AVLF - Inspiring Art in Atlanta

AVLF -  Inspiring Art in Atlanta

On view at the Emory Center for Ethics until February 6^th is a collection of work which is meant to view, address, and examine the dynamics of relationships and homes fraught with intimate partner violence.

 This collection is the work of two and a half years and spans the time I spent working with AVLF at the Safe Families Office, assisting victims of abuse with filing for Temporary Protective Orders.  I was affected deeply by what I saw at the Safe Families Office and as an artist felt compelled to try and illustrate even a portion of what I was seeing in a way and space that others might witness it as well.  This has not always been an easy task and I have had many doubts and fears about the work I am making. 

Relationships are complicated, like the work to serve the people involved in them, because they are built on hope and love, which are strong bonds even in the face of violence.  Watching people leave and go back, watching people reconcile, and watching people get hurt is not easy as an advocate.  What I am clearest about, however, is how the discomfort I feel is nothing to the pain the survivors feel and that is a pain I will never fully understand.  As I have said many times, victims of domestic violence must watch the places they feel safe be turned into places of fear.   Homes are turned into war zones and into prisons.  The many objects they use in their daily lives become tools of oppression and weapons of violence.

Capturing the violence without sensationalizing what is happening is vital to me.  I want someone to view this and understand how bad it is, but also to understand that “bad” is contextual.  Sometimes bad is not visible to the outside and it is not a bruised eye.  Sometimes “bad” is a threat and that threat is a truly heavy burden.  I want someone to understand how universal this issue is and to see that this is also them, their neighbor, and this is happening in their backyard.  I want someone to understand various dynamics that affect a person’s choices, decisions, and change within this violence.  What outside forces are pushing this person to stay?  What is pushing them to leave?  What fears do they have? 

It is my firm belief that understanding is and can never be complete, but knowing even a portion of the struggle is valuable and integral to changing these actions and behaviors.

 

“The Artwork of Jessica Caldas” is on view at the Emory Center for Ethics until February 6^th, 2014.

There will be an artist talk on Wednesday, February 5^th at 6:30 pm.  The talk is free to the public and will be in the Center for Ethics room 102.

Location:

Emory University

Center for Ethics

1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322

Hours: 8:30 AM- 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday

You can view more of my work at jessicacaldas.com

Fighting for the Oppressed until They’re Made Whole

Fighting for the Oppressed until They’re Made Whole

By Ryan Locke, Criminal Defense Attorney, Locke Law Firm

As a criminal defense lawyer, I often receive frantic calls. A family member was just hauled away by the cops, or the news just said the caller has been indicted, or the police are at the door with a search warrant. But one call gave me pause: “The sheriff is on his way to my house,” sobbed the woman on the phone, “and he’s going to arrest me unless I pay the debt collector. What should I do?”

I’ve received similar versions of this call since then, and they all end the same way. The sheriff never comes and the debt collector—if he isn’t just an outright fraud—lays low before calling a few days later with more threats and demands.

I didn’t know about this side of debt collection before working with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation. But then one Saturday morning I met Sandra, who had come to AVLF for help. She was being harassed by debt collectors for a supposedly unpaid store credit card. Sandra thought she had paid it off but wasn’t sure, so she asked them to send her proof of the debt. Instead, they filed suit.

AVLF had my back. They sent me their in-house treatise on debt collection defense and put me in touch with an expert debt-defense attorney. Pulling together language from their resources and my research, I filed an answer and counterclaim the day before court and hand-delivered it to the debt collector’s bewildered attorney on the courthouse steps. She offered a mutual dismissal of claims with prejudice.

As it turns out, the store that issued Sandra the credit card went bankrupt, and Sandra’s debt was sold to a holding company that resold the debt to the collector. But the debt collector only bought Sandra’s name and phone number; he didn’t buy the paperwork proving that a debt existed. We still don’t know if Sandra actually owed the store any money. But for Sandra, the calls stopped and that was a win.

I’ve continued working with AVLF, suing misbehaving landlords and demanding companies pay their workers. Two things remain constant for each case. First, you’re a member of the AVLF team. Michael Lucas, who oversees many of these cases, is an expert co-counsel advising on strategy and technique. One weekend, he even sent me an excited text about different ways to serve process on my out-of-state defendant.

Second, resolving the clients’ seemingly minor problems has a profound effect on their lives. A landlord releasing the security deposit is the difference between moving out of the moldy and cockroach-infested apartment or suffering through another month.

In my criminal defense practice, I stand with the accused and fight for their freedom. With AVLF, I fight for the poor and oppressed until they’re made whole. Please join me, and the hundreds of other volunteers, in this critical pursuit.     

Ryan Locke is the founder and managing member of the Locke Law Firm, specializing in criminal defense. 

Shedding my Blinders: How Guard ad Litem Work Opened My Eyes

By: Dara Paulsen, ESQ.  

Although the 'best interests of the child' is always at the forefront of our domestic laws, I never truly considered how working directly with children in family law can influence my own practice, expectations, and preconceptions until I began taking volunteer Guardian ad Litem cases with AVLF. As a practicing family law attorney, I have the opportunity to work with clients with children in divorce and adoption cases. But as a GAL, I work with the child during the entire case, and the blinders really come off. Acting as the "eyes and ears" of the Court, you really get to know the child and have the opportunity to play detective-investigating the child's wants, needs, and interests (which are far from the same thing). This isn't my first rodeo working cases with children. Many moons ago, before law school, I worked in Brockton, Massachusetts, as an Education Advocate (EA) attempting to obtain often expensive services for special needs children from public schools which didn't want to cough up the dough. But GAL cases are a whole different experience. Which brings me to the first thing I learned...

