Helping Hoosiers through the economic crisis

Transcription

The Indiana
Pro Bono
Commission
Bridging the Gap
to Justice
Helping
Hoosiers
through the
economic
crisis
A promotional supplement
to Indiana Lawyer
Back home again in Indiana
By Hon. Melissa May, Chair
Indiana Pro Bono Commission
This has been a
busy year for the
Indiana Pro Bono
Commission. In
addition to the
Commission’s
normal duties, our
Chief Justice of
Indiana, Randall T.
Shepard, tasked the May
Indiana Pro Bono
Commission with
helping train more lawyers than any
other state to help homeowners facing
the loss of their homes.
We determined that the best way to
train lawyers would be to create a video,
which would then be replayed throughout the state. To that end, the Indiana
Continuing Legal Education Forum
generously agreed to tape that video, at
no cost to the Pro Bono Commission.
Professor Judith Fox from University
of Notre Dame Law School agreed to
chair the foreclosure panel of experts.
Additional panelists were Professor Alan
White from Valparaiso University School
of Law, Marcy Wenzler from Indiana
Legal Services, Chris Purnell from the
Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic,
Christine Jackson, a practitioner from
Indianapolis, and Gabrielle Owens from
the Indiana Attorney General’s office.
These experts put together a threehour seminar, with numerous written
materials, which was then replayed
over forty different times throughout
the state. The administrators of the pro
bono districts were invaluable in their
assistance by setting up and running
these replays.
With the help of Monica Fennell, our
Executive Director, our plan administrators, ICLEF, our panelists and more
people than I can mention, including
Attorney General Greg Zoeller, more
than 1,000 lawyers, judges and mediators
were trained to assist Indiana homeowners facing foreclosure. I wish to express
my appreciation for all of the time and
hard work all of these people put toward
assisting the homeowners of Indiana.
In addition to this huge effort, each
of the districts have assisted more people
than ever before with their legal needs.
More lawyers than before have given
their time and effort with the tough situations faced by Indiana residents during
this economic downturn.
The Commission and the districts
Plan administrator Timi Sloat receiving
recognition at Shepard Dinner from Judge
Melissa May for the pro bono districts’
work on foreclosure prevention
have also faced the difficulty of decreasing interest rates, reducing the amount
of funding available to the districts. The
districts should be congratulated for the
effort they put forth this year in not only
running their programs successfully, but
also in understanding the restrictions
faced because of reduced funding. The
Pro Bono Commission is facing a tough
year with decreased income and rising
legal needs. I feel confident our members
and districts are up for the challenge.■
Indiana Pro Bono Commission Members
Hon. Melissa May, Chair
Indiana Court of
Appeals, 4th District
Indianapolis
Mary Fondrisi
Smith, Carpenter, Thompson,
Fondrisi & Cummins, LLC
Jeffersonville
Hon. David Avery
Allen Superior Court
Fort Wayne
David Friedrich
Wilkinson, Goeller, Modesitt,
Wilkinson, & Drummy, LLP
Terre Haute
Alan Burke
Burke & Heller
Rochester
Thomas Davis
Frost Brown Todd LLC
Indianapolis
James Dimos
Frost Brown Todd LLC
Indianapolis
2
Sue Ann Hartig
Legal Aid Society of
Evansville, Inc.
Evansville
Sarah Holterhoff
Valparaiso University
School of Law
Valparaiso
Dr. Michael Jenuwine
Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic
South Bend
Carl R. Pebworth
Baker & Daniels, LLP
Indianapolis
Kimberly Kass
Valparaiso University
School of Law
Valparaiso
Stephen Rodriguez
Indiana Legal Services
Merrillville
Jonna Kane MacDougall
Indiana University School of
Law—Indianapolis
Novella Nedeff
Indiana University School of
Law—Indianapolis
Catherine Nestrick
Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald
and Hahn
Evansville
Edward Stachowicz
Indiana Legal Services
Lafayette
Hon. Elizabeth Tavitas
Lake Superior Court
Gary
Carwina Weng
Indiana University Maurer School
of Law
Bloomington
■
March 17, 2010
The plan to help homeowners in need
By Elizabeth Daulton, Project Manager,
Mortgage Foreclosure Trial Court Assistance
Project for the Division of State Court
Administration
Indiana’s mortgage foreclosure rates
are among the highest in the country,
largely due to the decline of the automotive and manufacturing industries. In
2008, the state saw 45,934 foreclosures
– a more than 50 percent increase since
2003. Foreclosure leads to higher personal bankruptcy rates and depreciates
the surrounding neighborhoods, resulting in economic losses for more than just
the homeowner. Foreclosure negatively
affects creditors, as well. Houses which
have been abandoned for an extended
period of time are rarely able to recoup
the amount owed to the lender.
In January 2009, Chief Justice
Randall T. Shepard addressed the
foreclosure crisis, vowing to train more
judges, mediators and lawyers than any
other state on how to deal with foreclosure cases. The “Back Home In Indiana
– Guiding Homeowners Through
Foreclosure” training program began in
March with sessions all across the state.
Sponsored by the Supreme Court, the
Indiana Commission for Continuing
Legal Education and the Pro Bono
Commission, the program also had the
support of the State Bar and the Indiana
Continuing Legal Education Forum. All
14 District Plan Administrators worked
to encourage local attorneys to serve
their community by taking part in the
effort to stem foreclosures.
By September 2009, Chief Justice
Randall T. Shepard, Court of Appeals
Judge Melissa May, Attorney General
Greg Zoeller and State Senator Karen
Tallian travelled to one of the final
training sessions in Evansville organized by District 13 Plan Administrator
Beverly Corn. Pro Bono Commission
Chair Judge Melissa May explained,
“The interest shown by our panel of
experts and from attorneys and mediators across the state has been heartwarming. It shows the willingness of Indiana
attorneys to help their fellow Hoosiers
who are facing the loss of their homes.”
■
Chief Justice Randall Shepard speaking about foreclosure prevention initiatives with Attorney
General Greg Zoeller, Judge Melissa May, and State Senator Karen Tallian in Evansville
The announcement that more than
1,000 attorneys, judges, and mediators
were trained through the program made
headlines across the state. However,
the Supreme Court and the Pro Bono
Commission made it clear there was
more work to be done.
New state legislation requires a
creditor to notify a homeowner facing
foreclosure of the homeowner’s right to
participate in a settlement conference.
Senate Enrolled Act 492, authored by
Senator Tallian, levies a $50 filing fee
on all mortgage foreclosure cases and
requires that the homeowner be notified
of his or her right to request a settlement
conference with the lender. A portion
of this filing fee will be remitted to
the Indiana Supreme Court to conduct training and hire coordinators to
organize and assist with these settlement
conferences.
Very few homeowners have taken
advantage of the settlement conference
provision. Many individuals who have
already received foreclosure documents
simply don’t open or read any mail they
receive from the lender. Others don’t
know precisely what a settlement conference entails or believe that they need
to hire an attorney and are unable to
afford one. Nearly half of the 400 letters
sent to homeowners facing foreclosure
March 17, 2010
in Fort Wayne “bounced back” because
the homes had already been abandoned.
“A settlement conference can be daunting for borrowers during the foreclosure
process, especially to face alone,” said
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller.
The Indiana Housing and
Community Development Authority
(IHCDA) reports many of the requested
settlement conferences were unsuccessful because one or both parties were not
prepared. Homeowners failed to bring
the necessary documents, or had not
prepared a budget and were unaware of
the maximum monthly amount they
were able to pay. Lenders sent entry-level
employees who had no real authority
to agree to any mortgage changes. A
clear need existed for more organization between the parties–there was no
standard process coordinating the local
pro bono districts, courts, lenders, and
homeowners.
After discussing the situation with a
number of trial judges, the Division of
State Court Administration (STAD) has
partnered with the Indiana Housing and
Community Development Authority
to create a system for coordinating all
settlement conferences on a county or
district-wide basis.
This program was launched on a pilot
HOMEOWNERS • page 23
3
Legal needs of the poor study
helps increase access to justice
By Monica Fennell, Executive Director,
Steve Petteway/Collection of the
Supreme Court of the United States
As noted by
many of the
articles in this
insert to the
Indiana Lawyer,
the downturn in
the economy has
meant that there
are more lowincome Hoosiers
Fennell
who need pro bono
assistance. The
recent Indiana study of the legal needs of
the poor, “Unequal Access to Justice: A
Comprehensive Study of the Civil Legal
Needs of the Poor in Indiana,” released
in fall 2009, helps document that need.
Quantifying and classifying legal needs
can be crucial to obtaining and allocating
resources and training for pro bono and
legal aid staff and volunteers.
In 2007 and 2008 the study sponsors-the Indiana Bar Foundation, Indiana
Legal Services, and the Indiana State
Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee-conducted focus groups, prioritysetting meetings, and a Conclave on the
Delivery of Pro Bono Services in Indiana.
The study relied on results of a telephone
survey of low-income Hoosiers and questionnaires from attorneys, judges, clerks
of court, pro bono plan administrators,
legal service providers, employees of
social service and government agencies
serving the poor, and Indiana Legal
Services employees, clients, potential
clients, and Board members.
Legal needs studies in other states have
found that low-income households have,
on average, anywhere from 1 to 3.5 legal
needs. The Indiana study, as with other
studies, found that the greatest needs
were in the area of consumer finance,
family law, housing, public entitlements,
and health. On average, 62% of those
who sought legal representation from the
pro bono districts were unable to obtain
it, and 75% of those who applied for
assistance from Indiana Legal Services
were unable to obtain it. Many of these
legal needs continue to go unmet, despite
herculean efforts by legal aid providers,
private attorneys working pro bono, and
government agencies.
Identifying the barriers to accessing
legal assistance for low-income Hoosiers
can be the first step in overcoming those
barriers. As the Hawaii study urged,
the legal system “is seen as inaccessible,
distant, incomprehensible and at times,
punitive … People … deserve to have
a justice system that they can believe in
and in order to create such a system, it is
key to identify the barriers that prevent
access to justice.” The Indiana study
found barriers such as lack of transportation, lack of telephones, immigration
status, and limited English proficiency.
Even if low-income Hoosiers do know
that free legal assistance is available to
them, there is also an insufficient number
of attorneys serving the low-income
population, another barrier found in the
study. Along with the dearth of pro bono
and legal aid attorneys come long waits
for legal assistance, which can also be
discouraging.
The legal needs studies have shown
that the perception of the court and the
justice system is affected by whether the
litigant has legal assistance. Satisfaction
with the legal system and the outcome
of the case is much higher for those lowincome households who obtained legal
assistance than for those who did not.
The Indiana legal needs study goes
beyond mere statistics and suggests new
directions and programs for increasing access to justice, as do many other
state studies. The Indiana study recommended, among other things, the creation of an access to justice commission
to “function as an umbrella organization,
uniting and coordinating the efforts of
the various entities working to address
the legal needs of the poor.”
