Sunday, February 27, 2011

AVLF Named a Best Nonprofit to Work For

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS ANNOUNCES ATLANTA VOLUNTEER LAWYERS FOUNDATION ("AVLF") AS AN AWARD WINNER OF

4th ANNUAL BEST NONPROFITS TO WORK FOR


The People Have Chosen!

Atlanta, Georgia / January 27, 2011-- Opportunity Knocks announced today that AVLF is a winner of the 4th Annual Peoples Choice Best Nonprofit to Work For Awards. Winners were selected by Opportunity Knocks from nominations held October 12, 2010 through December 15, 2010 based on employee submissions of a brief essay on why they consider their organization a great place to work.

"We are honored that Opportunity Knocks has selected AVLF for this award," states Tamara Caldas, Deputy Director of the Foundation. "One of the driving values at AVLF is that we believe that all people should be treated with dignity. We infuse that belief not only through our work with low-income clients and legal volunteers, but also in the way we relate to one another as colleagues and friends. What this means in practice is that we all work hard while we are at work, but we also honor each other's need for time with family and friends and for personal growth. It also means that we share our personal stories and values with one another so that we understand each others' motivations and challenges - and we always find time to laugh. Finally, what makes AVLF such an amazing place to work is the model of commitment, compassion and generosity of spirit that we find in our Executive Director, Marty Ellin."

Nominators could take into consideration factors that are important to them such as, quality of work/life balance, their organizations' adherence to its mission, comradery of employees, unique benefits, training programs and career paths.

A total of fifteen (15) winners were awarded based on three categories of operating budget size. (Visit www.opportunityknocks.org for a complete list of winners)

Look for the award logo on their site to know that they are truly are a great place to work!

"Opportunity Knocks continues to see the need to provide nonprofit professionals a platform to give recognition and appreciation to the organizations providing quality work environments for the people in jobs that change the world. The 4th Annual Peoples Choice Best Nonprofit to Work For Awards demonstrates how nonprofit organizations can not only make a difference in the community but also have an incredibly positive impact on the lives of the people that work for them. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all that took the time to submit their nomination." -Karen Beavor, President and CEO of Opportunity Knocks.

About Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation:The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation develops and coordinates programs that provide legal representation, education and advocacy for at-risk, low income individuals by tapping the enthusiasm and commitment of volunteer legal professionals to address the unmet civil legal needs in the Atlanta legal community.

AVLF was created by the leaders of the Atlanta Bar Association, the Gate City Bar Association and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society to coordinate the provision of free civil legal services to low-income citizens of Atlanta through private lawyers. For more than 30 years, AVLF has created programs to respond to the unmet legal problems of the poor by training and mentoring private volunteer lawyers to offer a range of legal services to intimate partners of domestic violence, abused and deprived children, students with special education needs and low-income individuals with eviction, debt collection and unpaid wage concerns and other serious civil legal problems.

Contact: Monique Henderson, Director of Communications and Development, AVLF, 404-521-3319 or mhenderson@avlf.org

About Opportunity Knocks: Opportunity Knocks is the national nonprofit Job Board, HR Resource and Career Development website exclusively on the nonprofit community. For Nonprofit professionals, www.OpportunityKnocks.org is the premier destination to find nonprofit jobs and access valuable resources for developing successful careers in the nonprofit community. For Employers, www.OpportunityKnocks.org
Contact: Lynne Norton, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Opportunity Knocks, 678-916-3066 or lnorton@opportunityknocks.org

Tamara Caldas Named New Deputy Director

By: Martin Ellin, Executive Director, AVLF


With real pleasure, I announce that Tamara Caldas will become the new Deputy Director of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.

Tamara is a graduate of Princeton University, the University of Texas School of Law, and the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs. After graduating with a law degree and masters degree from UT, she clerked for the Honorable Martha Craig Daughtrey of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She then became a senior litigator at the Southern Center for Human Rights from 1998 - 2004, after which she worked at the law firm of Claiborne, Outman & Surmay, LLP, which specializes in adoption and reproductive technology.

Tamara has worked with the Foundation in a number of capacities since her hire in September 2005, including serving as Foundation's Managing Attorney since 2007. As but a few examples of the work she has performed for AVLF's clients and with AVLF's Partners, Tamara headed and designed the recent revitalization of the Saturday Lawyer Program, helped with the design of legislation for Georgia and other community responses to the federal PTFA legislation, and promoted the development Fulton Court's Self-Help Center. As importantly, internally, she was a driving force behind the successful completion of the AVLF Strategic Plan, coordinates the implementation of that plan, is heading the development of a Communications Plan and has become the staff technology leader, especially promoting an enhancement of the Foundation's database.

