Pro Bono in Georgia Newsletter

With an eye to promoting legal aid connectivity and enhanced legal information for the public, Georgia Legal Services Program and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society have joined forces to create one statewide website for the legal services provider community and their clients. The web site development effort was funded largely through grants from the federal Legal Services Corporation.

The LegalAid-GA.org features are geared toward people with legal problems. Georgians may now know their rights and legal

responsibilities in 26 different areas of the law (over 1000 documents and links to legal information and government benefits are available).

LegalAid-GA.org also includes:

a listing of providers of legal aid services throughout the state, organized geographically and according to legal issue;
self-help forms
social service provider referral resources and links throughout Georgia; and
links to court listings and locations.

In 2004, 173,461 people visited www.LegalAid-GA.org, and downloaded 666,705 page views of resources like domestic violence resources, landlord tenant resources and materials explaining the law and the legal system.

2004 Sees Launch of Popular Statewide Advocate Website

Our statewide volunteer lawyer website, www.GeorgiaAdvocates.org, was officially launched in late spring of 2004. Also known as the Advocate Site, www.GeorgiaAdvocates.org currently houses three password-protected areas: (1) the Georgia Online Justice Community and (2) the Staff Intranet of Georgia Legal Services Program, and (3) a new national Death Penalty practice area. The Georgia Online Justice Community provides Georgia volunteer lawyers with information on pro bono participation, pro bono and legal aid program descriptions, available matters, current events, training materials, listservs and brief banks and practice information for committed volunteers and lawyer-supervised advocates. GeorgiaAdvocates.org has already provided hundreds of volunteers lawyers with critical support resources for handling pro bono cases. Said one volunteer from Waycross, “It’s not just for pro bono. I use it frequently in my everyday practice.”

The Death Penalty practice area is a recent addition of a national practice area. The Death Penalty practice area assists lawyers who are representing individuals facing a death sentence. The practice area was developed by the American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project through the generosity of The Open Society Institute and the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. GeorgiaAdvocates.org content and membership already outpace a similar, 3 year-old effort in New York City.

The Advocate site is free, and commercial and pop-up free as well! Just click on the “Join” button in the Online Justice Community area and enjoy the benefits.

For further information, contact Tracey M. Roberts, Web Site Project Manager, at: Tracey_M_Roberts@yahoo.com <mailtTracey_M_Roberts@yahoo.com> or (404) 463-1567 or Mike Monahan, Pro Bono Project Director, mike@gabar.org or (404) 527-8762.

Watch for 2005 State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Awards Nominations

Keep an eye out for the State Bar of Georgia Access to Justice Committee and Pro Bono Project's Annual Pro Bono Awards request for nominations. Nominations will be solicited in March for the H. Sol Clark Pro Bono Award, the William B. Spann Award, the Dan Bradley Award, and the A Business Commitment Pro Bono Award. More information on these awards and last year's recipients can be found at: www.gabar.org .

Georgia Biz Law Pro Bono Program Partners to Offer Workshop for Community Nonprofits

A Business Commitment (ABC) Committee of the State Bar of Georgia is cosponsoring another important workshop for community-based nonprofits in Georgia: “More than Bricks and Mortar: Expanding the foundation to Build Community, People and Vision.” The mission of ABC is to expand the provision of quality business legal services to non-profit organizations serving low-income communities in the State of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, ABC has developed a training program in cooperation with its partners, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc (ANDPI) and others. More than Bricks and Mortar will provide four tracks with three sessions each, with a $45.00 registration fee. The training will be held on February 16, 2005 at the State Bar of Georgia Bar Center, 3^rd Floor, from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.. For more information and to register, visit http://www.andpi.org/calendar/ .