1) Parties’ credibility can be questionable. Including kids. Who hasn’t had an adult client who portrayed the facts in their most, ahem, favorable light? While working with kids as an EA, when I questioned children, I never had a reason to doubt them. It was simple—either they received their speech therapy that day or they didn’t. I was essentially an education cheerleader who sang the praises of my clients’ children. However, I realized through one particular GAL case, the answers I now seek are more complicated. Further, the ways children choose to interact with you are more complex. A pre-teen client appeared perfect on the outside—church-goer who received good grades and was a model for the other children in her home. However, as my investigation proceeded, and I met with teachers, and with the child herself I learned that my pre-teen client would frequently lie and was in desperate need of counseling. She would lie about anything and everything. At home she was the perfect angel: her Father oblivious to the bullying, stealing, and consistent lies at school. However, during my initial interview with the pre-teen, I had no idea. I began to that understand when you are examining a child’s credibility, discretion and judgment become a trickier business. I’ve never been in a position that demanded my examination of a child’s credibility far beyond the usual ‘coaching’ parents perform in custody cases. It threw me for a loop and challenged my expectations of the work itself. Which brings me to the second thing I learned…

2) Playing Detective is fun. At the end of your GAL investigation, you humbly submit your written Recommendation to the Judge, which explains your reasoning behind your custody recommendation. The Judge then gets to do whatever she wants with that information and make her final decision. While collecting this information, you get to evaluate all the facts you discovered while playing detective during your investigation and make a specific recommendation based on those facts. You get to do the digging yourself which is normally reserved for hiring out a specialist, like a forensic accountant in a divorce case. For the first time in my practice, I feel like I have a real impact on a child’s life based on my investigating and decision-making alone. And that is a pretty powerful and liberating, but weighty, charge. By doing your best to be straightforward, impartial, and transparent about your investigation and conclusions, you really better enable the Judge to make her best informed decision. To quote Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility.



To conclude, I practice family law and have learned a multitude of new things about myself and my own practice of law through the challenges of Guardian ad Litem work. I can’t imagine how exhilarating it could be coming from a different line of practice, like estate planning or criminal law. You just may come out realizing that you, too, have the opportunity to take your practice blinders off.

Unemployment Benefits for Domestic Violence Survivors

By: Lindsey Siegel, Staff Attorney, Atlanta Legal Aid Society

AVLF, together with the Family Division of the Fulton County Superior Court and the Partnership Against Domestic Violence, operates the Safe Families Office at the Fulton County Courthouse to assist victims of domestic violence secure Temporary Protective Orders (TPO) and receive other assistance such as safety planning.  Many of our domestic violence clients continue to have legal problems after they are awarded a TPO. One common scenario is that an abuser comes to or constantly calls the victim’s workplace and that victim resigns or is fired as a result.  One study found that 74% of employed battered women were harassed by their partner while at work.  In the Safe Families Office, we constantly hear of batterers sabotaging a victim’s employment, sometimes in an effort to make the victim more dependent on them, in retaliation for asserting independence, or to find a victim who is in hiding.

Lindsey Siegel, Staff Attorney, Atlanta Legal Aid Society

Earlier this summer, I teamed up with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society to take an unemployment insurance case to the Georgia Court of Appeals.  The case came about after a domestic violence client of mine resigned from her job because the father of her two children appeared at her workplace and she feared for her life.   After her employer opposed her application for unemployment benefits, she was denied benefits.  I took her case on appeal of that denial.  The case is one of first impression in Georgia, as no court here has ever awarded a domestic violence survivor unemployment benefits after she resigns from her job because of the abuse.

About a year ago, this client’s former abuser and father of her two children (who wasn’t supposed to know where she worked or lived) showed up at her workplace.  Because the past abuse she experienced was so severe, because he wasn’t supposed to have any contact with her, and because she thought her location was hidden, his mere presence at her job terrified her.  When he showed up at her home a week later, she knew she had no choice but to escape to a domestic violence shelter.  She not only feared for her and her children’s safety, but she knew everyone at her job was in danger if she stayed.

And she had good reason to be afraid.  Those of you who saw the July 2013 New Yorker article on domestic violence know that there are certain high-risk factors that indicate a likelihood of being killed.  In our case, the abuser’s conduct toward our client met many of those indicators, including obsessive behavior, stalking, violation of court orders, and a history of severe physical abuse (including during her pregnancy).  Her workplace would not be immune to the threat of his violence.  As many of you likely remember, in Atlanta’s not-so-distant past employees at the CNN Center complex and the Bank of America building were murdered by their intimate partners at work.

As my two-year fellowship at AVLF comes to a close this week, I’m reflecting on our decision to pursue this case through the various levels of appeal.  Economic self-sufficiency is critical for our domestic violence clients, as it often decides whether they can afford to leave an abusive situation.  Like any other employee who faces an unsafe situation at work, victims should be free to resign without risking the loss of benefits they’ve earned.  I’m glad that AVLF has supported this work and I’m thrilled to be continuing my work on the case in my new position at Atlanta Legal Aid’s DeKalb Office.

AVLF has been a wonderful place to start my legal career, and I’m so thankful to them and to the Skadden Fellowship program for giving me the opportunity to work on so many interesting and important cases.  On a daily basis, the staff, volunteers, and interns at the Safe Families Office have impressed me.  Their work with domestic violence victims and survivors is challenging (to say the least) and requires commitment, tenacity, and sometimes even a sense of humor.  Although I’m starting a new chapter in my legal career, I look forward to supporting and staying connected to AVLF’s work in any way I can.