The full Indiana legal needs study can
be found on the sponsor websites, www.
indianajustice.org, www.inbf.org and
www.inbar.org, as well as the Indiana Pro
Bono Commission website, www.in.gov/
judiciary/probono.■
District 4 sponsors “Know Your Rights Week” at Purdue
By Timothy Peterson,
District 4 Plan Administrator
During the week of April 12th the
District 4 Pro Bono Corporation
and the Purdue Student Government
Supreme Court co-sponsored a
“Know Your Rights Week” at Purdue
University in West Lafayette.
During the week Purdue students
heard lectures by Sue Anne Hook
from the Indiana University School
of Informatics regarding intellectual
4
property and the internet and from
local attorneys Hunter Reece and James
Gothard discussing criminal law and
procedure and landlord-tenant rights.
On April 14th the Indiana Court
of Appeals held an oral argument in
the Fowler Auditorium regarding the
case of State ex rel. Mansfield, which
involved an appeal of a recount of
the 2007 Muncie Mayor’s race in
Delaware County. The panel hearing the appeal included Judge Melissa
May, Judge Margaret Robb and Judge
Cale Bradford. After the oral argument,
former Attorney General Steve Carter
joined Judge Melissa May in answering
student questions regarding the legal
and legislative processes and paths to
legal careers.
The week’s activities culminated
in a Talk to a Lawyer Day event in
the Purdue University Career Center.
Students and faculty were given
opportunities to discuss legal problems
and answers with local bar members
recruited by District 4.■
■
March 17, 2010
Ten years of IOLTA in Indiana
By Charles Dunlap, Executive Director,
Indiana Bar Foundation
Indiana’s Interest
on Lawyers Trust
Account (IOLTA)
program has been
operating in Indiana
for 10 years, and
during that time it
has had a significant impact on our
collective ability to
Dunlap
help low-income
Hoosiers deal with
their civil legal needs. During these ten
years of operation, the IOLTA program
has also experienced several challenges.
As is customary with significant milestones like this 10-year anniversary, it
is a good time to reflect on the achievements and challenges over the first 10
years. There are three overall themes that
I believe deserve some attention in this
time of reflection about the first 10 years
of IOLTA in Indiana.
Of course the entire reason that
IOLTA programs exist in the United
States is to help provide funding for civil
legal aid programs in the various states.
When you look at the total amount
of revenue generated in Indiana in the
first ten years of our IOLTA program,
it shows what an important piece of
the overall funding for civil legal aid
programs in Indiana IOLTA has become.
With an average of $1.25 million a year
being generated, IOLTA funds account
for one of the largest annual sources
of funding for Indiana civil legal aid
programs.
In the span of 10 years, the IOLTA
program has been the main funding
vehicle behind the Indiana Supreme
Court’s statewide pro bono program and
has allowed Indiana to become a national
leader in how it coordinates, promotes
and facilitates pro bono delivery of civil
legal services. By structuring the pro
bono delivery system as a grassroots
locally-driven program, the structure
allows local communities to determine
the best way to address the pro bono civil
legal needs in their community. In addition, by joining this statewide pro bono
network with funding from the IOLTA
program, it does not encroach on other
civil legal aid providers funding sources.
When the IOLTA program began in
Indiana in 1999, the interest rates on
IOLTA accounts were approximately
1.3% but dropped to .30% by 2003.
Unfortunately for the Indiana program, when the interest rates dropped
so severely and so quickly it was near
the beginning of the program’s operation. Indiana had just started to use the
IOLTA revenue to begin building up the
IOLTA • page 16
LRAP fund helps those who help others
By Julie Newhouse, President,
Indiana Bar Foundation
The Indiana Bar Foundation considers itself to be an important partner in
the effort to help bridge the gap in access
to justice that too many Hoosiers face.
An exciting initiative that the IBF has
recently announced to help with this critically important mission is the IBF’s newly
renamed Justice Richard M. Givan Loan
Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP).
This program impacts the ability of
civil legal aid providers to do important
work around the state by increasing the
number of attorneys that work in this
area and continuing the ability of these
attorneys to keep working in these critical positions. It is a program which the
IBF has sponsored for approximately
four years but which had to be suspended
in 2009 due to lack of funding, primarily due to the low IOLTA revenues in
an historically low interest environment.
Fortunately, with the help of the Indiana
Supreme Court’s initial contribution of
■
$25,000, the program has been reinstated for the 2010 calendar year.
The Indiana Supreme Court also
agreed to match up to $175,000 in
donations towards an endowment fund
for the LRAP program. The Court will
match the money that the Indiana Bar
Foundation raises on a dollar for dollar
basis over a two-year period of time.
Once fully realized, this will provide a
$350,000 principal fund to help stabilize
the program against future interest rate
fluctuations in the IOLTA program.
Lastly, in congruence with the
announcement of financial support from
the Indiana Supreme Court for the IBF’s
LRAP program, the IBF also announced
that the fund has been renamed in honor
of late Indiana Chief Justice Richard
M. Givan. Justice Givan passed away in
June 2009. He was known for a lifetime
of public service, including 26 years as
a jurist on the Indiana Supreme Court,
serving 13 of those years as Chief Justice.
Justice Givan’s former law clerks were
instrumental in renaming the fund
March 17, 2010
the Justice Richard M. Givan Loan
Repayment Assistance Program and have
already made significant initial contributions towards the matching funds
provided by the Supreme Court.
I urge you to support this extremely
important program by making a financial
contribution. It is a great opportunity
to double your gift through the matching contribution commitment from the
Indiana Supreme Court. With the cost
of higher education, and specifically law
school, increasing significantly each year,
new lawyers face the daunting task of
repaying thousands of dollars, sometimes
hundreds of thousands of dollars, of student loans on a starting salary of $40,000.
Due to this financial reality, civil legal
aid organizations around the state are
at a severe disadvantage in hiring and
retaining lawyers. This program is a very
effective tool to get to the heart of this
problem by enabling lawyers to follow
their passions and work for a civil legal
aid organization and stay there as well.
LRAP • page 22
5
National pro bono celebration
By Cheryl Zalenski, Director,
ABA Center for Pro Bono
The first annual National Pro Bono
Celebration occurred October 25 through
31, 2009. It was sponsored by the ABA
Standing Committee on Proo
Bono and Public Service with
th
the objective of showcasing the impact that pro
bono lawyers have upon
our nation, its system of
justice, its communities
and, most of all, the lives
of the clients they serve.
Additionally, the Celebration
n
presented an opportunity to
recognize, recruit and engage more
attorneys in pro bono work.
The vision of the Standing Committee
on Pro Bono and Public Service was of
locally organized events spanning the
country during the last week of October,
with a nationwide website providing
resources and a venue for publicizing events. This vision was more than
realized in the months leading up to and
during the Celebration itself, demonstrating the importance of pro bono in the
legal services system as well as that of each
individual who participates in pro bono.
The participation and excitement
generated by the Celebration
generat
exceeded expectations. The
exc
publicity generated for pro
p
bono lawyers, organizations and legal need was
extensive: more than
1,000 articles in newspapers, magazine and online
publications; over 600
mentions on Twitter, and
m
over 70 posts on Facebook. Bar
associations, pro bono programs,
law schools and others held more than
600 events in 48 states, Puerto Rico, the
District of Columbia and Canada.
Celebration activities covered a wide
range of activities, limited only by the
imaginations and creativity of the planners. The Standing Committee on Pro
Bono and Public Service collected the
following statistics summarizing the types
of events held:
Continuing Legal Education
Programs .........................................111
Fundraisers ............................................13
Governmental Proclamations .................15
Legal Clinics ........................................130
Media Events .........................................18
New Initiative Kick-offs ............................. 7
Planning Sessions.................................... 5
Recognition Events ................................55
Recruitment Events ................................59
Social Events
(no recognition component)...............42
Seminars ...............................................63
Webinars ................................................. 6
Many communities displayed great
originality in planning events. For
example, Alabama Supreme Court Chief
Justice Sue Bell Cobb raffled herself off
for justice. In a letter of welcome to
the bar’s new admittees, Justice Cobb
encouraged pro bono participation and
as an added incentive to sign up with the
Volunteer Lawyers Program, agreed to
ABA • page 21
100 percent increase in clients served in District 2
By Timi S. Sloat,
District 2 has made tremendous strides
in expanding services to the poor within
the community. In 2009 the Volunteer
Lawyer Network (District 2) increased
the number of assisted clients by over
100%. More than 200 individuals were
assisted through four separate Ask a
Lawyer programs held throughout St.
Joseph and Elkhart Counties.
In April 2009 District 2 hired a new
Plan Administrator, Timi S. Sloat, an
attorney that hails from Elkhart County.
In June District 2 partnered with Elkhart
Legal Aid Services to further expand pro
bono legal services in Elkhart County.
This collaboration has resulted in a significant increase in attorney participation
and client assistance in Elkhart County.
District 2 has also started working
more closely with Indiana Legal Services
6
in South Bend to provide pro bono
placement for those cases that they are
unable to place with their staff attorneys.
Additionally, in October 2009 District
2 relocated its offices to a more central
location in downtown South Bend. As
a result of this move, the program has
become a prominent fixture in the central legal district of South Bend.
In cooperation with ICLEF and the
Indiana Pro Bono Commission, District
2 hosted three separate trainings for
attorneys on “Guiding Homeowners
through Foreclosure.” With the assistance of Professor Judith Fox, Notre
Dame School of Law, and Joseph
Zelienski, Indiana Legal Services, District
2 provided interactive and informative
trainings on the foreclosure process to 50
attorneys, civil mediators, and housing
counselors.
During the American Bar Association’s
national Celebrate Pro Bono week
District 2 distributed 40 “Celebrate Pro
Bono October” mugs filled with coffee,
tea and chocolate to the outstanding pro
bono attorneys throughout the district.
These mugs were distributed at our
Ask A Lawyer events in St. Joseph and
Elkhart Counties and hand-delivered to
the offices of other stand-out pro bono
attorneys.
An attorney recognition event was
hosted by District 2 at Fiddler’s Hearth
Pub on December 17th in downtown
South Bend. This was the first-ever evening recognition event hosted by District
2. South Bend attorney Aladean DeRose
was honored with the Professor Thomas
L. Shaffer Award of Exceptional Service
Pro Bono Publico. Judge Jenny PittsManier, pro bono district judicial appointee, presented the award to DeRose for
her commitment to providing pro bono
legal services. District 2 also recognized
DISTRICT 2 • page 21
■
March 17, 2010
Pro bono opportunities abound for
those who want them in District 1
Anyone looking for an opportunity
to provide pro bono legal services in
District One has a variety of opportunities and a new program. When District
One by-laws were revised and updated
to conform with changes in the federal Form 990 rules, the title of the
Indiana First Judicial District Pro Bono
Committee, Inc. was officially shortened
to NWI Volunteer Lawyers, Inc.
2009 saw the addition of mortgage
foreclosure defense and mediation to
the pro bono menu, which also features
a formal guardian ad litem program, an
adult guardianship program, a courtbased pro se family law clinic, and an
annual Talk to a Lawyer Today event on
the Martin Luther King holiday.
