also ensuring that their clients would have an interruption-free space . They also made significant progress on their goal to assist more individuals with discharging student loans through bankruptcy .
• The D . C . Bar Pro Bono Center presented a fall bankruptcy training series for pro bono attorneys in September and October 2023 . The training was offered in a hybrid format with two pre-recorded sessions and one live , in-person session to close the series . All training sessions ranged from 90-120 minutes and participants received access to additional informational videos and materials , such as a bankruptcy law handbook . This hybrid training format built on their success in providing bankruptcy education to volunteers virtually since March 2020 and during the COVID-19 pandemic . Pro Bono Center staff have created or updated video recordings of two training modules which were distributed to registrants in advance . They then offered a 120-minute live session in-person , which included a panel of experts and question and answer session . A recording of the live session was sent to participants afterward . Attendees appreciate the flexibility of being able to watch pre-recorded materials at their own pace and then receive substantive , indepth responses to their questions during the live session .
I would like to continue the tradition of sharing with you a few stories from the grantees describing the powerful impact of our grants :
• Public Counsel , Los Angeles , CA : Jaime was struggling to keep current with her monthly expenses after having her claim of exemption denied and having her wages ordered garnished at $ 400 each month . Jaime came to the Bankruptcy Court looking to file a bankruptcy case to stop the wage garnishment . The bankruptcy court clerk
View
the 2023 DEI Grantees Here
View the 2023 Grantees Here
referred her to PC ’ s walk-in bankruptcy clinic that same day . Thanks to the strength of their relationships with pro bono attorneys , they placed Jamie with a pro bono attorney within one hour of contact and the pro bono attorney filed the bankruptcy case the next day . The wage garnishment ended , and Jaime obtained a discharge of all of her debts and a fresh start in 2023 .
• PBRC Consumer Protection Project ( CPP ), Baltimore , MD : In June 2023 , CPP represented a client who came to court in Prince George ’ s County to resolve her debt despite numerous extenuating circumstances . Ms . Smith is 62 years old and confined to a wheelchair as a result of Multiple Sclerosis , which was also causing her to go blind . CPP later learned that her husband was in the hospital recovering from a stroke , that the couple ’ s only income was a small amount of social security , and that they had recently been evicted for failure to pay rent . At some point they had opened up a Bank of America credit card to help with expenses , and that credit card bill had grown to about $ 10,000 . After learning about Ms . Smith ’ s situation , the CPP staff attorney spoke with the creditor ’ s attorney , who was present in the courtroom for the Resolution Conference docket . She explained Ms . Smith ’ s situation and the attorney agreed to a Hardship Dismissal , which is appropriate in extenuating circumstances such as those experienced by Ms . Smith . Ms . Smith was ecstatic when she heard the news . She burst
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