"Lindsey Siegel worked with AVLF for two years as a Fellow funded by the law firm of Skadden Arps.  She concluded her fellowship earlier this month and is now working as a staff attorney with the Decatur Office of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society.  Through her fellowship, Lindsey focused on legal advocacy for domestic violence victims who encounter legal problems affecting their housing or employment.  We miss Lindsey already and are confident she will continue to do great work with Atlanta Legal Aid."

AVLF: An Intern’s Perspective

By: Farley Ezekiel, Emory Law School, 2L

               When I started my first year of law school at Emory I knew that when I become an attorney I wanted to work closely with clients. I began interning at the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer’s Foundation in May 2013. I was not quite sure what to expect, but I was excited to work directly with clients. I was lucky enough to experience two sides of AVLF because I split my time between the Safe Families Office in the Fulton County Courthouse and the main office.

                In the main office I was able to perform research for actual cases. It was amazing to research landlord tenant law and then to follow Lindsey’s case as she represented a tenant fighting a landlord who was trying to obtain an eviction. In the classroom research is for a hypothetical problem, but seeing how research directly connects to a real life case that will greatly affect someone makes the heavy responsibility of being an attorney become clear.

The Safe Families Office is never boring, from interviewing clients to rushing to get clients to a hearing, the days fly by incredibly quickly. The most fulfilling part of my work is getting to work with clients. When our clients walk in the door they often do not know what to expect and are quite nervous. Talking clients through the process and getting them a temporary protective order is one of the best feelings. There is nothing better than when a client gives me a heartfelt thank you for my work.

One day a client’s abuser actually showed up in the clerk’s office while she was filing her temporary protective order. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man approaching a client, and she was clearly terrified. Another member of the team called for the sheriffs. Meanwhile, I stood in front of the client and repeatedly told the Respondent that he could not speak with her and that he needed to leave immediately. After my heart stopped racing and I was able to help successfully ward off the abuser, it really sunk in that the work we do everyday has a very concrete effect on people who have endured domestic violence. I have walked dozens of people through obtaining a temporary protective order, but witnessing how this piece of paper tangibly protects people in abusive situations illustrates the importance of the Safe Families Office’s efforts. 

The first year of law school is full of many things: late nights studying, poring over civil procedure, and it all comes down to that final exam. The abstract concepts I am learning in law school are very different from the practical reality of being an attorney in the real world. During my summer interning for AVLF I was able to reconcile my classroom experience with the concrete reality of working on behalf of clients. I loved working for individual clients helping to protect them from abusers and harassers. My desire to work closely with clients in a family law context has only been strengthened after my experience working for AVLF. I believe that my legal education and my experiences at AVLF have set a solid foundation for a rewarding career in family law. 

Two Months at AVLF Makes a Difference

By: Raman Rajagopal

            A few months back, I realized I would have two free months before the start of a new job in the consulting sector.  Having been to law school and practiced as an attorney (albeit corporate law, but I am told it still counts), I decided to dedicate some time toward the field of public interest.  Fortunately for me, the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer Foundation (“AVLF”) welcomed me on board as a two-month volunteer attorney.

            The position would be my first job in the non-profit world.  After I graduated from law school, I practiced law for less than a year and then worked in finance for the past few years.  From finance, I moved into management consulting.  Have spent several years in the private sector, I was hopeful that the position with AVLF would give me a deeper understanding of the types of circumstances I previously only superficially read about in the newspaper.

Most of my work revolved around landlord-tenant issues that arose from cases referred to AVLF’s Saturday Lawyer Program.  In one of my cases, a ninety-year old man with symptoms of dementia came to the Saturday clinic hoping for help.  He had been living in a subsidized housing unit for years that was swarming with bed bugs.  He was sick and elderly---he had tried his best to find a solution but found himself sitting in my office holding back tears as he revealed that he could barely eat because the bugs were everywhere, including the fridge.

            In another case, a landlord made the decision she no longer wanted to have a tenant living there.  Her solution?  Forget the legally-required eviction process and just turn off the water and power and hoped the client would leave. 

            And last week there was a landlord who improperly withheld our client’s security deposit.  The client had not caused damage to the property or done anything else to justify the landlord’s conduct.  The property had changed owners during the tenant’s lease, and even after the tenant showed the landlord that she paid security deposit, the landlord would not return it to her.

            The pattern?  In many of my AVLF cases the landlords had learned that the people on the other side are deeply marginalized without the resources to defend themselves or fight for what is rightfully theirs.  My clients were routinely denied services that are legally required.  There are illegal evictions, improperly withheld security deposits and refusals to repair broken water pipes that result in $1000+ water bills to the client.  Fortunately for the landlords on the other side of my AVLF cases, there is often little consequence for their behavior.  Fines and penalties are unusual and infrequent in our system.  And unfortunately for most of these clients, wrongs are often left uncorrected for many of those who are not fortunate to have services like AVLF’s.

            I have been blessed to avoid many of the struggles that most of our clients face.  In the news, you hear a lot of discussion of the word “entitled” and “entitlements”---likely referring to those who receive subsidized housing and services like many of my AVLF clients.  Stepping back, entitled is not a word I would ever to use for my clients.  Grateful is the word instead - or perhaps appreciative.  My clients at AVLF have grateful for the legal help most of us would demand, expect and take for granted.

            The recession hit the whole country hard.  The working poor of Atlanta are no exception.  And in case you were curious about those cases I mentioned---the elderly man with dementia got moved to a different bed-bug free unit, the second client had her water and power turned on after a few calls, and the final client received her security deposit back in full.  Programs like AVLF are critical to balancing the paradigm of power in our city.  

Thanks for a Successful Event!