Volunteers tackle a variety of legal
issues including family law, predatory
lending, trademark/copyright, quiet
title, adoption, bankruptcy, housing and
employment.
Sixty-two attorneys, including one
bankruptcy trustee and a Superior Court
trial judge, attended the Supreme-Courtsponsored foreclosure training in July.
Seventeen attorneys also attended the
special training for mediators. When
asked if they were willing to provide pro
bono services to foreclosure litigants, not
one of the participants in either part of
the day declined.
On the evening of the same day, dozens of pro bono attorneys and their children enjoyed a buffet dinner and a Gary
SouthShore Railcats minor league baseball game at the First District’s annual
awards night. Indiana Court of Appeals
Judge Melissa May, who also chairs the
Indiana Pro Bono Commission, did the
honors not only at the dinner but also
tossed out the ceremonial first pitch.
Joanne Baitup Kagler, a bankruptcy
attorney who had taken 13 cases and
donated over 100 hours of her time in
two years, received the 2009 Richard P.
Komyatte “Access to Justice Award.” The
■
Photo by Patrick Galvin
By Judith Stanton,
Judge Melissa May throws out first pitch at RailCats game
Lake County Bar Association Bankruptcy
Section, chaired by Attorney Gordon
Gouveia, was honored for having represented 246 clients since the First District
program began in 2001. All in all, during
the prior year 234 attorneys from Lake,
Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton, Pulaski
and Starke Counties contributed almost
1900 hours of pro bono services valued
at over $283,000.00.
Value to the clients…..immeasurable!!!
We profoundly thank all of them.
In October NWI volunteer lawyers
were honored at a judicial reception
hosted by the Chief Judge John Pera,
Lake Superior Court, as part of the first
annual national Celebration of Pro Bono
sponsored by the ABA, the NLADA, and
hundreds of state and local benches, bars,
and volunteer attorney projects.
Family law practice in at least one
NWI county has also made strong moves
towards a more collaborative, cooperative
process with the implementation of new
local rules in Lake County.
The pro bono office is hoping that
once the new procedures take hold and,
hopefully, family law issues begin to be
March 17, 2010
resolved in a less contentious manner,
focused on the well-being of children
and protecting them from bitter interparental conflicts, more attorneys will
consider taking a family law case pro
bono. On the other hand, maybe if more
practitioners who don’t currently practice
in family law would join in and follow
the more cooperative approach from
the outset, who knows what a new legal
world might ensue.
Unfortunately, as is true in other areas
of the state, the seven counties of NW
Indiana are drowning in foreclosures.
Defendants still need representation for the newly mandated settlement
conferences. Demand for other legal and
social services escalated as the economy
tanked. The legal needs of the poor
study recently completed as a collaborative project of the Indiana State Bar
Association’s Pro Bono Committee, the
Indiana Bar Foundation, and Indiana
Legal Services, points to consumer and
housing issues as bubbling more and
more to the top … and still we don’t
fulfill the promise of “equal access” to
our legal system.■
7
Celebrating high pro bono participation
rate in southeast Indiana
By Frank J. Cardis,
On October 30, 2009, attorneys
in southeast Indiana convened at the
Belterra Casino Resort & Spa for the
Legal Volunteers attorney recognition dinner. This date was selected to
coincide with the inaugural National Pro
Bono Celebration. Several members of
the judiciary joined approximately 50
attorneys and their guests in recognizing the honorees. Notably Senior Judge
G. Michael Witte was recognized with
Judge Alison Frazier, Judicial Chair of
District 12, Judge G. Michael Witte, Pro
Bono Leadership Award recipient, and
Frank Cardis, Plan Administrator at
October awards dinner at Belterra.
the Pro Bono Leadership Award for his
leadership of the District 12 Pro Bono
Program as judicial appointee.
Thomas Blondell of Lawrenceburg
was the first recipient of the Jack L.
Kellerman Pro Bono Service Award,
which acknowledges the attorney volunteering the highest number of pro bono
hours. Blondell contributed in excess
of 300 hours of service. Kristen Weiler
of Batesville received the Distinguished
Pro Bono Service Award, offering nearly
300 hours of service herself. Attorneys
Joe Colussi of Madison, Barbara Wyly
of Bright, and Barbara Simmons of
Oldenburg received the Excellence in
Pro Bono Service Award for volunteering more than 100 hours of pro bono
service. Seven attorneys were recognized
for contributing 50 or more hours of
service, including Heidi Kendall-Sage of
Madison, Matthew Zerbe, Frank Cardis,
Martin DeJulia, Douglas Garner,
Douglas Holland, and Michael Sarapata,
all of Lawrenceburg. Mary Jean Stotts
and Jennifer Joas, partners
in the Madison firm Joas & Stotts,
were recognized with the outstanding
firm award.
Fifty-three attorneys across the district
Frank Cardis, Plan Administrator;
Thomas Blondell, Jack L. Kellerman Pro
Bono Service Award recipient; and Judge
Alison Frazier, Judicial Chair of District
12 at October awards dinner at Belterra.
accepted referrals from the program.
That group represents more than 40%
of all attorneys registered across the
five-county area. Removing judges,
prosecutors and full-time government
attorneys, more than 60% of eligible
attorneys accepted referrals. The banquet
provided more than an opportunity
to honor volunteers and socialize with
other members of the bar; it also served
as a demonstration of the commitment of Southeast Indiana attorneys to
provide legal services to the economically
disadvantaged and underserved.■
Volunteer Lawyer Program helps
distressed New Albany and District 14
By Amy W. Roth,
For most of us in the not-for-profit
world, especially those who work with
a lower-income population, the current
situation of our national economy has
caused some major problems. Job cuts
mean that more people than ever qualify
for pro bono legal assistance, and the
stress of less money (and all the satellite issues that causes) has increased the
incidence of domestic violence. Our pro
8
bono caseload is heavy with abuse cases.
Moreover, District 14 is a “border” district, with its two most populous counties right on the Ohio River across from
Louisville, Kentucky, linked by bridges
across the river. Public housing shortages in Louisville have resulted in a heavy
migration of families from Kentucky to
Indiana. All this is to say that this office
has been increasingly swamped with pleas
for help. At the same time, of course,
the economy has also affected attorneys.
Although our faithful pro bono roster of
lawyers has been willing to continue to
take cases, few new recruits are stepping
up to help.
How to cope? For starters, we try to
take the long view and stay optimistic—
we keep on doing what we are called to
do, keeping eyes open for possibilities
to be innovative without being reckless,
to evaluate our clients carefully so that
attorneys can work efficiently to help
solve their problems, and to realize that
we cannot save the world. We have to
■
March 17, 2010
Medicaid client delivers insight for District 6
By Christianne Brock,
Gordon Stafford, Community-AtLarge representative for District 6 Access
to Justice, contributes a unique perspective and a personal touch to District 6.
While most pro bono volunteers have
law degrees or legal experience, Stafford
provides District 6 with insight from the
client’s point of view.
Stafford grew up on his family’s farm.
One morning, he woke up planning
to start the day’s work as usual, but he
found he couldn’t get his foot into his
work boot. That afternoon, doctors had
to amputate his leg due to complications with diabetes. After the surgery,
Stafford started the process to receive
Medicaid support. He couldn’t afford to
hire a lawyer at the time, so he worked
pro se--he represented himself in his
case. Despite his best efforts, he was
denied help.
When Angie Dorsey, formerly with
Indiana Legal Services in Anderson,
met Stafford, Stafford had already
represented himself in his original
hearing to obtain Medicaid support.
“Typically, I didn’t represent clients on
appeal pro bono,” said Dorsey. “But
Gordon impressed me. He convinced
me to look at his documents and his
record. He presented a great case.
He had taken his case as far as he could,
and it would be very difficult to qualify
for Medicaid without legal representation. I took his case on appeal, and
we won.”
“Gordon is someone I’ve always
admired,” said Dorsey. “He went from
what he thought would be a normal
work day to a life-altering medical
situation. Yet he remains positive. He
was a great advocate for himself, and
now he is a great advocate for others
who experience similar hardship,” said
Dorsey. She recommended Stafford
for participation in pro bono advocacy
when District 6 Access to Justice, Inc.,
got started in 2000.
“The Board very much appreciates
Gordon’s active participation in pro
bono in District 6. His perspective and
input as someone who has been through
all aspects of the process as a client
are invaluable,” said Hon. Marianne
Vorhees, District 6 judicial appointee.
“I was one of the original board members,” said Stafford. “I’ve been involved
for about nine years. I try to help people
out and let lawyers know what’s going
on. I give my perspective to the lawyers.
People tell me about their struggles and
their need for legal assistance. My goal
is to have the legal help there for them
when they need it.”
For the most part, Stafford said he
has been very pleased with the efforts of
District 6. However, true to Stafford’s
tenacity, he constantly strives to improve
the program. “I would like to see more
participation in some of the smaller,
rural counties. There’s a lot of need in
those areas. People I talk to have real
issues. They’ve felt like they’ve had
the short end, but they can’t afford a
lawyer to resolve the situation. This is a
program that would help. We just need
to get the word out, and let them know
what’s available.”■
Pro bono attorneys help in healthcare crises
By Timothy Peterson,
It is not often recognized and appreciated that attorneys perform life-saving
work. During 2009 District 4, however,
has assisted in organizing local attorneys
to assist clients in maneuvering through
the legal system in a variety of lifesaving health care matters.
The Indiana District 4 Pro Bono
Corporation worked with other local
stakeholders-- including Family
Services, the Lafayette office of Indiana
Legal Services, Legal Aid Corporation
of Tippecanoe County, Wabash Center
and Wabash Valley Hospital--in forming the Tippecanoe Adult Guardianship
Services (TAGS) program. The TAGS
program originated as part of the
statewide Indiana Adult Guardianship
Services Project directed by Rebecca
■
Pryor of the Indiana ARC and funded
by the Indiana FSSA Division of
Disability and Rehabilitative Services.
TAGS was organized to establish guardianships for indigent and developmentally disabled adults who need assistance
in managing their healthcare and other
personal matters.
The Indiana District 4 Pro Bono
Corporation assisted in meeting with
other stakeholders in establishing the
TAGS program strategic plan and
in recruiting local attorneys to assist
in filing guardianships for the wards
accepted into the program. District 4
also organized a CLE program to familiarize local attorneys with the creation
and organization of the TAGS program
and with the local probate procedures
involved in forming adult guardianships in Tippecanoe County. The
TAGS program has already succeeded
March 17, 2010
in establishing temporary guardianships
for a variety of indigent adults who
would not have had anyone to manage
their healthcare decisions without the
assistance of the TAGS guardians and
pro bono attorneys.
Indiana District 4 has also assisted
in finding pro bono attorneys to draft
special needs trusts for a variety of
critical health situations. In one case in
particular, Renee Congdon, an associate
at the Lafayette law firm of Stuart &
Branigan, LLP, assisted in establishing a
trust for a pro bono client who needed a
kidney transplant. Similar special needs
trusts have been drafted for a variety of
older adults in need of services by pro
bono attorneys recruited by District 4
over the last few years—showing
that pro bono work frequently can
make a life and death difference for
needy adults. ■
9
Chris Jackson: reading the fine print
By Dan Grossman,
Indiana Pro Bono Commission intern
Be honest: When was the last time
you read your bank statement from start
to finish? How about your mortgage
paperwork? Your credit card statement?
