Legal Aid of East Tennessee has launched a new contract attorney program to handle cases related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is recruiting attorneys in Knox, Blount, Loudon and Sevier counties to participate. Under the Contract Attorney Program (CAP), lawyers will be paid $75 per hour plus reasonable out-of-pocket expenses related to representation. Total billings per case cannot exceed $1,000 unless approved in advance. LAET will provide professional liability insurance and guidance as needed. Those interested should email Director of Development and Compliance Deb House.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold four phone clinics next week for members of the public with questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. Clinics will take place Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday from 3 to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. All times central. LAS is looking for attorneys to help answer questions. To volunteer contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131.

Baker Donelson shareholder and former TBA President Buck Lewis has been chosen to receive the American Bar Association’s Frances Perkins Public Service Award for his commitment to providing pro bono legal services, primarily in the areas of labor and employment law, to people of limited means. Lewis helped create what is now ABA Free Legal Answers, an interactive pro bono website that acts as a virtual legal advice clinic. Lewis is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee College of Law, the co-founder of its Institute of Professional Leadership and the College of Law’s Larry Wilks Distinguished Practitioner in Residence. Read more from the UT College of Law website.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold three phone clinics this week for members of the public with questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. Clinics will take place Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m. and Thursday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. All times central. LAS is looking for attorneys to help answer questions. To volunteer contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131. See all clinics for the month.

The TBA Public Education Committee has launched a Conservatorship Portal, a new tool created to assist low income families in need of conservatorships for adult children in public school. The program’s mission is to establish conservatorships for those who cannot afford counsel through pro bono representation. The committee is seeking attorneys to volunteer to take on these cases. Attorneys are needed from every county in the state to serve on the Conservatorship Portal Panel of Lawyers. Training and resources will be provided to all those who volunteer and a pre-screening for each case will be done to ensure the case fits the proper parameters for the program. To volunteer for the program, contact Public Education Committee Chair Amy Bryant. Volunteers may be eligible for CLE credit. 

The Tennessee Faith and Justice Alliance will conclude its fourth annual Pro Bono & Faith Days with a virtual training for those in East Tennessee tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT. The program will feature a panel discussion around the intersection of faith, pro bono and racial justice; legal resource trainings; and virtual legal clinic information. Panelists include Executive Director of the Knoxville Police Advisory & Review Committee Lakenya Middlebrook, East Tennessee State University’s Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Dr. Keith Johnson and more. Registration for the event is required.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a host of unforeseen civil legal needs for many, including some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable residents. Legal Aid Society Executive Director DarKenya Waller highlights those hardships and the “tidal wave” of legal needs that is on the horizon in a new op-ed for the Tennessean. Waller points to the free legal clinics, legal consultations and court hearings being held virtually and over the phone as evidence of how LAS attorneys have successfully adapted to the current environment. “The snowball effect of economic hardships encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic will be long term, and Legal Aid Society is here to help restore our economy and the lives of so many,” Waller writes. “Increased support will ensure that civil legal groups can effectively assist low-income Tennesseans through this period of recession and the years of recovery to come.”

The Tennessee Faith & Justice Alliance will hold the second of three virtual training programs tomorrow at 1 p.m. CDT for lawyers and faith and community leaders in Middle Tennessee. The program will feature a panel discussion around the intersection of faith, pro bono and racial justice; legal resource trainings; and virtual legal clinic information. Panelists include Juvenile Judge Sheila Calloway, Middle Tennessee State University political science professor Dr. Sekou Franklin, Nashville Metro Council At-Large Rep. Zulfat Suara, and Andrae Crismon with the Legal Aid Society. The event is free but registration is required.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold two phone clinics next week for members of the public with questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. Clinics will take place Monday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. All times central. LAS is looking for attorneys to help answer questions. To volunteer contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131. See all clinics for the month.

The American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Task Force is seeking volunteers for content training and mentorship for attorneys and paralegals working with the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR). Specifically, the task force is looking for volunteers to record brief videos for ProBAR's attorneys with litigation tips, including written advocacy, oral advocacy, trial practice, appellate practice, and working with experts. They are also interested in writ practice (including mandamus and habeas corpus) and criminal practice (including post-conviction relief). ProBAR provides immigration help to adults and children detained along the border in the Rio Grande Valley. Many of ProBAR’s clients seek protection from violence and persecution in their home countries. With language barriers, little understanding of U.S. law and court procedures, and limited financial resources, they face tremendous obstacles to winning immigration relief.