The 1^st Annual Burger Battle & Beer Tasting at Nelson Mullins on June 6^th was a resounding success! The event, a fundraiser supporting the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society:

• Raised more than $30,000!
• Sold out two weeks in advance
•  Had more than 500 guests in attendance
•  Featured fantastic craft beer and delicious food
• Showcased two outstanding local chefs:  Celebrity Chef Kevin Gillespie from Gunshow and Chef Dan Latham of Farm Burger
• Energized hundreds of law students and young lawyers around pro bono work and legal services in Atlanta
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

We could not have had such a successful event without our Sponsors and the many individuals who bought tickets and joined us.  Thank you all so much for your support.

Plans are underway the 2^nd Annual Burger Battle and Beer Tasting in 2014, and we hope to see you there!

Click the link below to view photos from the event, courtesy of John Disney of the Fulton Co. Daily Report. 

http://s1080.photobucket.com/user/AVLFprobono/slideshow/AVLF-ALAS%201st%20Annual%20Beertasting%20June%206%202013 

AVLF welcomes six additions to the AVLF Board of Directors.

AVLF is delighted to announce six additions to the AVLF Board of Directors.

Walt Davis- Walt is a Partner with the law firm of Jones Day. As a litigator, Walt has a broad range of experience in complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts. His practice primarily emphasizes securities and corporate governance issues.

Paul Donsky- Paul is a managing Supervisor at Fleishman-Hillard, a global communications firm that specializes in public relations and public affairs, marketing,. Formerly a journalist, Paul covered a range of beats and topics for the AJC, from education and transportation to banking and finance, and won several local and regional awards for a 2005 investigative series about waste and corruption in the city of Atlanta school system.

Jim McGinnis- Jim is a Partner with the Atlanta law firm of Warner Bates McGough & McGinniss, and tries divorce and custody cases before judges and juries throughout Georgia. Jim is a frequent lecturer to attorneys and CPA’s across the state on a variety of family law topics. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgia State University School of Law, where he taught advanced domestic litigation for 15 years.

Richard Mitchell-Richard is a partner with Mitchell & Shapiro LLP. He concentrates on personal injury matters, including medical malpractice, trucking, auto wrecks, and aviation crashes, and is regarded as one of the most experienced personal injury and medical malpractice lawyers in the Georgia.

Will Shearer- Will is
Senior Vice President of Business Strategy and General Counsel for United Distributors, Inc. Under Will’s direction, United has been a primary sponsor of the AVLF Winetasting, the Foundation’s largest fundraiser, since 2009. Will formerly practiced law with King & Spalding.  

Cornell Wesley- Cornell is a Vice President & SBA Lender at CBC National Bank, who is experienced in the areas of financial services, retail banking, information technology and financial analysis. Cornell also holds a Masters in Business Administration and a Masters in Divinity. 

Ole' Miss School of Law Alternate Spring Break--Pro Bono Style

 8 students from the University of Mississippi spends spring break with AVLF. 

8 law students and Professor Deborah Bell from the University of Mississippi School of Law spent their spring break working in the Safe Families Office.  The students dove in on Monday by observing Protective Order Court , and then debriefing with Judge Allison Arce.  Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia Wright kicked of their Tuesday.  The students also got to sit down with the head of Fulton's ADR office Jerry Wood, the program director of Business Court Megan Johnson, and Deputy D.A. Sally G. Butler of the Crimes Against Women and Children Unit.  The day wound down with a happy hour attended by some of AVLF's best and brightest volunteers, giving the students real insight on the rewards and challenges of pro bono service.  Wednesday morning got off to an early start in Drug Court with Judge Downs.  The students were also fortunate to stay for opening arguments in a murder trial right after, followed by intake at the Safe Families Office.  The week culminated in the students representing two clients in Protective Order cases on Friday under the supervision of AVLF's Liz Whipple.  Summers Robertson and Lee Watson negotiated a consent order, while Melissa Groover and ReToya Gilmer had a hearing with a Respondent represented by counsel.  After a well-argued case on both sides, the students carried the day, ending their week on a triumphant note for their client and themselves. 

Thanks go out to all of the amazing people mentioned above who made this week not only possible, but also unparalleled.  Special gratitude to Connie White and Max Arrechea in Judge Wright's office for making so many of the week's highlights a reality.  Cheers to Debbie Segal for sparking this partnership (and for a lovely dinner).  Above all, to the 8 fantastic students who made the week a pleasure for the Safe Families staff and volunteers.

As Promised , Tamara Serwer-Caldas' EPIC acceptance speech

Tamara's EPIC Speech, The EPIC Inspiration Awards, Emory University School of Law, February 5, 2013

Thank you Marty – your words honor me and energize me, as they so often do.  You are my friend, my colleague, my mentor and among the most generous and gracious people I have ever known.  Looking around this room, I think are precious few who would disagree!  I am proud to count myself among the many who have worked closely with you, shared bouts of laughter and quiet tears with you, learned from you and joined you in the cause of access to justice for all people.  I appreciate you every day and I look forward to many many more days working side by side as leaders of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation pursuing our mission and expanding our reach. 

And thank you to the students and Board of EPIC for giving me this honor, to Dan Bloom for leading us through the evening with humor and style and to Sue McAvoy for the extraordinary effort put this evening together.  It feels great to be recognized and even better to know that the proceeds of this event support law students who want to explore public interest careers through summer fellowships. 

This evening I have a daunting task - the task is daunting because I am receiving an inspiration award for my devotion to those most in need.  And yet this room is filled with so many of the people who have been and continue to be my inspiration and with still others whose devotion to me as a human being, a woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, a lawyer, has allowed me to continue fighting even when I have felt defeated, exhausted and simply unequal to the task.  And so I begin with a profound sense of gratitude for the inspiration and devotion all around me.  I cannot imagine a more supportive community than the one in which I have the good fortune to live and work.  It takes a village to raise a public interest lawyer.  Thank you. 

