Pro Bono Update
Many of the grantees requested funds to assist in dealing with the changes caused by the pandemic. For example, the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association in Boston, Massachusetts, sought funds to provide for remote bankruptcy clinics and tools to provide remote intake for clients, as well as funding to provide training for volunteers given the expected increased demand for services. The Volunteer Lawyers Network in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sought funds to build its capacity to deal with the economic aftermath of the pandemic, requesting funds to recruit volunteer attorneys as well as mentors to train more volunteers.
Each year the Foundation awards the Michael L. Cook Extraordinary Grant to recognize “an innovative and exemplary approached to a previously under-served area of need” with an extraordinary grant. This year’s grant recipient, the QLaw Foundation of Washington in Seattle, Washington, made the Pro Bono Committee aware of the special financial problems faced by the gay, lesbian, and transgender communities:
“Because of discrimination, LGBTQ+ communities experience higher rates of poverty, un- and underemployment, poor rental histories/evictions, and have difficulty managing medical debt (particularly debt related to gender transition), student loans, and other consumer issues. Additionally, transgender and nonbinary people in particular face significant financial issues when they undergo a legal name and gender marker change. In some cases it can cause credit histories to evaporate, credit ratings to change,and student loan payments to be delayed or unrecorded.”
QLaw Foundation Grant Application. QLaw Foundation will use the funds to (i) create a “Self-Help Packet for Protecting Your Finances While Transitioning,” (ii) conduct a half day CLE seminar focused on bankruptcy and debtor-creditor issues being experienced by the gay, lesbian and transgender communities, and (iii) prepare marketing materials for the organization’s legal clinic which will be specific to consumer and financial issues.
While the Committee’s main work this year has concluded, like many, we expect the need to be even greater next year. Although the vaccines offer hope for the end of the pandemic, we continue to hear from our grantees that the financial issues caused by the pandemic are far from over. In a thank you letter to the Foundation, the Legal Aid Society of Louisville, Kentucky explained that their organization “is experiencing a surge of individuals facing civil legal threats to their homes, incomes, health, and families as a result of the pandemic.” Similarly, in her voice mail thank you to the Foundation, Susan Murphy of the Conejo Free Clinic in Thousand Oaks, California told us that they are seeing a “huge uptick this year because of COVID related bankruptcy problems.”
In closing, again, thank you for your generosity which enables the Pro Bono Committee to do its work. My personal thanks to the members of the Committee for their time and effort, especially to my Vice Chair, Norm Pernick, and to Jenny Cudahy and Shari Bedker of Armstrong & Associates, Inc. for their invaluable assistance on behalf of the Committee. My best wishes to all for the holidays.
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