the witnesses and other people knowledgeable of the matter at hand. We study the underlying issues so that we can better understand the allegations, claims, and interests of the parties. We strive for a negotiated agreement, but we prepare for trial when the parties cannot reach agreement.

Working for and on behalf of children is difficult work. We wonder how we can ever know enough about the child and the family to make the right argument or recommendation to the court. We worry what will happen to the child if we get it wrong. We feel the weight of responsibility for the young life before us.

Children come into foster care—state custody—after the state proves to the court that the parents' care and treatment of their children is so deficient that it is—in the words of the law— “contrary to the welfare of the child to remain in the home.” The state child welfare agency then makes efforts—as required by law—to assist the parents in addressing their problems so that the child can return safely to the home. When making the decision to return the child to the home, the court must determine that such a change of custody is in the “best interest of the child.”

Children become the subject of contested matters in the Family Division of the Superior Court when their parents, usually in the context of a divorce or legitimation, disagree about custody, visitation, or (in many cases) everything else in the child's life. In resolving the case, the law provides that the judge must determine what is for the best interest of the child and what will best promote the child's welfare and happiness.

Children's cases in Juvenile Court are governed by the Juvenile Code found in Title 15 of the Georgia Code. Children's cases in the Superior Court are governed by the Domestic Relations law found in Title 19 of the Georgia Code. Both sections of the Code, however, call our attention to the welfare of the child and the child's best interests. Our courts strive to be child-focused, and we at AVLF are proud to be one of the resources brought into the children's cases in an effort to help the court make the decision of the best interest of the child.

The sad thing about these cases involving children, however, is that the children seldom have a best choice available to them. By the very nature of their cases, these children have families filled with discord or deprivation or both. There are times when it is difficult to maintain hope that the children will ever have the chance to grow up with the love and nurturing care that we know is essential to their well-being. Court orders do not improve a parent's poor mental health or economic crisis. Court orders do not resolve the anger that can be so damaging to children. Courts cannot create good parents out of deficient parents.

The lawyers for and on behalf of the children provide the essential service to the child of presenting all of the relevant evidence to the court, so that the court can make the best decision of the children's best interest, even when there is nothing “best” about the children's lives at that time. Children's lawyers and GALs bring the voice of the child to the court. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, children's lawyers and GALs help the child understand the court process. The lawyer tries to answer those questions from the child that have an answer, and acknowledges to the child when there is no answer for some questions.

Working for and on behalf of children is challenging, frustrating, inspiring, and rewarding. It brings tears and laughter. You will lose sleep, but you will gain the knowledge that you worked to help a child.

If you are interested in volunteering for AVLF's Lawyers for Children Program, please contact Lila Bradley via email: lbradley@avlf.org.

Friday, June 18, 2010

We've launched our new website!

By: Martin Ellin, Executive Director, AVLF

The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation is proud to launch our new web site- http://www.avlf.org/! We hope that our site will allow you to easily become familiar with the Foundation’s many pro bono programs, with the extraordinary AVLF Staff members who direct those programs, with the opportunities that are available for volunteer lawyers to become involved in meaningful pro bono legal work, and more. We want our site to be of real value to everyone that visits.

This enhanced web site is but one part of the social action adventure upon which we have embarked. We hope that you will see our Facebook Cause page, and that you will ‘friend” or at least “like” us so that AVLF’s posts will show up on your newsfeed. We will be adding video to this site, and invite you now to follow us on Twitter, as well as this Blogspot page. Our new “Marty’s Blog” page will post entries from the breadth of the AVLF Staff- we hope you read us regularly.


In the near future, we will add a contributor page to our website which lists all of our current grantors, a page that archives and makes available our previous newsletter issues, a community resource page for clients and the general public and a resource page for victims of DV. Finally, to assist our many generous financial donors, our site will be contoured to reveal monthly and planned giving options and a very special link so that Winetasting 2010 donors will be able to pay for sponsorship and tickets to our November 4th party with the click of a button.

Why add these features, and why now? The first answer is so that I may earn my children’s respect: I am tired of them leaning on me to honor a promise I made some time ago to go beyond personal visits (which all the AVLF Staff will continue to make), hand written letters (which I still intend to write frequently) and phone calls from a land line as a means of keeping in touch with the people the Foundation serves. But even more importantly, so that we may interact with our clients, public interest partners, volunteer attorneys, Court personnel and friends more quickly and more fully, and because the demand for our service is dramatic and increases so quickly that finding avenues to reach out, and to hear back, could not wait.

The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation receives close to 30,000 telephone calls and 5,000 visits to its website each year. We give advice and direction to thousands, and are able to arrange for as many as 4,000-5,000 low-income citizens of Atlanta to receive the direct assistance of an attorney or paralegal to whom they otherwise could not have had access. We coordinate the provision of that free legal service through private attorneys who need the Foundation’s help to learn of volunteer opportunities, and the Staff’s assistance to supervise them as they offer a variety of legal support. We support each of the Courts of Fulton County- our volunteer programs work with the Superior, State, magistrate, Probate and Juvenile Courts of the County- and increasingly partner with those courts as they serve to promote access to justice for the unrepresented.

There are few places in our community that we and our volunteer attorneys do not touch. And now, our ability to touch those places electronically gives us a greater reach than ever before. Join us as we do everything that we can- with your help- to promote equal access to justice for the poor, the marginalized and the voiceless of our community. Enjoy!