Street Law Clinic & Lawyer Referral Service

STREET LAW CLINIC
By Daniel Werner

The Street Law Clinic program got off to an enthusiastic start this year by meeting with most of the NLG school chapters. At these meetings the SLC coordinator and/or the NLG’s executive director talked about the value of the Street Law Clinics, both to society and to the Guild. We also used this opportunity to listen to the different ideas and projects that members are interested in. In response to interest in smaller cities, we will be working with gang outreach workers in Brockton and may also be working with law students and housing advocates in Springfield.

Something to celebrate this year is that some struggling NLG chapters have come back and are participating in clinics. Thanks to perseverant organizing, BU now has a vibrant group that hosted a Workers’ Rights training. BU students have also attended trainings at other schools and have participated in clinics. Suffolk students have attended trainings at other schools and are working toward holding a training at Suffolk.

Two law schools outside of the immediate region, Western New England School of Law in Springfield and Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island, have recently formed NLG Chapters and are looking to hold clinics. Student member Lauren Marcous has been organizing with students and lawyers around Springfield to create a local Foreclosure Task Force that may involve the SLC project. Meanwhile, the newly formed NLG chapter in Rhode Island has been coordinating with community organizations to assess needs for clinics in Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts.

Northeastern and New England law schools continue to be active in SLC this year, with many 1L’s exhibiting leadership in starting new projects. Trainings have been held at NESL, Northeastern, BU, and even at members’ offices; more are planned at Harvard, Roger Williams, and Suffolk. Stop and Search clinics seem to be the hot topic this year with clinics held, scheduled or in the works at Cambridge Cares about Aids, Cambridge Children’s and Family Services, Youth on Fire, Bridge over Troubled Waters, Brockton Youth Build and New Bedford Youth Build. Tenants’ Rights, Immigration Law, and Workers’ Rights clinics have also all been held or are planned. In order to strengthen leadership there may even be a multi-school training/party in the spring!

Thanks to all the attorneys and students who have volunteered their time for making this fall a success for the Street Law Clinic.

Daniel Werner is the Street Law Clinic project coordinator and a 2nd year student at New England School of Law.

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LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE
By Sara DeConde

he Lawyer Referral Service (LRS), a sustaining project of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, places referrals to low and moderate-income residents in need of affordable legal services by our panel of over 70 Guild attorneys—the largest panel to date. A common thread exists among LRS attorneys: a commitment to those in need.

“National Lawyers Guild clients have the goal of gaining access to justice in our legal system,” summarized Attorney Brian McLaughlin, a first-year attorney and first-year member of the NLG and LRS whose first clients—a single mother and a disabled person—were referred by the LRS. “I feel fortunate that I was able to provide them service that they would not otherwise be able to attain anywhere else except as a result of the National Lawyers Guild.”

Similarly, after over two decades in the NLG and 15 years involvement with the LRS, LRS Trustee Chair Attorney Neil Burns, said his driving interest in this project remains in his ability to help lower-income people. He highlighted a personal injury case where a city-hired construction company’s method of street paving harmed his client with a history of respiratory problems.

As of October 2010, the LRS has placed 3,133 referrals to community members in search of legal representation and directed another 500 or so callers looking for free services or advice to outside resources.

As with years past, the majority of cases involve family law issues, civil litigation, and tenants’ rights, and are referred by the Greater Boston Legal Services, Massachusetts Bar Association, and other social service organizations—often because callers make too little to afford an attorney yet too much to qualify for free or reduced rate services elsewhere.

It is no wonder then that McLaughlin concludes NLG clients are “so incredibly thankful for all that we do as NLG Attorneys.” For more information or to join the NLG Lawyer Referral Service, visit www.nlgmass.org/lawyer-referral-service.

Sara DeConde is the Coordinator of the NLG Lawyer Referral Service.