Executive Director’s News
6
On-Line Pro Bono Legal Assistance
A new initiative is being rolled out nation-wide whereby low income persons can
log on to a specific website and post legal
questions on-line. Participating attorneys in
that state can log on at their convenience,
select a question that he or she is comfortable answering, and answer (anonymously) on-line. The person asking the question
is sent an e-mail when the question is answered. The person asking the question
and the attorney may choose to establish
an attorney/client relationship and connect
off-line, or not. The program has enjoyed
much success in a number of states, and 34
other states, including Vermont, are planning to launch the program this Fall. From
the lawyer’s perspective, it’s a convenient
way for the lawyer to meet pro bono aspirational hours (Rule 6.1 encourages 50
hours of pro bono work per year). From
the perspective of the low income person
seeking legal advice, it’s a convenient way
to get an answer to a legal question from
a lawyer versed in the subject matter at
hand. Please watch for more information
as the site is prepared for launch and as we
recruit participating attorneys.
County Bar Legal Assistance
Projects in Each County
Lastly, many thanks to all the lawyers already participating in Vermont Bar Foundation-funded County Bar Legal Assistance
Programs in Addison, Bennington, Franklin-Grand Isle, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor-Orange Counties. Low
income litigants in landlord tenant, collections, and foreclosure cases, proposed
wards in involuntary guardianship cases
and defendants in child support contempt
proceedings are screened over the phone
by Vermont Lawline for income eligibility,
and are connected with a participating attorney who is paid $60 per hour in a set 3
– 5 hour limited appearance capacity. Since
the first county project’s inception, over
1200 low income persons have received legal assistance from a trained attorney, and
participating attorneys who have opted to
do all or a portion of the work pro bono,
have contributed over 1400 pro bono
hours to date. If you’re in one of the participating counties and are not yet on the list,
trainings are now available on-line through
the VBA Digital Library (contact the VBA
so you can receive the CLE training for
free). If your county bar association is not
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2016
yet participating but would like to, please
contact VBA Legal Access Coordinator
Mary Ashcroft at [email protected] and
she would be happy to help you with the
grant application materials. This endeavor
has been a great example of lawyers, the
courts, judges, and VLA working together
to provide low income litigants quality legal representation in their court cases.
I’d like to conclude with a reminder: We
hope that you can join us at the “Summer
Barbecue on the Water!” party planned for
Sunday, July 31st from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. at
Button Bay State Park in Ferrisburg, to honor Bob Paolini for his twenty-plus years of
service as VBA Executive Director, and to
benefit the Vermont Bar Foundation. The
invitation is available at www.vtbar.org and
on page 25 of this Journal. Congratulations
to Bob, also, on receiving an honorary law
degree from the Vermont Law School at its
recent commencement exercises in South
Royalton. It is such a well-deserved honor!
www.vtbar.org