I was going to end my remarks by paying tribute to my parents, my children and my husband because I feared I would get too emotional if I started with those I love most, but I have to start at my core and so, at some risk, I will.  My mother and father are here from San Antonio , Texas and it’s my Dad’s birthday this evening!  Mom and Dad: you raised me to trust in my own voice, follow my heart, and to treat all people with respect and dignity.  You really believe in me and have provided me with the most fertile ground from which to flourish and pursue the path I choose in life.  Shoshana -9  and Marco – 6 are also here – You guys are my delight, my joy and my pride.  Keep asking questions, learning, laughing, dancing, reading and loving.  Keep your beautiful young hearts open to new ideas and new people and find a way to make your world a kinder, more inclusive, more just place.  Jose – you are my partner in every dimension of our lives.  It is not easy to raise children and work as hard as we do day in and day out – your love, patience and support of our family make it possible.  I admire you and I love you. 

Like many of you, I went to law school with the idea that I could (and would) use my talent, privilege and education to make the world a better and more fair place and to stand up for people whose voices had been silenced  or who felt powerless to defend themselves.  Where does that idea come from?  Why do so many of us, especially in this profession think that that matters?  Why do you?  In more cynical moments, I think it is pure hubris, but even then I know that’s not all. An article earlier this month in the Atlantic Monthly gave me some insight – perhaps, as the article suggests, it is about choosing to live a meaningful life.  In the words of Martin E. P. Seligman, one of the leading psychological scientists alive today, in the meaningful life "you use your highest strengths and talents to belong to and serve something you believe is larger than the self."  There are many, many ways to do that and it is the work of a lifetime to figure out what that means in one’s own life.  For many lawyers, it is about opening the doors of justice so that people have a fair chance regardless of their income, status, race or language.

During my second year of law school, I had the privilege of seeing Steve Bright give a keynote speech about the inequities in the criminal justice system in Georgia & Alabama.  I was, in a word, taken.  It was not only the content of the speech but the conviction and passion of the speaker – I was deeply inspired by the idea of working so hard for something that really mattered, to serve people and promote values well beyond my self interest.  As in Marge Piercy’s beautiful poem (which my sister sent me when I was struggling in law school): “To Be of Use.”  It would be another 4 years before an unexpected opportunity to work at the Southern Center for Human Rights would lure me to Atlanta so that I could work side by side with Steve and some of the most talented lawyers, paralegals and law students in the nation.  And 15 years later, here I remain.  Those early years as a lawyer in this town were difficult years – but my life was rich with meaning from dawn to dusk. 

My clients at the Southern Center, HIV+ inmates in local jails, mentally ill men in the state prison, the women in Alabama’s Tutwiler prison, people crammed into tiny dilapidated jails throughout Alabama demanded that I put myself aside – their fundamental needs, human dignity and even lives were at stake.  When my confidence faltered, as it too often did despite an outer shell of confidence, I turned often to my family for support, which I received unconditionally with every phone call and visit home.  My father has shared pearls of wisdom along the way that have moved me forward when I was stuck.  It was during these early years as a lawyer that my father gave me a simple reminder:  this is about your clients, not about you.  It is when I let my clients themselves inspire me that I did my best work.  It is when our legal system serves and considers the rights and interests of all people that our work will be done.  We have a little way to go yet!

I share the honor tonight with two pillars of our legal community.  Robbie Dokson, whose vision and hard work more than 30 years laid the foundation upon which AVLF was created.   You should be very proud of how this baby has grown up, Robbie!  It has served 10s of thousands of families in this community who are safer, healthier and more secure because a lawyer stepped in when a critical legal interest was at risk.  Robbie and I have another connection – we discovered at an AVLF winetasting many years ago that he went to summer camp with my father and his brothers.  Robbie remembers my grandmother as head counselor for the girls camp in upstate New York in the 1950’s.  She was a leader, a woman of firsts, a fearless advocate for oppressed people – and someone to be remembered 60 years hence.  I cannot pay tribute to those who have inspired me with a mention of her.

When anyone mentions complex civil rights litigation in this town, Jeff Bramlett’s name is usually in the same sentence.  I came to Jeff for help before filing my first lawsuit – he read our complaint and the dozens of attachments, memos and motions that came with it.  He was not in a position to co-counsel, but instead used the respect he had earned as an officer of the Atlanta Bar Association to convince the Board to pass a resolution supporting the idea that incarcerated people should receive HIV treatment.  It was a most unusual request, in many ways, but Jeff stood up for us and gave the Board his word.  This vote of confidence by Jeff and leaders of the legal community stayed has stayed with me.

Today I work with a staff of 10 at the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation whose devotion to those most in need rings through in every one of the thousands of phone calls that come to our office every year and with every visit to our domestic violence safe families office by someone looking for a legal advocate.  The work never ceases and, sadly, the need has grown deeper and wider as the number of poor people in Georgia has expanded in the past decade.  There are 300,000, Georgia families now live below the poverty line—50 percent higher than in 2000, for a poverty rate that now ranks sixth in the nation.   For a family of 3 – that’s less than 20,000 of gross income per year in 2013.  AVLF accepts families who earn twice that number – up to 39,000 for a family of three.  That’s an assistant teacher with two children, two parents working full time at minimum wage jobs and supporting a child.  That’s someone laid off in the recession, who once made a comfortable living and now finds that everything she has is at risk.  Our office helps these types of families, and those with much, much less.   The majority of our clients support families on less than $20,000 per year.  With poverty comes jeopardy – of losing one’s home, one’s children, one’s income and one’s credit.  Legal advocacy and access to justice make a difference. 

