Georgia Online Justice Community

The State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project and the Columbus Office of Georgia Legal Services Program hosted an appreciation reception for pro bono volunteers and supporters in recognition of National Pro Bono week.

The event was held at the Coffee Beanery, a local coffee and sandwich shop owned by Sonja and Michael Eddings. Mr. Eddings is an attorney in Columbus and is also a pro bono volunteer. The event was attended by approximately 40 volunteers and supporters.

The purpose of the event was to recognize pro bono volunteers who have supported Georgia Legal Services and served the low-income community through pro bono legal representation. The event brought together long time supporters such as Judge John Laney and Jacob Beil, who have been with the legal services program from its inception,  and newer volunteers. The more experienced volunteers inspired the younger volunteers with stories of their experiences and the importance of pro bono work.   In addition, court personnel and representatives from several non-profit organizations were also in attendance and thanked the volunteers for their pro bono efforts.

The highlight of the evening was the special recognition of Columbus attorney, Stephanie Crosse.  Stephanie recently resigned her position as in-house counsel for AFLAC to pursue a legal career in the private sector. After leaving AFLAC, Stephanie took on a new assignment - for Georgia Legal Services Program in late summer of 2009. Public school enrollment had just begun and Georgia Legal Services Program was getting calls from the school district asking if we could help caretakers obtain temporary guardianships of children who had been placed with them from family members. Many of these children had been placed temporarily with family members outside of their homes, because their parents had lost jobs, were ill, or having financial difficulties. Without the guardianships, the caretakers of these children were subject to out of state fees of approximately $8,000.00.

Dina Nelson, the Pro Bono Coordinator for Georgia Legal Services Program's Columbus Regional Office easily convinced Stephanie to take on the new Temporary Guardianship Project and recruit attorneys to assist the low-income caretakers in obtaining temporary guardianships. Stephanie volunteered to take on the project single-handedly and represented or advised 15 clients. Her efforts saved the clients thousands of dollars in school fees and well as attorney fees.