How to Respond to “Better”

By: Marty Ellin, Executive Director

Long before government officials confirmed that America was in a recession, the staff of AVLF knew. Before Congress debated bailouts, earlier than the foreclosure crisis grabbed the media’s attention, and prior to the dramatic jump in the unemployment rate, the number of phone calls to AVLF asking for help with urgent legal problems began to climb dramatically.

Anticipating that grants to the Foundation would be fewer, the AVLF Board nonetheless made a very conscious decision to sustain the breadth of our pro bono programs and to draw down our financial reserves as necessary to assure that there was no interruption to the services offered to our clients. Because of that decision, and because the Atlanta legal community increased its pro bono participation, we were able to maintain the core programs that provided legal support to those who otherwise had no access to counsel. Along the way, we did have to close certain non-core programs and reduce the size of and benefits to the staff. At the end of 2012, we had come close to spending all of the Foundation’s reserve.

And then, things got…better. Slowly, but noticeably. As the economy began to improve, funders began to start grant cycles again. As law firms and corporations moved away from the anxiety of the previous years, they became increasingly generous. Thus, in 2013 AVLF began to restore some of our reserve, and 2014 has started well.

What, then, do we do with “better”? Perhaps our Board President, Elizabeth Finn Johnson, put it best when she told us it was time to consider not just how to survive, but how to thrive. She and our rather extraordinary Board of Directors have encouraged a discussion that focuses not on limitation but on growth. We have begun to expand meaningful pro bono opportunities for the legal community and to broaden our development plans to return to a healthier financial position.

But amidst this optimism and the Foundation’s surging prospects, we are aware that the requests for legal assistance from those who cannot afford a lawyer have continued to grow. Perhaps it will surprise you to learn that the greatest demographic increase of the last years are formerly middle class people who have lost jobs, lost homes, and along the way have lost most of their hope.

At AVLF, we remain upbeat about our prospects for expanding service to those in our community with unmet civil legal needs. We remain optimistic about regaining a steady financial footing. But we remain very aware that although things are better for the Foundation, they remain frightening, Long before government officials confirmed that America was in a recession, the staff of AVLF knew. Before Congress debated bailouts, earlier than the foreclosure crisis grabbed the media’s attention, and prior to the dramatic jump in the unemployment rate, the number of phone calls to AVLF asking for help with urgent legal problems began to climb dramatically.

“Worse” meant “try harder.” As it turns out, so does “better.” Thank you for joining us in this effort.

AVLF Welcomes Jeff Nix as Newest Board Member

Jeff Nix, one of the newest members of the AVLF Board of Directors, is partner at Troutman Sanders LLP. For the past twenty-five years, he has focused his practice entirely upon construction law representing stakeholders involved in every facet of the construction industry. Prior to attending law school at Boston University, he worked as construction engineer. This background allows him to offer a fresh, unique and pragmatic approach to helping clients solve problems ranging from negotiating simple agreements to resolving large complex multiparty disputes.

Jeff is an ardent supporter of the firm’s pro bono initiatives. He started the firm’s Wills Project, which provides wills and other estate documents for individuals battling cancer, service members and their spouses (including members of the military, police, fire, and EMTs), and elderly and low-income Atlantans. He also routinely represents tenants through AVLF’s Eviction Defense Program. Jeff has been recognized for his outstanding pro bono service by both the State Bar of Georgia as recipient of the H. Sol Clark Award and by the Atlanta Bar Association as recipient of their Service Award. An alumnus of the 2003 Class of Leadership Atlanta, Jeff has also assisted in the building of more than 50 Habitat for Humanity homes over the last 30 years.