MEMBERSHIP
Pro Bono March Madness 2021
BRITTANIE BROWNING Hall Booth Smith , PC BBrowning @ hallboothsmith . com
Pro Bono March Madness is an annual CLE event that sheds light on the different legal organizations around the city that support our community nonprofits and low-income clients . The program is a way to give back as attorneys and learn key ways to get involved . Some of this year ’ s sessions and topics showed ways that you may not even realize are available . Social change and social justice is on the forefront of everyone ’ s minds . Local legal aid organizations highlight ways that lawyers are uniquely positioned to support our community and causes that we care about through our knowledge and skillset .
The Gender Affirming Name Change session hosted by Atlanta Legal Aid highlighted assisting people seeking a name change and walking with them through the process . The session began with a discussion of gender terminology and cultural implications to make sure the client is comfortable and how lawyers should be sensitive to those terms . Gender affirming name changes are a nonadversarial process through which Atlanta Legal Aid assists low-income individuals in obtaining a name change through the Court system and taking next steps to change their name on legal government identification ( such as a driver ’ s license or birth certificates ). The attorney will go to court to stand with their client as a support to ensure the process goes smoothing . The entire process of filings and the court appearance usually only requires 5 to 10 hours of an attorney ’ s time but can make a lifetime of a difference for an individual .
Employment Law for Nonprofits was informative for ways to help local nonprofits on a pro bono basis and as a refresher on employment law for those not regularly practicing in this area . We also learned about the resources at Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta to support attorney volunteers who advise clients on issues such as the status of an individual as an employee or independent contractor . The presentation integrated hypotheticals that any nonprofit might face to classify individuals as interns , employees , or independent contractors . The panel further discussed issues pertaining to FMLA . If you are interested in exploring ways to volunteer , Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta has a monthly e-mail with opportunities for different areas of law including corporate law , litigation , or employee handbooks .
The legal aid organizations offer sessions for your law firm to go over services and volunteer opportunities while earning some CLE credit . Feel free to contact the groups directly to explore their offerings or set up a time for them to meet your attorneys . It is a way to use your current knowledge and learn new areas through volunteering . For my firm , Hall Booth Smith , P . C ., I was able to organize a virtual CLE program highlighting the Saturday Lawyer Program with Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (“ AVLF ”) in April . AVLF did the heavy lifting on the written materials and has a seamless presentation about ways to volunteer , the need in our local area , and offered new remote volunteer opportunities for attorneys . AVLF helps volunteer attorneys by offering resources to help you best advocate for a low-income client . It was a fun and easy way to plug in and earn an hour of CLE credit . The CLE Board hopes you join us next year for Pro Bono March Madness .
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