I cannot with the time remaining do justice to the staff of AVLF, most of whom are here tonight.  Michael Lucas who directs AVLF’s housing and consumer programs simply never stops – I have worked with some phenomenal people, but never have I seen someone as thoughtful with each client, each relationship, each case, each volunteer –  with a growing list of client success stories.  Michael – you give me great hope and it is a privilege to work with you.  The AVLF team who works with Michael  - Kenisha, Dionne, Caroline matches his skills with incredible commitment to advocacy and service.  Our Domestic Violence team sees almost 2,000 victims of violence every year.  Liz, Jessica and Lindsey – you help women find a new life from the ashes of violence and destruction.  Day after day.  Your lives and your work are full of meaning.  And Jeffrey – you make it possible for all of us to do our work each day – something too easy to take for granted.  Thank you for managing our office and keeping us moving!

But our small staff does not work alone.  AVLF relies on more than 500 attorney volunteers each year– attorneys, just like many of you in this room are or will be, who work for private law firms but offer their skills to help families facing eviction, violence and financial hardship.  Our volunteers report back to us that their work with our clients is life-changing, the most important professional accomplishment of their career, more meaningful than closing a business deal – those are direct quotes.  And after donating 20, 30 hours of their time, most of our volunteers turn around and make a financial contribution so we can continue our good work into another year and generation.  These are the voices and actions of humanity. 

Each case that we take has a compelling human story behind it and I can’t begin to give you the details of any one story in the time I have remaining, but I encourage you to ask me or anyone on AVLF’s staff for those details.

 I’m now old enough to talk about the next generation of lawyers and professionals!  Emory law students through EPIC pushed us to engage in policy work for the first time during the past couple of years.   I deeply admired their commitment, especially knowing that they were also writing papers, taking exams and interviewing for jobs in a challenging market.   Students:  when you work in our office you encourage us to consider new frontiers, new possibilities, new strategies, new values.  Respect the groundwork laid by Robbie, Jeff, Steve, Marty, Dan and others, but don’t be afraid to push.  There is so much work to be done, and we need your energy and creativity more than ever. 

There is another group is in this room – my sisters and brothers from other non-profit law offices.  Steve Gottlieb – the guidestar for our community, Haley Schwartz who had the audacity to start her own legal project at Legal Aid – the Breast Cancer Legal Project and build it into a great success, Monica Khant, Sharon Hill, Rachel Spears, Sara Totonchi, Phyllis Holmen, Talley Wells, Melanie Velez, Stephanie Stuckey.  The list goes on.  I especially appreciate how many friends from Atlanta Legal Aid are here tonight.  We are all devoted to a common principle of equal justice, and none of us could do it without each other and without the generosity of this community.

There is not one way to choose a meaningful life – there are so, so many roads.  Find something that moves your heart to action and opens doors for other people and then step up to the challenge with confidence.  It is what makes you and me and us uniquely and wonderfully human.

Pro Bono in The Arts

When: Saturday, March 30th, 7-11pm

Where: Beep Beep Gallery- 696 Charles Allen Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30308

What:"Falling In..." New work by Jessica Caldas

"Just as any love story does, the stories of violent relationships each develop differently. Though a relationship full of love should not be violent there is indeed love. There is a very human hope and belief in love. There are lines of power, control and anger that should not be crossed but they are crossed. Violence should not be hard to see, hard to distinguish, hard to name and yet it is.

When we see violence from an outsider’s perspective and we want to understand it we place ourselves, or those we know, in the moment and we ask “What if it was me?” Why do we have to ask this question? When we don’t want to understand violence we push the stories away from us, and we say “that could never happen to me”. In this moment we are failing to understand that, like love, violence is all around us. 

This work visualizes relationships I witness as a Domestic Violence advocate; their development through the cycle of violence, the perspectives surrounding the relationships, and the questions of what happens when love is pressured by violence and control."

March Madness: Pro Bono Style Kicks off

On Friday, March 1^st, AVLF’s Domestic Violence Project kicked off the Atlanta Bar Association’s Pro Bono March Madness with a full-day, highly interactive Fundamentals of Domestic Violence training based on a national training developed by the American Bar Association.  32 trainees spent the day interacting in small and large group settings, wrestling with issues of domestic violence and the remedies available to survivors. 

Debbie Segal spearheaded this training, and worked tirelessly to adapt the curriculum and recruit the faculty – without her, the day would not have happened.  Vivian Huelgo, Chief Counsel for the ABA’s Commission on Family and Sexual Violence not only trained the trainers, but also led several portions of the day.  Our large-group faculty - Monica Khant of GAIN, Greg Loughlin of the Georgia Commission On Family Violence, Jenni Stolarski of the Dekalb County Solicitor's Office, Dan Bloom of Pachman Richardson, and Amanda Planchard of the Fulton County Solicitor Victim Witness Assistance Office, and the AVLF’s own Liz Whipple led the room in discussion throughout the day.

Our small table faculty, comprised of The Honorable Wendy Shoob and The Honorable Gail S. Tusan of the Fulton County Superior Court, Fulton Family Division judicial officer Davita Gude and Family Division Director Robin Coggswell spurred their groups on to lively discussion and thoughtful analysis of issues during small group exercises.  

Thanks also to Robin Taylor of PADV and Jessica Caldas of AVLF for all their assistance, and to Katie Barton and Tyler Scarbrough of Kilpatrick Townsend for their incomparable acting skills.  (Not many could maintain focus in the face of Liz’s clip-on ponytail wig and hammy performance during the skit, both were total pros.)  Without Kilpatrick Stockton’s support as host, this day would not have been possible.  Our compliments to the Atlanta Bar’s Jessica Galusha for a well-executed kick-off to her very first March Madness.  And last but not least, thanks to the judges and volunteers, old and new, who attended – we look forward to putting your new knowledge to work for AVLF’s clients!