If you are anything like the vast majority
of consumers, investors and government
officials, the answer is, “Never.”
“Nobody reads,” said Chris Jackson, a
private practitioner in Indianapolis. “No
one understands this [financial] stuff.”
Jackson has built a practice around
helping clients who received defective
mortgages.
Over the past few decades, the once
straightforward line that connected a
lender seeking a quality customer to a
borrower seeking a reasonable mortgage
has become a maze of competing players
and interests, opaque transactions and
byzantine financial instruments.
Banks have been a major contributor
to this situation. By packaging mortgages
into securities and dumping them on
investors, banks replaced the old ethic
of selecting quality customers with a
new ethic of amassing a large quantity of
customers. More loans equal more securities equal more revenue, so banks hired
brokers and gave them a mission: make
as many loans as possible, to whomever,
at whatever rate.
Meanwhile, the proliferation of financial babel—the documents, statements
and forms that are as time-consuming as
they are tedious—led to a nation unwilling or unable to comb the fine print
for ambiguities or mistakes. Borrowers
put their trust in the broker, the expert,
so when the lender seemed to offer a
30-year fixed loan that was actually a
ballooning adjustable rate mortgage, borrowers smiled and signed their way into
the illusion of secure homeownership.
The consequences have been dire. As
interest rates rose, homeowners started
to default, home prices plummeted,
refinancing became impossible, the
market for securities froze, and the whole
system collapsed like dominoes, leaving
thousands of homeowners in foreclosure,
confused, and in need of an attorney.
10
Attorney Work
After graduating from Indiana
University Law School,
Chris Jackson began her
career as a white collar criminal investigator in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Today, she works as a consumer law
attorney, and in recent months her
main focus has been representing homeowners in foreclosure.
Jackson helps disadvantaged clients
under a practice that she calls “defending
foreclosures for profit.” Jackson attacks
violations in the information provided
by the lender under two statutes that
contain fee shifting statutes, the Truth
and Lending Act and the Real Estate
Settlement and Procedures Act. The violations she encounters range from minor
bookkeeping infractions to predatory
fraud, but whatever the violation, a favorable verdict is win-win: Jackson gets paid
and the client gets his or her house back.
Jackson’s scope may appear narrow
(consumers who simply received bad
loans are not protected as long as the
lender properly disclosed) but the number of cases that do qualify is surprisingly
large. Financial institutions—the creators
of much of the financial babel—were
in many cases the victims of their own
complex schemes, making errors in the
paperwork and in the process violating
statutory law. “A lot of it has to with how
sloppy financial institutions got with
securitizing these loans,” said Jackson.
Ironically, what gives Jackson work—
financial institution’s sloppiness—is also
what makes her job tricky.
“All I need to do is get authenticated
and admissible records to get a summary
judgment,” said Jackson. Easier said than
done. Because of securitization, these
days most mortgages have passed through
multiple hands, so discovering who owns
the note requires Jackson to draw upon
her skills as a white-collar investigator and sort through the lender’s files.
Jackson has waited as long as 18 months
to obtain the relevant documents from
the lender. Successful consumer advocacy
requires not only legal expertise, but a
more understated virtue: patience.
Despite the various obstacles, Jackson
is shooting 100 percent: all of her cases
have ended with a favorable verdict or
an out of court settlement. “It’s rewarding; it’s hard to say no to some of these
people; it’s fun; and it’s challenging. And
I’m getting paid. What more could you
ask for?” said Jackson.
Training Sessions
Well, she does have one more occupational wish: some company. Every day
Jackson’s voicemail box overflows with
pleas for assistance from needy clients,
and as head of the National Association
JACKSON • page 21
■
March 17, 2010
Have legal needs? District 3 has an app for that
By Michele M. Wagner,
VASIA program director in District 3
It has been a year of progress and
changes for District 3 and the Volunteer
Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana
(VLP). The VLP fielded over 4,200
unique calls and had 9,636 hits on its
website. We placed 317 individuals
with attorneys for direct representation
and aided 227 additional individuals
with phone advice. The 2009 Talk To
A Lawyer Today event was also widely
attended. The VLP hosted the event at the
Allen County Public Library. Forty-five
volunteer attorneys aided 124 walk-in clients and fielded 43 calls at the VLP office.
District 3’s annual recognition
luncheon for 2009 had the highest
attendance to date. The VLP recognized
15 attorneys for 50 or more pro bono
hours. Attorney Stephen P. Griebel, a
partner with the firm of Van Gilder &
Trzynka, was recognized with the first
Outstanding Volunteer award for his
commitment to pro bono legal services
and his dedication and hard work on
behalf of the guardianship program.
Steve was also honored by the National
Association of Pro Bono Professionals
(NAPBPro) at the 2009 Equal Justice
Conference in Orlando. He earned the
national William Reese Smith award for
Special Services to pro bono.
We are proud of all the attorneys who
donate their time and talents, but this
year we are pleased that some received
statewide recognition. Dom Gosheff of
Baker & Daniels in Fort Wayne was recognized with a Pro Bono Publico award
by the Indiana Bar Foundation for his
work with the guardianship program.
The firm of Van Gilder & Trzynka
also received a Pro Bono Publico award
from the Indiana Bar Foundation for
its dedication to pro bono legal services.
Every member of this firm has participated in local pro bono projects. David
Van Gilder is the current VLP Board
president and is one of its founding
members. Other members of the firm
include Ann Trzynka, Stephen Griebel,
Dustin Roach, Michael Setlak and
Andrew Simmons.
The VLP welcomed several new staff
■
Andrew Simmon, Ann Trzynka, David Van Gilder, Michael Setlack and Steve Griebel of
the award-winning Van Gilder & Trzynka firm with Chief Justice Randall Shepard
members this year. Jennifer Miller joined
us in August 2009 as bookkeeper and
intake specialist. Jennifer’s compassion
makes her a perfect fit for the VLP. Terra
Ward joined the staff of the guardianship
program in January of 2009 as Volunteer
Coordinator. Terra has a passion for
helping people with disabilities. Terry
McCaffrey joined the staff in November
as the VLP’s new Executive Director.
Terry is a Fort Wayne native and a
graduate of Indiana University. He has
extensive experience in the non-profit
community and has worked in city government. Terry also teaches ESL in the
Fort Wayne Hispanic community and is
active in community theater. At the time
this article is being drafted he is starring
in the Arena Dinner Theater’s production of Last of the Red Hot Lovers. Terry’s
knowledge of the community will help
the VLP expand services to those in need.
Judy Whitelock remains at the VLP.
Currently, she is working with Terry
during the transition of responsibilities
and will be working on special projects
for the VLP.
The guardianship program, Volunteer
Advocates for Seniors and Incapacitated
Adults (VASIA), which began January
2008, has proved to be a much needed
service in Allen County. VASIA took its
first referral in June 2008 and in the first
March 17, 2010
Chief Justice Randall Shepard with
IBF pro bono award winner Dom Gosheff
at Shepard Dinner
18 months became guardian for over
50 individuals and received almost two
hundred referrals.
VASIA has trained 25 volunteers and
coordinated several community education programs regarding guardianships.
VASIA held the first Family Day in the
Allen County Superior Court. The Court
blocked off a morning last summer
and attorneys Nate Williams and Dom
Gosheff conducted five guardianship
hearings in one hour. VASIA prepared
all the Court documents and coordinated
the families. Magistrate Phillip E. Houk
was pleased with the outcome. Two more
days are scheduled for 2010; this time
11
Shepard Dinner celebrates a year of
statewide pro bono accomplishments
By Bill Brooks, freelance writer
When the Hon. Randall T. Shepard
took to the podium at the dinner meeting that bears his name, he reflected
upon the lawyers who had only minutes
before received the Indiana Pro Bono
Commission’s annual award.
“It’s saving families, the many stories
we’ve heard tonight,” said Indiana’s
Chief Justice. “This says marvelous
things to Indiana citizens about what’s in
the hearts and minds of Indiana lawyers.”
Chief Justice Shepard said that the
achievements are even more remarkable
because “it’s no secret at all that we’re
gathering on a day when the nation is in a
period of terrible stress.” He said that stress
affects all of society’s institutions “and
creates tremendous pressure on not-forprofits, the legal system and legal services.”
Those pressures, Chief Justice Shepard
said, “threaten the very network we’re
here to celebrate tonight.” He said that
law firms, both large and small, are
facing financial limitations “at the same
time fellow citizens need us [more] than
they did before.
“But the response by the legal community to this double whammy,” he added,
“is remarkable, and worth celebrating.”■
Award winner Michael Woody with IBF President Julie Newhouse at Shepard Dinner
Chief Justice Randall Shepard with Shepard Award winner
Don Leicht
12
Chief Justice Randall Shepard with Shepard Award winner
Ida Coleman Lamberti
■
March 17, 2010
“Red hot” year for Legal Aid—District 11
The year 2009 started off amazingly
well for District Eleven because January
19, 2009 marked the accomplishment of
a goal that Legal Aid set in 2006. Every
county in District Eleven hosted Talk To
A Lawyer Today sites.
This goal would not have been realized
without Peg Polanski in Decatur County
and Tom Lantz in Jackson County who
coordinated the inaugural events in their
counties. Thankfully, John Pushor of
Bartholomew county, Amy Huffman
Oliver of Brown county, and Chuck
Waggoner of Jennings county generously
volunteered to continue coordinating
the events in their respective counties.
Additionally, Legal Aid’s staff, namely
Shannon Carder, Pamela Cleary, Karina
Miller, Peggy Purcell, Detria Tate and
Sandy Wilson, volunteered their day off
to make Talk To A Lawyer Today 2009
a success. Throughout District Eleven,
on one day 36 attorneys donated 73.3
hours and assisted 25 people. In addition
to the attorneys mentioned above, the
following attorneys generously donated
their time: Scott Andrews, Cindy Boll,
Millie Corbin-Beverly, Timothy Coriden,
F. Jefferson Crump, William Dillon,
William Garber, Larry Greathouse, Jason
Guthrie, Frank I. Hamilton, Jr., Landyn
Harmon, Bradley A. Johnson, Brad Kage,
Mike McIver, Stephanie Mellenbruch,
Kathy Molewyk, Jason Pattison, Jerry
Prall, William H. Robbins, Chad
Robertson, Daniel Schuetz, Susan Sparks,
Tim Staggs, Dennis Stark, John Stroh,
Steve Taylor, Christopher M. Tebbe,
Travis Thompson, Grant Tucker, Christa
West, Alan Whitted, and Kurt Young.
In June 2009 Legal Aid hosted “Back
Home Again in Indiana- Guiding
Homeowners Through Foreclosure” in
conjunction with our annual appreciation
banquets in each of our counties.
Thirty-seven attorneys attended the
foreclosure training.
