Nevada’s legal aid providers launch statewide lawyer recruitment campaign
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Mon, 10/24/2022 - 1:38pm
Nevada’s five legal aid organizations providing legal help to Nevadans who cannot afford an attorney, along with the Access to Justice Commission, a Nevada Supreme Court-created group promoting equal civil justice, announced a statewide campaign to recruit Silver State lawyers to help Nevadans with critical legal matters.
Nevada Lawyers providing pro bono can help people resolve a variety of legal troubles. The lawyers may help save a family home from foreclosure due to a job layoff or medical catastrophe, protect a child from abuse or neglect, or defend against consumer fraud or the financial abuse of a senior.
Lawyers can offer pro bono legal services through a collection of nonprofit agencies: Legal Aid of Southern Nevada, Nevada Legal Services, Northern Nevada Legal Aid, Southern Nevada Senior Law Program and Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevadans.
Areas of critical need include child advocacy and family law, domestic violence victim advocacy, elder assistance and consumer exploitation.
Access to Justice reports many benefits for lawyers who volunteer pro bono.
“Providing pro bono through legal aid provides a quality experience for lawyers,” said Brad Lewis, director for the Access to Justice Commission. “Whether it’s volunteering for an Ask-a-Lawyer seminar or taking on a case, Nevada lawyers can build skills to make them a better lawyer while earning continuing legal education (CLE) credits throughout the process. But the biggest benefit we hear most from lawyers is that it feels great to help someone. Unrecognized by most, is that legal help keeps people employed, helps keep kids in school, something everyone wants.”
Lawyers working with Nevada’s legal aid providers change Nevadans’ lives for the better. Other legal aid help includes securing benefits for eligible veterans, and pairing children with legal guardians or adoptive families.
But the community need for legal representation is far greater than the number of pro bono volunteer hours.
“76% of legal needs are going unmet,” added Lewis. “Legal aid helped 40,648 struggling families in 2021, though there were over 100,000 legal issues that did not receive professional legal representation because of a lack of pro bono volunteers to help on these cases.”
To learn more about volunteering pro bono or donating, please visit www.nvbar.org/probono. To learn more about the commission, visit https://nvbar.org/access-to-justice/atj/
ABOUT ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The Supreme Court of Nevada created a permanent Access to Justice Commission, in June 2006, to promote equal civil justice for all, regardless of wealth, status, power or the ability to pay.
The Nevada Access to Justice Commission is comprised of 27 members with Justice James Hardesty, and Justice Kristina Pickering serving as its co-chairs. The commission has embarked upon an aggressive comprehensive agenda intended to improve the ability of all Nevadans, particularly those of modest means, to utilize Nevada's legal system by improving the delivery and funding of legal services programs, pro bono services and self-help services.
ABOUT VOLUNTEER ATTORNEYS FOR RURAL NEVADANS
Volunteer Attorney’s for Rural Nevadan’s (VARN) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. VARN believes that all people should have access to the civil justice system. VARN’s mission is to provide free and/or reduced-fee civil legal representation to persons of limited means and domestic violence survivors, and to encourage and facilitate the provision of volunteer services by attorneys and others.
ABOUT NEVADA LEGAL SERVICES
Nevada Legal Services operates statewide and can help with a variety of legal issues. NLS primarily assists with housing cases where tenants are facing eviction or termination of their subsidized housing, where individuals and families are applying for and are denied or terminated from SNAP, TANF, or other government benefits, denials of Unemployment Benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and sealing criminal and eviction records which promote people’s ability to get a job and create self-sufficiency.
ABOUT NORTHERN NEVADA LEGAL AID
Northern Nevada Legal Aid is a nonprofit legal aid organization serving income qualified residents in Washoe and surrounding rural northern Nevada counties. Legal aid is free or low-cost advice, assistance, or representation in civil matters for those who could not otherwise afford an attorney. Its goal is to eliminate barriers to access to the legal system for our society’s most vulnerable members to protect their rights, keep them safe and provide
stability.
ABOUT LEGAL AID CENTER OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
Legal Aid Center is a nonprofit law firm dedicated to providing direct legal representation, counsel and advice, and community legal education to those who can’t afford an attorney.
Legal Aid Center offers a wide variety of programs to help victims of domestic violence and crime, victims of consumer fraud and children in the foster care system. Clark County’s Civil Law Self Help Center and Family Law Self Help Center, and websites, are operated by Legal Aid Center.
ABOUT SOUTHERN NEVADA SENIOR LAW PROGRAM
Southern Nevada Senior Law Program’s vision is empowering seniors through no-cost, quality legal services. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to ensure access to justice for seniors with the greatest economic and social needs.