Why VAWA matters to AVLF and what you can do to help

By: Lindsey Siegel,
Staff Attorney, Skadden Fellow

This past Thursday, March 7, 2013, was a historic day for our country, as President Obama signed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and it became law. AVLF applauds the reauthorization of VAWA, especially those parts that expand housing protections to survivors. 

As one of the focuses of my fellowship, I have a particular interest in this aspect of the law, having represented numerous survivors whose housing stability was at risk because of their partners’ violence. Now, because of VAWA's changes, even more of those clients will be protected from unfair evictions.

If you aren't familiar with VAWA's history, Vice President Biden forged the original version back in the mid-90s, which helped create much-needed protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault (later it was expanded to include victims of stalking and dating violence), as well as new sources of funding for local communities trying to fight and respond to these crimes. Advocates on behalf of victims championed its passage and subsequent reauthorizations, but they also recognized that after nearly two decades certain provisions needed to be updated.

Although VAWA enjoyed bipartisan support for most of its history, the version that passed last Thursday endured a long, hard fought battle in both chambers of Congress. Despite pressure on congressional leaders to narrow the scope of the law, the new version of VAWA extends protections and improves access for LGBT individuals, Native American women living on tribal lands, those in need of stable housing, immigrant women, and students on college campuses.

VAWA Signing. Picture accessed from AAUW.org

We recognize that having laws on the books is only the first step, but it is critical to AVLF’s goal of supporting safe and stable families and it makes a measurable difference in our clients’ lives. As a next step, we should call on our national leaders to fully fund VAWA.

In the coming weeks and months, my goal is to call on our leaders in Georgia to adopt and implement these new protections in local laws and policies, to further improve safety for the most vulnerable individuals in our communities.

What you can do:

1. Call or write your member of Congress and ask them to support increased funding. Votesmart.org has a great tool to help you find your members of Congress and their contact information.
2. Volunteer with AVLF's Domestic Violence Project.
3. Give a gift to AVLF to support our ongoing efforts to help domestic violence survivors in Atlanta.

Deputy Director Receives 2013 Unsung Devotion to Those Most in Need Award

The Emory University School of Law Public Interest Committee awarded AVLF Deputy Director Tamara Caldas with the 2013 Unsung Devotion to Those Most in Need Award on February 5. Also that evening, Jeffrey Bramlett received the Outstanding Leadership in the Public Interest. Award, and Robbie Dokson was awarded the Lifetime Commitment to Public Service Award.

AVLF was very much in evidence throughout the evening. Obviously, the Foundation is very proud of the recognition of Tamara and her selfless and amazing work for the clients, the legal community and the Court systems of metropolitan Atlanta. As well, Robbie Dokson was a founder of AVLF; Jeff Bramlett worked closely with the Foundation’s One Child One Lawyer Program when resolving the claims of the groundbreaking Kenny A. litigation; Steve Gottlieb, who introduced Robbie that evening is a close partner of AVLF’s from his position as the Director of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society; Theresa Roseborough, who introduced Jeff that evening is a former AVLF Guardian ad litem; Dan Bloom, the evening’s MC, is a former Deputy Director of AVLF; and Marty Ellin, AVLF’s executive Director, had the pleasure of introducing Tamara to the full house at Emory Law School.

Marty’s comments that evening included the following:

Tamara Serwer Caldas is a great lawyer. And she would never tell you that, but tonight she doesn’t have to, in part because the people who work with her are thrilled to have the chance to do so. I had the pleasure of contacting a range of Tamara’s current and former colleagues, and wish I could share all of what they said. Put together, it is the portrait of a woman who lives by this direction: If one does not consider the circumstance of fellow human beings then the whole purpose of the law is lost.

You could see Tamara’s career and all that she would accomplish, coming from miles away. After finishing at Princeton, where she received awards for the best senior thesis in American literature AND achievement in dance, Tamara spent time with the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest before simultaneously securing a law degree and Masters of Public Affairs from some school in Austin, Texas.

She then clerked in the Sixth Circuit- Judge Martha Daughtery told me that “Tamara was a superb law clerk and a joy to have in chambers.  We never had a doubt that she was headed into public-interest law and into lifelong public service. We knew she would shine at work closest to her heart. And she has.”  

From there she went to the Southern Center for Human Rights where she just made life miserable for a number of jailers and a political subdivision or two that doubted that this little pixie of a lawyer could challenge men and systems that had been in place since… since… well, no one could remember it being otherwise.

The Southern Center’s Kung Li related this- “Typical of Tamara was the second preliminary injunction hearing for the Tutwiler case, when she was 2½ months pregnant w/ Shoshana and pretending like she wasn’t– we pulled into the federal district court parking lot, she got out, threw up, dusted herself off, and carried on.” And carried on she did- through the Tutwiler case, Tamara represented over 1,000 women prisoners, and Mica Doctoroff, an investigator on the case, said “This was a case that Tamara and others had fiercely litigated for years - so fiercely and so successfully, in fact, that the State of Alabama and the Department of Corrections never quite recovered from what hit them.”

Sara Totonchi, the current Executive Director of the SCHR told me this is what she learned from TSC- “if you’re fighting for something for your client, you might as well get comfortable because you’re just not leaving the room until opposing counsel gives in.”

And then, after work promoting reproductive rights for birth parents and adoptive parents, fortunately for us, and for the effort to promote equal access to justice for the poor of our community, she came to AVLF. After being a Staff Attorney and our Managing Attorney, Tamara quickly became our Deputy Director. …From the day she began we have been a significantly better organization for her presence and her enormous talent. She is at once a very broad and very deep thinker about how to address the unmet civil legal needs of the poor, and unusually for a big picture person she is also extremely detail oriented.