At the 2009 appreciation banquets, 72
attorneys were recognized for their contribution to pro bono service in 2008. Pro
bono referrals for 2008 outpaced 2007.
Thanks to the continued dedication
■
Photo by Joe Harpring, TheRepublic.com.
By Tammara Sparks,
Firefighters steady a hose near the main
entrance of the United Way building,
December 24, 2009. The Christmas
Eve fire raged through complex, which
housed three-dozen agencies, including Bartholomew county legal services.
of John Pushor, Legal Aid’s Pro Bono
Referral Coordinator, and to the
unmatched generosity and compassion of
the attorneys throughout District Eleven,
209 applicants were matched with pro
bono attorneys to assist them in resolving
their legal issues in 2008. The lawyers that
volunteer for Legal Aid--District Eleven
are to be commended for their dedication
to pro bono services for the citizens of
Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson,
and Jennings counties. Their services close
the divide between the haves and havenots. The representation that they provide
to Legal Aid’s applicants assures that
District Eleven is a fair and just district
where everyone is equal before the law.
Attorneys recognized for their pro
bono contributions in 2008 include
Scott Andrews, Gene Arnholt, Jeffrey
Beck, Brian Belding, Thomas Bigley Jr.,
Cynthia Boll, David Brinley, Robert
Brown, Jay Charon, Millie Corbin-
March 17, 2010
Beverly, Kathleen Coriden, Terrence
Coriden, Timothy Coriden, Jefferson
Crump, Timothy Day, William D.
Dillon, Rodney Farrow, William Garber,
Dominic Glover, Amanda Goecker,
Larry Greathouse, Jason Guthrie, Frank
Hamilton, Landyn Harmon, Eric Hayes,
James Holland, Amy Huffman Oliver,
Jeffrey Jackson, Brad Johnson, Bradley
Kage, Taffanee Keys, Michael Kummerer,
Thomas Lantz, Benjamin Loheide, Shari
Long, C. Richard Marshall, Michael
McIver, Stephanie Mellenbruch, Kathy
Molewyk, Heather Mollo, Thomas
Mote, David Nowak, David Paugh,
Stephen Pierson, Jerry Prall, William
Robbins, Joseph Robertson, John Roche,
Jeffrey Rocker, Cynthia Rose, Heidi
Sage, Daniel Schuetz, James Shoaf,
Susan Sparks, Dennis Stark, John Stroh,
Stephen Taylor, Christopher Tebbe,
Steven Teverbaugh, Joyce Thayer
Sword, Michael Thomasson, Travis
Thompson, J. Grant Tucker, Stephen
Voelker, James Voelz, Timothy Vrana,
Charles Waggoner, Karl Walker, Jeffrey
Washburn, Christa West, Alan Whitted,
and Kurt Young.
In December 2009 Legal Aid offered
two opportunities for volunteer lawyers to
get free continuing legal education credits
by offering the “Amazingly Interesting
CLE for Attorneys with a Heart.” The
planned finish for 2009 was the December
31st offering. However, the December
31st session was almost canceled when
Legal Aid’s offices burned in the fire at
the United Way Center on Christmas
Eve. And you thought I was kidding
when I said that the year ended red hot.
Thankfully, Chuck Dunlap, Executive
Director of the Indiana Bar Foundation,
saved the day and drove the DVDs down
to Columbus so that the program would
not have to be canceled. Needless to say,
2009 ended in chaos and 2010 started in
chaos but as I write this article, things are
beginning to calm down. Legal Aid-District Eleven, Inc. has been around for
over 25 years and it will take more than
a fire to destroy the passion for justice
that drives this organization, its Board
of Directors, its staff and the pro bono
volunteers. However, I am secretly hoping
that 2010 is not quite as eventful.■
13
District 10 Lawyers in the Library
By Kristine Kohlmeier,
District 10 Pro Bono Project volunteer
The District 10 Pro Bono Project
strengthened and expanded its services
in 2009, providing more access to the
legal system for low-income residents of
south-central Indiana. Initiatives include
the Lawyers in the Library project and a
bankruptcy clinic.
In February District 10 began Lawyers
in the Library at the Monroe County
Public Library. Students and volunteer attorneys see people on a drop-in
basis. People come with a variety of
legal issues, and the volunteers are best
prepared to discuss issues involving
guardianship and divorce. Although the
library has a set of code books and legal
encyclopedias, most people are unable
to use them effectively. Volunteers help
direct people through Indiana self-service websites and legal forms.
“Lawyers in the Library allows people
to immediately talk to someone without
an intake or interview. It helps people
who otherwise feel desperate know that
at least someone knows what’s going on,
and gives them an idea of what they can
do and what they should do,” said Elliot
Anderson, coordinator for Lawyers in
the Library.
Sarah Bowman, Adult and Teen
Programming Coordinator of the
Monroe County Public Library, noted
that Lawyers in the Library helps the
library provide increased access to information. The library has always provided
forms, but librarians are unable to offer
legal advice. For people who have low
literacy skills and are stressed, Lawyers in
the Library has helped greatly. “There’s
a real benefit for us not only to provide
forms, but to tell people that there are
people at the library at regular times who
can help.”
District 10 also started a bankruptcy
clinic project with the Indiana University
Maurer School of Law. Professor Dennis
Long of the law school recruited seven
teams of two students each to do seven
bankruptcies for District 10 pre-qualified
clients in Monroe County. District 10
HELP for the homeless in Bloomington
By Jacob Atz, Shalom HELP
Legal Clinic Coordinator
Access to free legal services has never
been greater in Bloomington thanks to
more than 100 lawyers and law students
who have volunteered at the Shalom
HELP Legal Clinic this past year. As an
alternative to full-representation services
available through Indiana Legal Services
and District 10 Pro Bono Project,
walk-in clients of the HELP (Homeless
Experience Legal Protection) clinic can
expect to sit down with an attorney that
same afternoon and receive legal advice
to help them handle their situation without a full-time lawyer.
The Shalom HELP Legal Clinic was
established in May 2008 and provides
legal assistance to the homeless and
low-income communities in and around
Bloomington. The HELP Clinic is an
intake service designed to translate client
matters into legal issues for resolution
by licensed area attorneys. The clinic is
prepared to provide services in all civil
legal matters, including family law,
housing, probate, personal property
disputes, driver’s license restoration and
employment.
H.E.L.P. began in New Orleans in
early 2004, when a newly appointed
14
Volunteer attorneys and law student discuss matters during a Friday afternoon legal clinic.
federal district court judge, Judge Jay
Zainey, accompanied his fellow judges to
serve a meal at a local shelter. While serving the meal, Judge Zainey began to think
how much more an attorney could do for
the shelter clients, and how that kind of
service could change people’s lives.
With that simple but electrifying
thought, H.E.L.P. was born. Judge
Zainey began to round up volunteer
lawyers to staff a weekly clinic at the shelter, and had more success than he had
ever imagined. Soon he had hundreds of
lawyers, clinics in more than one shelter,
and the desire to do even more. H.E.L.P.
H.E.L.P. • page 20
■
March 17, 2010
Increased awareness strengthens pro bono service
By Vicki Williams,
Over all, District 5 had an excellent
year in 2009. Our statistics improved
in every area – more applications taken,
more cases placed, more attorneys taking
pro bono cases. We continue to receive
referrals from individuals and agencies as
they become familiar with our schedule
including judges, clerks, CASA offices,
Child Support offices and welfare offices
as well as from lawyers themselves.
As always, custody cases continue to be
our most difficult to place, although we
do take those applications and assign a
significant number of them. In addition,
Donald Leicht’s program of arbitration
in Howard and Cass counties has substantially increased the service we are able
to provide clients in those areas, as well
as other types of family law cases.
In 2009 Leicht was the co-recipient
of the Randall T. Shepard Award for
excellence in pro bono. The Dechert
Law Firm in Kokomo received one of the
Indiana Bar Foundation’s pro bono publico awards. We were extremely proud
that our small, rural district received
both of these prestigious awards. We are
also proud of Randy Head, Cass County,
who spearheaded and organized our Talk
to a Lawyer Today program.
In 2009 District 5 hosted foreclosure
seminars in Kokomo and Wabash and
combined them with pro bono appreciation dinners to which all attorneys in
our District were invited. As a result 30
lawyers were trained to represent clients
in foreclosure cases.
We would like to extend a special thank
you to Judge Thomas Perrone, Cass
County Superior Court, for his years of
dedicated service as the judicial appointee
on our Pro Bono Committee. When I first
began as Plan Administrator for District
5, I was tremendously grateful for Judge
Perrone’s willingness to help me with any
questions I had or information I needed.
I look forward to working with Judge
Robert McCallen III, Wabash Circuit
Court, who is our new judicial appointee. I feel fortunate that our Committee
replaced one judicial appointee who was
willing to go above and beyond in supporting pro bono with another.
Our district has extended its reach
and its services since we started our
program. Our goal is to continue that
improvement.■
District Pro Bono Plan Administrators
District One
Judith H. Stanton, Esq.
NWI Volunteer Attorneys, Inc.
651 E. Third Street
P.O. Box 427
Hobart, IN 46342
219-945-1799
866-945-1799
219-945-0995(f)
[email protected]
District Four
Timothy E. Peterson, Esq.
Indiana Legal Services-Lafayette
639 Columbia Street
P.O. Box 1455
Lafayette, IN 47902
765-423-5327
800-382-7581
765-423-2252(f)
[email protected]
District Two
Timi S. Sloat, Esq.
The Volunteer Lawyer
Network Inc.
P.O. Box 1358
117 1/2 N. Main Street
South Bend, IN 46624
(574) 277-0075
(574) 277-2055 (fax)
[email protected]
District Five
Vicki Williams
Indiana Legal Services—Lafayette
639 Columbia Street
P.O. Box 1455
Lafayette, IN 47902
800-382-7581
[email protected]
District Six
Christianne Brock, Esq.
District 6 Access to Justice, Inc.
P.O. Box 324
New Castle, IN 47362
(765) 521-6979
(765) 521-0790 (fax)
(800) 910-4407
[email protected]
District Three
Terry McCaffery
Volunteer Lawyer Program of
Northeast Indiana
927 S. Harrison
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
(260) 407-0917
(260) 407-7137 (fax)
[email protected]
District Seven
Sheriden Thompson
District 7 Pro Bono Organization
P.O. Box 3342
Terre Haute, IN 47803
812-478-2666
812-232-0870(f)
[email protected]
■
March 17, 2010
District Eight
Laurie Beltz Boyd, Esq.
Heartland Pro Bono Council
151 N. Delaware St., Suite 1800
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-614-5304
317-631-9775(f)
[email protected]
District Nine
Tammy Hopkins
District 9 Pro Bono Commission
P.O. Box 94
Richmond, IN 47375
800-935-5053
[email protected]
District Ten
Diane Walker, Esq.
District 10 Pro Bono Project
P.O. Box 8382
Bloomington, IN 47407
812-339-3610
812-339-3629(f)
[email protected]
District Eleven
Tammara Sparks, Esq.
Legal Aid-District Eleven, Inc.