Tamara is a talented, relentless litigator, is a skilled negotiator and is a trained mediator. She is a deeply effective community advocate, whether the "community" is made up of clients, lawyers and/or court personnel, and is an entertaining and compelling spokesperson for AVLF and its clients. In every circumstance, Tamara shows leadership, passion and vision: in every setting, she presents the dignity and integrity that is critical to realizing the Foundation's mission.

We are proud of what Tamara has accomplished, and we are confident that assuming the position of Deputy Director of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation will allow her to promote equal access to justice even more effectively.

Congratulations, Tamara!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Former DV Project Director Recounts Her Four Years with AVLF

By: Jenni Stolarski, former Director of AVLF's Domestic Violence Project is now Chief Assistant Solicitor General, DeKalb County Solicitor's Office

January 20, 2011

Dear Colleagues,

Four years ago, AVLF gave me the opportunity to direct the DV Project. At the time, the DV Project was operating out of the One Stop Office, which posed significant challenges to the integrity and safety of client appointments. The Project relied largely on referrals from partner agencies, which resulted in approximately 16 cases being placed during a quarter with pro bono attorneys.

Growing the Project required fundamentally changing the way we did our work, starting with the location in which we did our work. It was not an easy or quick process. I thank Marty Ellin and Dawn Smith for taking that leap of faith and supporting my vision. As a result, in the past four years, the DV Project has experienced exponential growth. Here are some of the more notable highlights:

• In February 2009, we successfully launched the Safe Families Office. A collaborative effort among AVLF, PADV and the Fulton County Superior Court, the Safe Families Office offers legal and safety planning assistance to over 3,000 survivors of intimate partner and family violence each year. AVLF has taken the lead in this endeavor and has assured the continued success of the Safe Families Office. Our model has gained attention on both the local and national levels. Notably, during her July 2010 site visit, the Chief Counsel for the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence described our work at the Safe Families Office as a “model best practices program.” But the highest praise has come from the clients we have served. Time and time again, those victimized have thanked us for helping them to reclaim their lives, their safety, and their sense of self-worth. While our legal work largely involves the civil temporary protective order process, you need only spend some time at the Safe Families Office to understand that our real work is about empowering survivors.

• We have carried our message to the community through various mediums, including articles in the Fulton Daily Report, blogs for our newly revamped website, a public service announcement on the Fulton County Government Access Channel, an appearance on “Victim’s View” (a program hosted by the Fulton County Solicitor-General’s Office), through participation in local and state committees, through numerous community outreach events, and through numerous trainings in the legal community.

• In conducting bi-partisan voter rights clinics at shelters in 2008, we identified a serious problem in Georgia’s Voter Registration requirements, which effectively disenfranchised residents of domestic violence shelters. We used our influence to bring attention to the problem at the state level and lent advice on ways to correct it. As a result, Georgia passed a Voter Address Confidentiality law, which not only creates a safer way for survivors of abuse to exercise their right to vote, but signifies institutional consideration of a population that is so often invisible.

• We have increased our volunteer base and thus our capacity to represent clients. AGG continues to lead the charge, but DLA Piper, Kilpatrick Stockton, Alston + Bird, and Sutherland have followed suit. All have committed to an annual calendar where they commit to taking cases on a regular, rotating basis. In addition to our participating firms, we have a bank of over 200 volunteers who take cases from our electronic newsletter. We now place four times the amount of cases per year with attorneys for direct representation than we did four years ago.

• We have grown our Project Staff to include a dedicated paralegal and staff attorney, without whom the Project could not function. Toni Roberts represents the very best that AVLF has to offer both to our client base and our volunteer base. Her talent, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to excellence are unmatched. Liz Whipple is sharp and enthusiastic. In a relatively short time, she has not only gotten up to speed, but proven herself to be an invaluable member of the team. Additionally, beginning in the Fall of 2011, the DV Project will host a Skadden Fellow, an exciting first for AVLF.

• We have strengthened existing partnerships and grown new ones. We have formalized partnerships with PADV, the Fulton County Superior Court, United 4 Safety, and the member agencies of the Fulton County Domestic Violence Taskforce. Our partners have come to rely upon us as thought leaders in this field and call upon us for assistance and advice.

AVLF is a special place. I remain passionate about its mission and its ability to make a profound impact on individuals and on systems. I thank you for the opportunity to have been a part of your team and hope that I have honored the trust you placed in me. And so, it is with deeply mixed emotions that I prepare to begin a new chapter. I look forward to supporting the continued success of the DV Project and AVLF.

Yours in Service,

Jenni Stolarski