Unique Health Fair Adds Legal Information and Referral Component

The Chinese-American Lions Club of Atlanta has been sponsoring a Health Fair for the Chinese community at International Village on the last Sunday of every month for over five years. This year, in collaboration with Atlanta Legal Aid Society, the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Center for Pan Asian Community services, they will: (1) expand the Health Fair to include other groups of recent immigrants and (2) extend the services they provide to include a Legal Resource Center to provide access to legal information and government medical and other benefits.

In January, the Lions Club invited the Spanish-speaking community to attend the Health Fair and Legal Resource Center, Sunday January 30, 2005 from 2-5 pm at Sheltering Arms at International Village, 3375 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Chamblee, Georgia. Interpreters were available in Chinese and Spanish. Physicians and nurses belonging to the Chinese-American Lions Club of Atlanta staff the Free Health Fair. Nurses take vital signs and check blood sugar levels. Current specialties represented are internal medicine, ophthalmology, pediatrics, allergy, dentistry and chiropractic medicine. GeorgiaCares staff are available to help families sign up for Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, drug benefits and disability benefits. Members of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association and staff of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society are available to help with legal questions. The Center for Pan Asian Community Services and Atlanta Legal Aid Society's Hispanic Outreach Project assisted in directing interested attendees to appropriate legal and social services programs after leaving this event.

Legal Services Programs’ Websites Get New Look

Georgia Legal Services Program and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society have recently remodeled their respective websites. GLSP’s www.GLSP.org now highlights client stories on its main pages, while the Atlanta Legal Aid Society has substantially increased content and improved navigation on its web presence, www.Atlantalegalaid.org . Both programs have moved to allow supporters to contribute online. Check out the improved sites today.

Community Events

Mark your calendar for the 2005 Equal Justice Conference May 5-7, 2005, in Austin Texas.

Conference speakers include Molly Ivins, the nationally syndicated columnist and author, Sarah M. Buel, the founder of the Domestic Violence Clinic, and Robert J. Grey, Jr., President of the American Bar Association. Click here for more information.

Legal Services University is Scheduled for May 9-11, 2005

The annual Legal Services University, a three-day training program for new and experienced legal aid advocates, will be held at Callaway Gardens May 9-11, 2005. Stay tuned for more information or check the Events Calendar at www.GeorgiaAdvocates.org . Volunteer attorneys are welcome to attend. Registration and fees for volunteer lawyers have not been determined yet.

Community Matters

Report on the Impact of Family Law Cases on Pro Bono Programs Is Now Available

The ABA Center for Pro Bono recently completed a survey of the impact of family law cases on pro bono programs. The Center compiled the survey results and recommendations on how programs can bridge the gap between supply and demand for family law pro bono, in a report titled “The Impact of Family Law Cases on Pro Bono Programs.”

New Web-based Directory of Law School Public Interest and Pro Bono Programs

The Directory of Law School Public Interest and Pro Bono Programs is designed to assist prospective law students interested in public interest and pro bono programs find the law school that best matches their interests and to assist individual law schools seeking to develop strong pro bono and public interest programs. For more information, access the directory.

Former Governor Roy Barnes Wins 2004 ABA Pro Bono Publico Award

At the 2004 American Association Equal Justice Conference Roy E. Barnes received the ABA Pro Bono Publico Award for his commitment to professionalism and service. Read the story here.

Places to Go (Links)

http://www.georgiacourts.org - Georgia Courts Online

http://www.findlegalhelp.org - A National Directory of Pro Bono, Legal Services and Self-Help Resources

http://www.povertyusa.org - Facts about Poverty in America

http://www.gabar.org/volform.asp?Header=VolunteerProBono - Volunteer for Civil Pro Bono in Georgia

Pro Bono in Georgia is published by the State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project, 104 Marietta Street, ,NW, Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30303;(404)527-8763; Mike Monahan, Director, Cynthia Grant, Administrative Assistant; cynthiag@gabar.org;mike@gabar.org . On the Web at: www.gabar.org/probono.htm .

The Pro Bono Project of the State Bar of Georgia is funded by Georgia Legal Services Program Inc., the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Bar Foundation.

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