P.O. Box 766
806 Jackson St.
Columbus, IN 47202-0766
877-378-0358
812-372-3948(f)
[email protected]
District Twelve
Frank Cardis, Esq.
Legal Volunteers of Southeast
Indiana, Inc.
318 N. Walnut Street
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
812-537-0123
877-237-0123
812-537-7090(f)
District12probono@
legalvolunteers.com
District Thirteen
Beverly Corn, Esq.
Scott Wylie, Esq.
Volunteer Lawyer Program of
Southwestern Indiana
123 NW 4th Street, Suite 618
Evansville, IN 47708
812-434-4886
812-434-4889(f)
[email protected]
[email protected]
District Fourteen
Amy W. Roth
Legal Volunteers, District 14
P.O. Box 94
New Albany, IN 47151
812-949-2292
812-949-2334(f)
[email protected]
15
New programs on the horizon
By Tammy Hopkins,
It has been a productive year for
District 9. Talk to a Lawyer Today on
Martin Luther King day was very successful with a record number of attorneys
volunteering their time. The foreclosure
information seminar was well attended
by District 9 attorneys and several
foreclosure cases have been placed with
attorneys who attended the seminar.
The total number of cases placed
with volunteer attorneys more than
doubled in 2009. Moreover, the Indiana
Supreme Court self-service website has
been a wonderful tool for clients in our
district. Helping them to navigate the
website and file the proper paperwork
has reduced the number of applicants
needing attorneys for simple divorce and
custody matters.
District 9 hosted a December attorney luncheon to show our appreciation
to the attorneys who volunteered in
the past year. Judge L. Mark Bailey of
IOLTA
Continued from page 5
pro bono district network and there had
not been enough time to build up a sizable reserve fund. Without the generosity
of Phil and Barbara Burt of Fort Wayne
who stepped in personally to make a
significant financial contribution to keep
the IOLTA funding at a stable level,
many of the pro bono districts would
have not been able to operate.
In addition to having such strong
supporters as the Burts, we were also
fortunate enough to have several years
of favorable interest rates after 2003 and
to be able to build up a sizable reserve
fund which we are using now to get
us through the current unprecedented
interest rate decline. While we have not
yet seen interest rates begin to recover,
Indiana’s IOLTA program is certainly in
a much stronger position that we were
in 2003 and we anticipate being able to
weather this storm and continue funding
16
District 9 appreciation luncheon honorees Michael Douglass, Brenda Wilhelm-Waggoner,
Shane Edington, and Amy Noe with Judge Mark Bailey (center)
the Indiana Court of Appeals was the
keynote speaker. Recognition was given
to Michael Douglass, Brenda WilhelmWaggoner, Amy Noe, and Shane
Edington for their extraordinary efforts
in ensuring that legal services are available
to those people who cannot afford them.
In 2010 we will be concentrating on
the formation of an adult guardianship
program in Wayne County and a mediation program for family law cases. With
the addition of these two services in the
District, we hope that more people who
need legal help but cannot afford it will
have a place to turn.■
to the local pro bono districts.
Another significant theme from the
first 10 years of IOLTA in Indiana is
that the IOLTA/pro bono partnership
has been a success because many different groups are involved. There are the
obvious groups including the lawyers
who participate in the IOLTA program
as well as the lawyers that take pro bono
cases. The bankers and the Indiana State
Bankers Association have also supported
the IOLTA program. Many local and
regional banks in Indiana realize that the
funds in the IOLTA program go back
to their local communities and improve
everyone’s lives. One banker in particular, Richard E. Belcher, President of the
First Federal Savings Bank, has been an
enthusiastic supporter of the IOLTA
program since its inception. Belcher’s
bank has consistently paid an interest
rate of 6% on IOLTA accounts at his
bank virtually since the program began
in 1999. Especially now, when many
IOLTA accounts have interest rates
below .3%, this extraordinary commitment is even more amazing.
While there are many more partners
in this effort, including local bar associations and trial court judges, I want
to mention one group that is key to the
success of Indiana’s IOLTA and pro bono
success—local pro bono plan administrators and their staff. The plan administrators throughout Indiana’s 14 local pro
bono districts are crucial to successfully
getting pro bono help to the low-income
Hoosiers in need of civil legal help. The
success of each local district and the state
program as a whole depends on these
people for their dedication and commitment to the mission. We are fortunate in
Indiana to have some extremely talented
and passionate people who work long
hours helping to make sure that “Equal
Justice Under the Law” is not just a phrase
but is truly a reality for all Hoosiers. It is
this combined group that will be the key
to the next 10 years of IOLTA and pro
bono success in Indiana.■
■
March 17, 2010
2009 – making lemonade in District 13
By Beverly Corn and Scott Wylie,
District 13 Plan Administrators
A wise person once said, “When life
hands you lemons, make lemonade.”
2009 was quite a challenging year for
the Volunteer Lawyer Program of
Southwestern Indiana. More individuals
than ever found themselves in need of
reduced fee or free legal assistance--while
the pool of service providers did not
increase. Rolling up our sleeves, District
13 knuckled down to business and
became even more creative in providing volunteer opportunities. District 13
made a lot of lemonade in 2009.
New projects, such as Vanderburgh
County Homeless Connect, Family
Court Pro Se Project, Southwestern
Behavioral Wills Project, VITA/Earned
Income Tax Credit Project, and Teen
Court, along with well-established projects such as the monthly talk to a lawyer
telephone clinic and direct case referrals,
provided a diverse opportunity for lawyers to volunteer. With such a variety of
volunteer opportunities, not only were
legal services met but also new relationships with other community organizations were forged.
As a secondary benefit, the new collaborations created during 2009 are paving the way for both improved attorney
image and community recognition of
all the good work that takes place in
southwestern Indiana.
To cap the year, four individuals
from District 13 were honored with
the Indiana Bar Foundation’s pro bono
publico and law-related education awards
during the annual Shepard Dinner in
November. Judge Wayne Trockman was
recognized for his dedication to the Drug
Court program as well as his involvement
with the local VLP. Judge Brett Neimier
received an award for his work in
educating families through Teen Court.
Scott Wylie was also recognized for his
commitment and mentoring to high
school students through Teen Court.
Representative Trent Van Haaften was
honored for his work on the “fee waiver”
bill that was passed during 2009.
Those of us who serve as the
■
Tammy Schmitt of Berry Plastics Corp. and Karen Scott of Volunteer Lawyers Program of
Southwest Indiana work with a patient/client and his case manager to create his will.
Scott Wylie, IBF pro bono award winner and District 13 co-plan administrator, with
Chief Justice Randall Shepard
administrators for the various pro bono
districts don’t do it for the money.
Likewise, pro bono work is not easy. Pro
bono work is a unique blend of both
taxing and rewarding. Pro bono is taxing
because in years like 2009 there is so
much need; each story is more compelling than the previous and each person
March 17, 2010
who seeks help is more desperate than
the one before. Likewise, pro bono is
rewarding because there is no limit to
the imagination on how to create service
opportunities. 2009 was a tough year but
because of the volunteers and other community agencies who joined forces, not
only did District 13 survive, it thrived.■
17
From Mideast to Midwest
Guiding Indiana’s new residents
By Rabeh Soofi, Ice Miller
for District 8, Heartland Pro Bono Council
Kabul. Damascus. Fallujah. Baghdad.
Those places truly seem as distant and
foreign as they sound. Hardly the kind
of place one might expect to hear of
ordinary teenagers hanging out with their
friends, educated medical professionals
running their practices, or the former
hometowns of some of Indiana’s new
residents.
Although it may seem as though the
war on terror is taking place a million
miles away from Hoosier communities,
the reality is that every so often, a new
family comes to Indiana from a war-torn
or troubled city in the Middle East, seeking safety, asylum and often times, a new
life of hope, prosperity, and freedom.
Certainly, there are frequent discussions on national news networks about
the effects that immigration could have
on jobs, education, or our communities – but what is sometimes forgotten is
that for many of the dark corners of the
world, America still stands as a beacon of
light and a promise
of opportunity. The
land where with
hard work and a
little luck, anything
can be achieved.
It is not hard to
understand why
our great nation
remains so attracSoofi
tive to immigrants,
whether from the
Middle East, or elsewhere.
Social mobility aside, America stands
for something that might strike us lawyers as being quite ordinary, but is really
its most valuable gem--the concept of
legal procedure. A system of rules, regulations, statutes, and laws that govern all
aspects of our lives, the underpinnings
of which are the principles of fairness,
due process, and equality on which
our nation was founded. The challenge
that remains, however, is the task of
providing support to refugees, asylees
(those seeking asylum), or others who
have come to our nation. Often times,
these individuals have come to us from
places where the rule of law is arbitrary,
succumbs to political corruption, or has
entirely broken down--meaning that it
might be difficult for them to navigate
what can appear to be a very complex set
of rules and procedures, even to obtain
basic needs.
Consider the case of one asylee,
Miriam, an educated Iraqi pharmacist,
who immigrated to Indianapolis with
her family in fear for their safety due to
their religious status as Christians. Or
Omer, a young professional from Syria
and new Hoosier, with three toddlers,
targeted for providing English translation services. Or the stories of asylees
and new Castleton residents Amir and
Hasad, teenage boys who were looking
through stacks of X-Box games outside a
Baghdad marketplace, when a roadside
bomb went off, killing those nearby, and
wounding them with shrapnel. How
does one explain to them that the fastfood chains, where they wonder if they
could make a few dollars to help pay the
family bills, need two references and their
complete addresses for the past three
years to run a credit check? The truth is
that even accomplishing basic tasks--such
as getting healthcare, figuring out how to
domesticate foreign professional licenses
in order to return to work, or navigating through the refugee/immigration
process--can be daunting for newcomers
to our community.
The story that perhaps touches me
the most is that of Ali. Ali is a collegeage young man who started work for
the U.S. Army at 18 years of age. While
most 18-year-olds are starting college or
pursuing other career opportunities, Ali
did not. For six years he worked with
the U.S. forces in Pakistan, faithfully
providing translation services. Fleeing
the dangers and problems that followed those who have helped American
forces abroad, Ali came to Indiana with
the guidance and assistance of military
officers, and is now enrolled in college.
His greatest grievance? He is prohibited
18
■
March 17, 2010
Indiana University Maurer School of
Law’s new Access to Justice Program
In Spring 2009, Indiana University
Maurer School of Law elevated its existing pro bono program into a comprehensive program to encourage each
student to contribute at least 60 hours
of pro bono service while in law school.
The program, now called the Access
to Justice Program (AJP), coordinates
and develops pro bono opportunities,
educates students about the value of pro
bono service and administers the pro
bono recognition program. AJP is staffed
by two student Pro Bono Fellows, who
are funded in part with the generous
assistance of Baker & Daniels, LLP.
Throughout the year, the Pro Bono
Fellows have developed programs to
raise awareness of pro bono opportunities and to encourage students to
volunteer. In September, we kicked
off the academic year with the second
annual Pro Bono Fair, at which representatives of nearly a dozen community
organizations, including District 10
Pro Bono Project, the Community
Justice & Mediation Center, and Baker
& Daniels, came to the law school to
meet with students and answer questions regarding the legal work of their
organizations. In addition, students
were able to sign up to volunteer for the
organizations.