Tamara is the perfect example of what can be accomplished when no one is invested in who gets the credit. She has so often been a force for positive change for which there has been no publicity. Among the most meaningful law-related endeavors: without fanfare, Tamara provided the impetus for the establishment of the Housing Advocacy Resource Center and the Fulton County Courthouse’s Self-Help Center. And, in recognition for her insistence on helping the justice system to evolve, she made many fans of those with whom she worked.

State Court Administrator/Chief Clerk Cicely Barber related this to me: “I can always count on Tamara to tell me the truth and be helpful.  I am very grateful for her wisdom, guidance, and most importantly her friendship.” Judge Louis Levenson told me this about Tamara: “She has been an involved member of the Court family for years and always with a constant interest in contributing ideas for improving the quality of the justice and fairness that is delivered to all who we serve. She is a resource that everyone resects for her knowledge of the law and for her experience about the legal procedures utilized in the Court.”

Absent publicity for her work, she worked with Michael Lucas and his team to revise the 40 year old Saturday Lawyer program, making it again the Foundation’s and the community’s primary vehicle for the delivery of housing, consumer and wage claim-related pro bono legal service. She has interacted extensively with law students and interns, working last Legislative session with Emory students of Frank Alexander seeking to extend the Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act. Tamara is coordinating the effort to promote foreclosure Mediation in the federal court; and she is leading the Foundation’s Judicial Bypass work, even as she teams with the AVLF Housing and Consumer Law team to address issues of economic integrity and with the AVLF DV Project team to address equally critical matters of violence prevention.

On top of all of this, she continues to demonstrate - in the trenches - the impressive advocacy and the compassion for people on which she has built her career, finding time to remain “hands on” with eviction and housing condition cases, to directly advise clients, and to give public “know your rights” presentations to communities in need…

 And on it goes, competently, creatively- unrelentingly- and without much notice. I am delighted that the EPIC Committee was inspired by Tamara’s selfless approach, and although praise for the excellence of the body of Tamara’s work is barely sung, and although she would not have us broadcast, it merits a full chorus, so I am proud to ask TSC to come forward to accept the EPIC’s 2013 Unsung Devotion to Those Most in Need award.

AVLF congratulates Tamara and her fellow award recipients, and thanks the Emory University School of Law Public Interest Committee for an extraordinary celebration of the best of the community’s pro bono leaders.

Congress’s Unfinished Business: The Violence Against Women Act

By Lindsey Siegel, Staff Attorney, Skadden Fellow [Previous Publication from the Atlanta Journal Constitution]

They are smothered with pillows and held hostage in their houses. They have their teeth kicked out. They are poisoned and shot at in front of their kids. They are kicked in the stomach while pregnant. Am I describing atrocities committed against women and children in foreign countries at war? No, these are Georgia domestic violence cases with which I have worked as a lawyer in the past year alone. With crimes like these taking place within our state, it is not surprising that Georgia ranks 10th in the nation for its rate of men killing women. 

Lindsey Siegel, Staff Atorney, Skadden Fellow

 On February 12th, the Senate passed VAWA in a bipartisan 78-22 vote (62 of those voting “yes” were co-sponsors).  The majority of domestic violence advocates support this version of the bill, which increases funding to programs and expands protections to LGBT and Native American victims, among others.  The fight continues, though, with the bill heading to the House. 

 I have seen firsthand the impact that the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has on our ability to fight these abuses in Georgia. With robust bipartisan support, Congress passed and twice reauthorized this key piece of legislation. Unfortunately, Congress failed to agree on a new, updated version of VAWA before the end of the 112th session. While its current protections do not expire, Congress must prioritize VAWA’s passage in the coming weeks to expand assistance to all—including Tribal, immigrant, and LGBTQ—victims of domestic violence. Sarah Buel noted in her article It’s Time to Pass the Violence Against Women Act, which appeared in the Arizona Republic on December 13, 2012, that there are at least five good reasons why Congress should immediately reauthorize VAWA and provide appropriate funding; and the realities in Georgia bear this out. 

 First, the statistics are staggering: The Dept. of Justice reports that about four American women are murdered each day by a current or former partner—and about 100 of those happen here in Georgia every year. If foreign terrorists were killing four Americans a day, how would we react? According to the American Medical Association, American women are in more danger in their homes than on the street – a situation VAWA can help change. 

Second, VAWA’s reforms are working: Sexual and domestic violence assaults are down across the nation. VAWA has augmented judicial and law enforcement tools, improved housing and economic security for victims, and enhanced the healthcare system’s response. The services provided by VAWA are the difference between life and death for many victims of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking.

 Third, VAWA is a cost-effective mechanism to prevent and address crime in our communities: Violence against women is expensive—medical care, lost work productivity, and lost wages constitute over $5.8 billion per year. It is estimated, however, that during its first six years alone, VAWA saved about $14.8 billion in prevented net social costs. 

Fourth, VAWA keeps our children safer by helping the non-violent parent flee and ensuring that children grow up in a safe environment. As many as 15.5 million children witness abuse in their homes each year. These children may learn that it is okay to be abusive to get what you want and thus have a higher likelihood of later involvement in the courts. VAWA can change this.


Fifth, VAWA has been a fundamental part of this nation’s public safety strategy since 1994, creating many new law enforcement and community programs designed to protect victims and get violent criminals off the street. Through VAWA, Georgia receives funding to provide services to victims and their children, train and staff law enforcement, and more. Our homeland security plan must include protection from terrorists inside the home as well as from strangers and political terrorists. 

Congress should immediately reauthorize and fully fund the Violence Against Women Act.

Looking to make a difference? Contact your representative and tell her/him to support the Senate version of the bill.