In conjunction with the Fair, we
conducted an awards ceremony to honor
the student from each class who had
reported the most volunteer hours during the preceding academic year. Lauren
Robel, Maurer School of Law Dean,
and Carl Pebworth, Baker & Daniels
Partner and Pro Bono and Public
Interest Committee Chair, presented
each student with his/her award. Baker
& Daniels also sponsored the event.
Other events in the fall included
participating in the ABA’s “Celebrate
Pro Bono” Week. We asked students
■
Photo/Ann Schertz Photography
By Judy Reckelhoff and Megan Mullett,
Pro Bono Fellows
Carl Pebworth (left) and Brita Horvath (right) of Baker & Daniels celebrate pro bono with
award recipients, Michelle Tanyhill – 1L, Matthew Wallace – 2L, and Kate Lee – 3L at
the 2009 Pro Bono Fair.
to pledge to meet the 60-hour goal
and conducted a skills-building training where students who volunteer with
community organizations met with
social workers to discuss handling common client-interaction issues such as
clients who are untruthful, miss meetings, have mental health issues, or are
highly emotional. Lastly, we conducted
our second “Pro Bono Stories” Panel, at
which lawyers, judges, and law faculty
share their pro bono experiences and
the professional and personal benefits
they have gained as a result of their pro
bono service. Speakers on our panels
included: Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff,
Monroe County Circuit Court; Monica
Fennell, Executive Director, Indiana
Pro Bono Commission; Allison FetterHarrott, formerly with Baker & Daniels
(Indianapolis); Marc Kadish, Mayer
Brown (Chicago); Patricia McKinnon,
family law specialist (Indianapolis);
Kendall Millard, Barnes & Thornburg
(Indianapolis); Lauren Robel, Dean and
Val Nolan Professor of Law, Maurer
School of Law; F. Thomas Schornhorst,
March 17, 2010
Professor Emeritus, Maurer School
of Law; Earl Singleton, Director,
Community Legal Clinic; and Alex
Tanford, Professor, Maurer
School of Law.
We are thrilled with the strides we
made during the fall semester, during
which 100 Maurer students reported
over 1100 pro bono hours. Engaging in
tasks ranging from intake interviews to
in-depth legal research to full representation, law students were able to hone
their legal skills while providing a valuable service to our community.
This spring we will be sustaining
that momentum when we host Gerald
Lopez, Professor of Law at UCLA and
author of Rebellious Lawyering, as the
Fuchs Lecturer, and host our third Pro
Bono Stories Panel, featuring attorneys
from a variety of practice areas.
Information about AJP is available at
http://law.indiana.edu/students/clinic/
probono. The website describes AJP
events, the law school’s aspirational goal,
pro bono opportunities in the Monroe
County area, and more.■
19
DISTRICT 10
has provided bankruptcy filing software,
meeting space, and mentoring. Students
complete petitions and fee waiver applications, help clients get mandatory credit
counseling, and attend bankruptcyrelated meetings in Indianapolis. Three
attorneys throughout the state have
volunteered to file the petitions and
represent the clients on behalf of District
10 Pro Bono Project.
“Diane Walker (District 10 Pro
Bono Project Plan Administrator) has
been invaluable in mentoring students
in their client interaction skills…Our
clients are persons who could not have
afforded bankruptcy legal services and
would have gone without or filed pro se.
All this is possible because our volunteer
bankruptcy attorneys are willing to take
the cases on a pro bono basis,” stated
Long. The bankruptcy clinic will expand
in the spring to include cases filed in
New Albany.
H.E.L.P.
began to expand to other cities, prodded and encouraged by Judge Zainey
and helped along by law firms which
were volunteering in New Orleans and
which had offices in other cities. Today,
H.E.L.P. volunteers are providing free
legal services to the homeless in over 15
cities, and the list continues to grow.
Judge Zainey visited Bloomington in
October 2009, along with his friend and
colleague Chief Judge Frank Cristaudo
of the Social Security Administration.
Following a morning reception sponsored by the law school’s Public Interest
Law Foundation, the judges spoke in
the moot courtroom to a gathering of
the local legal community. Judge Zainey
spoke passionately about the growing
number of H.E.L.P. clinics nationwide. He recounted numerous stories
of indigent clients finding help through
their local clinic and had high praise for
the attorneys providing that assistance.
Chief Judge Cristaudo followed with an
informative discussion about the Social
Security Administration generally, as well
as specific information helpful to those
providing services for low-income clients.
The discussion was followed by a lunch
reception and visit to the Friday afternoon HELP clinic. Numerous organizations sponsored the visit, including the
Monroe County Bar Association, District
10 Pro Bono Project, and Shalom
Community Center.
The Shalom HELP Legal Clinic has
recently opened a new branch to assist
clients with gaining access to both
Indiana state benefits and Social Security.
20
The front entrance of the Shalom HELP
Legal Clinic, located at Trinity Episcopal
Church in Bloomington.
Its regular Friday clinic has had great
success navigating the benefit systems
and obtaining benefits for clients, but the
need has grown for a specialized clinic
with volunteers trained to handle these
involved cases. The new Shalom Benefits
Clinic meets this need. The Benefits
Clinic will operate in a similar fashion
as the legal clinic. New clients can arrive
at anytime during clinic hours, without
an appointment, and receive assistance.
Current clients can also stop by and
receive information about their case.
Despite having a specialized focus, this
additional clinic will provide numerous services. The primary goals of the
Benefits Clinic are to provide eligibility
determinations and application assistance.
Eligibility determinations ensure that
clients are receiving all of the benefits for
which they qualify. The clinic helps clients through the application process from
start to finish. This means not only assistance in filling out the application itself,
but following through, and ensuring that
In March 2010, District 10 will begin
a new project to provide help for pro se
litigants preparing forms at the Monroe
County courthouse. Volunteer attorneys
are being recruited for the project.
District 10 continues to partner with
other legal clinics in Bloomington,
including the Shalom Center H.E.L.P.
clinic. District 10’s programs and services
continue to grow. “Our numbers have
increased. People are passing word along
and the courts are giving out our information,” said Anderson.■
the application clears all administrative
hurdles. The Benefits Clinic can help
with Social Security Disability (SSD),
Social Supplemental Security Insurance
(SSI), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF), the Healthy
Indiana Plan (HIP), and Food Stamps.
This new clinic runs in tandem with the
highly successfully Shalom HELP Legal
Clinic. With each clinic operating on
separate days, Bloomington’s indigent
residents have increased access to legal
and benefit assistance.
Both clinics are open to the public.
The Shalom Benefits Clinic is held
every Thursday between 1 and 4 p.m.
at Trinity Episcopal Church at the
corner of Kirkwood and Grant Street in
Bloomington. The Shalom HELP Legal
Clinic operates every Friday between
1 and 4 p.m., also at Trinity Episcopal
Church. For more information about
volunteer opportunities, please contact
Jacob Atz at (812) 320-3717 or Jacob@
shalomcommunitycenter.org.
The Shalom HELP Legal Clinic also
promotes public legal education through
a partnership with the Monroe County
Public Library. A monthly legal education series kicked off at the beginning
of 2009, featuring six public discussions from area attorneys. The speakers
covered topics including access to free
legal service, landlord/tenant law, tax
law, child support, divorce and advanced
directives. These talks are continually
broadcast by the local public access television station.
For more information regarding
Homeless Experience Legal Protection,
go to http://www.homelesslegal
protection.com.■
■
March 17, 2010
ABA
host eight new admittees, selected by raffle, from those registered at or before the
admission ceremony. In another example
of creative programming, lawyers in
Utica, New York made use of the silver
screen to spotlight the role of pro bono
lawyers in providing access to justice and
inspire a new generation of pro bono volunteers by screening the classic, To Kill A
Mockingbird – at no charge, of course.
The legal community in Indiana
actively participated in the Celebration
with numerous events throughout the
state. District 13 held its monthly Ask a
Lawyer hotline and was able to obtain a
free ad in the Evansville Courier & Press
in which attorneys who had donated
50 or more hours in the past year were
recognized for their contribution. Legal
Aid, District 11, also ran ads in local
JACKSON
of Consumer Advocates in Indiana,
Jackson is conscious of the need to pull
more attorneys into consumer law. This
goal prompted her to participate in an
ICLEF video (sponsored by the Indiana
Supreme Court, Indiana Commission for
Continuing Legal Education and Indiana
Pro Bono Commission), a three-hour
video that was part of this past summer’s statewide effort to recruit and train
attorneys to help homeowners. In the
video, Jackson explains her practice and
demonstrates that assisting homeowners
and making a living go hand-in-hand.
Jackson hopes the video will draw attorneys into the relatively untapped area of
consumer law.
■
papers to thank volunteer attorneys.
Several districts held “Talk to a Lawyer”
or similar hotline events. Other events
included CLEs and a law school pro
bono fair. The variety of events and
the breadth of the sponsoring entities
reflected that of the national level, with
one common thread throughout: highlighting pro bono.
Based on the success of the 2009
National Pro Bono Celebration and
the interest expressed by our constituents, the ABA Standing Committee on
Pro Bono and Public Service will again
celebrate pro bono the week of October
24-30, 2010. The Celebration website,
www.celebrateprobono.org, will soon be
updated with additional resources and
you will be able to sign up for e-mail
updates. We hope that you will celebrate
with us the impact and importance of
pro bono lawyers in serving those who
most need assistance.■
DISTRICT 2
Jackson enjoys the unique challenges
and details of each new case, and its
value to the community. However, she
recognizes that for many attorneys diving
headfirst into foreclosure law can be an
intimidating prospect, especially after
watching so many borrowers, lenders and
investors get injured. “There is a learning
curve,” she said. “Not only do you have
to teach yourself, you have to educate
opposing council and educate the judge
because no one really is aware that this is
out there.” Fully understanding the insand-outs of consumer law requires more
than three hours, but the video opens the
door to a topic that is growing in both
case volume and economic impact.
Jackson is optimistic. Several attorneys
have expressed interest in taking these
types of cases, giving Jackson resources to
refer surplus clients.
March 17, 2010
James Milstone of St. Joseph County,
Paula Michalos of Elkhart County, James
Butts of Kosciusko County, and Anthony
Wagner of Marshall County for their
excellent pro bono work.
District 2 is committed to the expansion of the program in 2010. In the coming year District 2 plans to establish a pro
se clinic, expand the Ask A Lawyer events,
and provide CLE opportunities to the
two southern counties within our district.
Certainly, the realization of these goals
and the accomplishments thus far are due,
almost entirely, to the amazing attorneys
who have donated their valuable time
to assist those who are unable to afford
counsel. Thank you to all of the Indiana
attorneys who have taken the Pro Bono
Challenge and have committed their time
and efforts to pro bono legal services.■
Difficulties Ahead
Still, difficulties abound. Because
Jackson and attorneys like her can only
take cases in which the lender violated a
fee-shifting statute, a small slice of total
foreclosures, pro bono assistance remains
imperative for most homeowners in
foreclosure.
Looking forward, the real challenge
may be in preventing the next collapse by
teaching people basic financial skills. But
for now, Jackson and pro bono attorneys
are doing their best to sift through the
debris, work with displaced homeowners,
and put them back into their homes.
Visit http://www.in.gov/judiciary/
probono/ for pro bono district contact
information.■
21
DISTRICT 8
from employment under the terms of
his student visa, and so, struggles to pay
rent, utilities, and make ends meet. His
asylum application remains pending,
and so he remains, one young man, here
alone, on his own.
These are the human faces and stories
of refugees and asylees that come to us
from the Middle East. They are intensely
personal and marked by personal tragedies, relentlessness, and, surprisingly,
ordinariness--only in the sense that
what most immigrants seek is truly no
different than what anyone else might
seek: stable employment, health, and
being able to care and provide for their
family and children. As lawyers, it is hard
to think of how to begin to serve this
category of those in need. Sometimes it
seems as though the areas of the law most
relevant to ordinary individuals, such as
applying for health benefits, federal or
state aid, immigration, or employment
assistance, can be the hardest to learn,
especially on a pro bono basis.
This is not to say that providing pro
bono services to Indiana’s refugees or
asylees has not been a priority. Consider
DISTRICT 3
with 10 families at a time.
The VASIA staff also participates in
the local guardianship council meetings,
serves as a board member of the Indiana
State Guardianship Association (ISGA)
DISTRICT 14
be realistic about assisting not only the
neediest but also those who have problems that have the best chance of being
solved by the legal remedies available.
Our coaching program has more validity
than ever, and we are looking at ways
to make this one-on-one advocacy and
educational outreach effort more effective
and more encompassing.
We moved our office again last
summer (not by choice this time) soon
22
the large-scale project undertaken by
the Muslim Alliance of Indiana. On
Martin Luther King Day 2009, the
Muslim Alliance of Indiana announced
the opening of MAI Legal Services,
intended to provide Indiana residents
and “modest-means” clientele with
legal services based on a sliding-scale
tied to income. The clinic also provides
free adjustments of status services for
refugees. MAI Legal Services does not
limit its services to Muslims or those
of Middle Eastern descent, and according to MAI Executive Director Shariq
Siddiqui, the majority of MAI Legal
Services’ clients are non-Muslims.
Luckily, Indianapolis has no shortage
of charities, entities, and organizations
that are focused on providing support
services to asylees and refugees, including Exodus, International Interfaith
Initiative, Neighborhood Christian
Legal Clinic, The Immigrant Welcome
Center, RefugeeLink, and others.
Although it may not be feasible for
attorneys interested in providing pro
bono services to take up immigration
or refugee-adjustment cases on a pro
bono basis, there are ample opportunities for the donation of volunteer time,
resources, funds, and other vehicles for
charitable giving. Participation at AskA-Lawyer or Legal Line events held by
one or more of the above entities would,
for example, be an excellent way to assist
Indiana’s refugees and asylees from the
Middle East or any other part of the
world. Heartland Pro Bono Council
(www.heartlandprobono.org), the lifeline
for many Hoosiers in need of pro bono
assistance, for example, provides a number of opportunities for attorneys who
seek to contribute pro bono services. For
anyone interested in more information,
Laurie Beltz Boyd, Plan Administrator
for Heartland, can be reached at 317631-9410 ext. 2267.
It can take a new immigrant, refugee,
or asylee years, decades, and in some
cases, a lifetime to become accustomed
to life in a new community. But even
though such individuals may come to us
from the other side of the world, from
nations under hostile leadership, or from
societies even deeply adverse to us, our
core values, or our way of life, there is
still nothing more rich or rewarding than
the personal connection that is formed
with those in need through pro bono
services or charitable giving – especially
to those who have come to our nation
seeking help, protection, and safety.■
and is a National Certified Guardian
(NCG) through National Guardianship
Association (NGA). The staff received
Member of the Year Award from the
ISGA and Affiliate Member of the Year
Award from the NGA for the work to promote guardianship issues and education.
In 2010, VASIA in collaboration with
the VLP, will begin operating as a separate
agency and apply for the 501(c)(3) designation. Both agencies will remain housed
together and continue to share resources.
The separation will allow the guardianship program to offer additional services,
seek its own grants and charge for some
services not considered pro bono.■
after finishing our mortgage foreclosure
defense trainings. And we play an
active role in the Clark County Family
Court project by providing pro bono
mediators for pro se divorces with children. We also are actively involved in
getting more mediators trained in
our district.
Most of all, we try to stay very
practical and focused, trusting that in
the future the funds will be found to
continue this very important work at
the level we have achieved and even to
surpass it.■
LRAP
Additional donations are now being
accepted for the Justice Richard M.
Givan Loan Repayment Assistance
Program through the Indiana Bar
Foundation. Checks should be made
payable to the Indiana Bar Foundation,
with a designation to the “Judge Givan
LRAP” and should be mailed to 230 East
Ohio Street, Suite 400, Indianapolis IN,
46204. Donors who prefer to make a
contribution via credit card may contact
the Bar Foundation at 317-269-2415.■
■
March 17, 2010
Take the Pro Bono Pledge!
There is a continuing need for pro bono legal representation for Indiana’s poor. After completing and submitting the form
below you will be linked with organizations that will provide information on the pro bono civil legal opportunities in your
District. You can make a difference in someone’s life today. Please take the pledge! Send this completed form to: Indiana
Pro Bono Commission, 230 E. Ohio St., Suite 400, Indianapolis, IN 46204, or to the district plan administrator, or online at
www.in.gov/judiciary/probono/attorneys/report-hours.html.
Indiana Pro Bono Pledge
I accept the pro bono pledge and am willing to take a case in the following areas:
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
Adoption
ADR: Civil
Mediation
ADR: Domestic
Relations
Mediation
ADR: Other
Appellate
Bankruptcy
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
Battered Spouse/
Children
Consumer
Contracts
Education
Employment
Family
Guardianship
Health
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
Housing
Immigration
Insurance
Living Wills/
Power
of Attorney
Non-profit
Paternity
Probate
Your Name __________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________
City _______________________________________ State _____ Zip __________
Phone No. _____________________ Attorney No. _________________________
E-mail ______________________________________________________________
Which District Do you Serve? __________________________________________
HOMEOWNERS
basis in January 2010 in Allen, Marion,
and St. Joseph counties. A project manager oversees local logistical coordinators, who coordinate with pro bono
attorneys, facilitators, homeowners, and
lenders to schedule and take part in
settlement conferences.
The local coordinator’s duties include
scheduling the conferences, ensuring
that the logistical requirements of the
conference area are met (e.g., telephone
and fax services), checking that the
homeowner has completed all necessary
paperwork and gathered the required
documents, and collecting data to
assist the project manager in compiling
■
statistics regarding the conferences’ successes and failures. The local coordinator is also required to reach out to all
homeowners in newly-filed foreclosure
cases, ensuring that they have been
personally contacted about their rights
within the first two weeks of a foreclosure filing.
Pro bono attorneys and facilitators
who have received training through the
“Back Home In Indiana” program are
encouraged to take part in this project.
Through funding from the IHCDA, pro
bono attorneys are reimbursed up to $25
per conference for reasonable expenses
(parking, meals, and office supplies, for
example), while facilitators receive $150
per every four settlement conferences
conducted. A completion incentive of
March 17, 2010
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
Protective Order
SSD
SSI
Taxation
Unemployment
Other
❏ I am willing to act as a mentor
in the following area of law
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
❏ I am willing to volunteer
on my District Pro Bono
Committee
$150 is also available to attorneys and
logistical coordinators if the settlement
conference is “successful” – that is, if an
agreement is reached that will prevent
the lender from filing foreclosure proceedings for at least six months.
If the pilot projects in Allen, Marion,
and St. Joseph counties are successful,
the system will be implemented on a
state-wide basis beginning in early 2011.
Any attorneys, judges, or licensed
mediators who wish to assist with
this project should contact David
Remondini, Chief Deputy Executive
Director of the Division of State Court
Administration, [email protected].
in.us. More information can be found
at the Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force
website, www.courts.in.gov/home.■
23
Indiana Pro Bono Commission Judicial Appointees
DISTRICT ONE
Hon. Elizabeth Tavitas
Lake Superior Court, Civil 3
15 W. 4th Avenue
Gary, IN 46402
219-881-6157
DISTRICT TEN
Hon. Mary Ellen Diekhoff
Monroe Circuit Court #5
301 N. College Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47904
812-349-2615
812-349-2791(f)
DISTRICT TWO
Hon. Jenny Pitts Manier
St. Joseph Superior Court
219 Lincolnway West
Mishawaka, IN 46544
574-256-6219
574-245-6691(f)
DISTRICT ELEVEN
Hon. Judith Stewart
Brown Circuit Court Courthouse
P.O. Box 85
Nashville, IN 47448-0085
(812) 988-7557
(812) 988-5515 (f)
DISTRICT THREE
Hon. Daniel G. Heath
Allen Superior Court
715 S. Calhoun Street, # 316
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
260-449-7646
260-449-3353
DISTRICT FOUR
Hon. Rex W. Kepner
Benton Circuit Court
706 E. 5th Street
Fowler, IN 47944
765-884-0370
765-884-2027(f)
DISTRICT FIVE
Hon. Robert R. McCallen, III
Wabash Circuit Court
49 W. Hill Street
Wabash, IN 46992
260-563-0661
260-569-1374(f)
DISTRICT SIX
Hon. Marianne L. Vorhees
Delaware Circuit Court #1
100 W. Washington Street
Muncie, IN 47305
765-747-7780
765-741-5792(f)
DISTRICT TWELVE
Hon. Alison Frazier
Jefferson Superior Court
300 E. Main Street
Madison, IN 47250
(812) 265-8914
(812) 265-8951 (f)
DISTRICT SEVEN
Hon. Joseph D. Trout
Clay Circuit Court
609 E. National Ave., Room 314
Brazil, IN 47834
812-448-9036
812-448-8255(f)
DISTRICT THIRTEEN
Hon. Dean Sobecki
Daviess Superior Court
200 E. Walnut Street
Washington, IN 47501
812-254-8671
812-254-8645(f)
DISTRICT EIGHT
Hon. William J. Hughes
Hamilton Superior Court #3
One Hamilton County Square, #311
Noblesville, IN 46060
317-776-9709
317-776-8587(f)
Hon. Wayne S. Trockman
Vanderburgh Superior Court
Courts Building, Civic Center
Complex
825 Sycamore, #116
Evansville, IN 47708
812-435-5407
812-435-5635(f)
DISTRICT NINE
Hon. Darrin M. Dolehanty
Wayne Superior Court 3
301 E. Main Street
Richmond, IN 47374
765-973-9269
DISTRICT FOURTEEN
Hon. Vicki Carmichael
Clark Superior Court #1
501 E. Court Avenue
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
812-285-6294
812-285-6258(f)

Helping Hoosiers through the economic crisis

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