Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold its June legal clinics over the phone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Local attorneys will offer advice on questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. Those needing assistance may call 800-238-1443 on one of these dates to speak to an attorney. Please contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131, for more information or to volunteer. Phone clinics planned for this week will take place tomorrow from 11-1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m., Thursday from 4:30-6 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. CDT. 

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) program will hold a virtual legal clinic by phone on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. Artists, musicians or other creatives are invited to attend and speak to an attorney at no cost for 30 minutes about any arts-related legal questions. Those who would like to participate should register here. A VLPA staff member will contact registrants to gather more information and determine pro bono eligibility.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold free legal clinics over the phone this week on Thursday and Saturday. Local attorneys will offer advice on questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, applying for SNAP benefits and applying for unemployment benefits. Thursday’s clinic will take place from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT and the Saturday clinic will run from 8:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. CDT. For more information, please contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) has launched a new portal for lawyers to customize how they sign up to provide pro bono assistance to clients. The tool, Pro Bono Matters, allows attorneys to review brief synopses of cases and then express interest in handling specific civil legal issues. Questions and any requests for a demonstration on Pro Bono Matters should be directed to the pro bono coordinator in your area. In Chattanooga, contact Robyne Lopez, 423-402-4763. In Johnson City, contact Christy Harris, 423-794-2487. And in Knoxville, contact Kathryn Ellis, 865- 251-4951.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold its May legal clinics over the phone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Local attorneys will offer advice on questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. Those needing assistance may call 800-238-1443 on one of these dates to speak to an attorney. Please contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131, for more information or to volunteer. Phone clinics planned for this week will take place tomorrow from 4:30-6 p.m. and Friday from 8:30-11 a.m.

The American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s Disaster Legal Services Program and Paladin, a justice tech company specializing in pro bono software, today launched a national disaster relief pro bono portal that will list opportunities to serve those impacted by COVID-19, recent tornadoes in Tennessee, earthquakes in Puerto Rico and any future disasters. The ABA is making the portal available for free to all attorneys across the country in an effort to effectively deploy America’s lawyers to help individuals in times of emergencies. Lawyers can sign up and view cases here. Once logged in, lawyers will be able to filter opportunities by practice area, communities to serve, type of engagement and the ability to work remotely.

Legal service organizations and bar associations are providing support in response to two federal disaster declarations for tornadoes and severe storms that struck in middle and east Tennessee over the past two months. A toll-free legal assistance hotline (1-844-HELP4TN) is available to support survivors of the disasters and more information about services, including remote legal clinics, is available at www.HELP4TN.org. Volunteers are needed to provide legal information, advice and representation to those affected. Attorneys interested in volunteering should complete this online form. Assistance is also available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration. The deadline for assistance applications related to the March tornadoes is May 4 (possible extension pending) and June 23 for the April storms.

The Tennessee Access to Justice Commission (ATJ) recently hosted the Self-Represented Litigation Network’s annual meeting in Nashville. The national conference brought together legal professionals from around the country to discuss strategies for meeting the legal needs of the nation’s many self-represented litigants. The Tennessee judiciary was represented by Supreme Court Justice Connie Clark, Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Alexander McVeagh, Davidson County General Sessions Judge Rachel Bell, and staff from the Administrative Office of the Courts. Sessions included ways to engage the bench and bar, how to use technology to reach those in need and the innovative steps states have taken to make sure citizens can find legal resources. If you missed the conference, video is available for many of the presentations. Read more and get links to the video sessions.

President Donald Trump today issued a disaster declaration freeing up federal assistance for eight Tennessee counties slammed by heavy storms and tornadoes in mid-April, the Times Free Press reports. The president's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals as well state and local recovery efforts in Bradley and Hamilton counties. Individual assistance includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover. Those eligible for assistance can begin the application process at disasterassistance.gov and can get help by calling 800-621-3362. In addition, the declaration makes funding available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work as well as repair or replacement of facilities damaged in six other counties: Campbell, Marion, Monroe, Polk, Scott and Washington.

Faith leaders, mental health providers and legal community leaders gathered online this week for the 2020 Tennessee Faith and Justice Summit. Participants considered the ways faith and justice intersect and learned about free legal resources available to better serve Tennesseans in need. Knoxville attorney and Access to Justice Commission Chair Bill Coley commended the “dedication, energy and creativity” of the individuals and organizations focused on “practical solutions geared at helping the faith and legal communities join together to help people in need.” Joining Coley in presenting were Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark and Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate, among others. The event, held in conjunction with #Help4TNDay, was co-sponsored by the Beecken Center of the School of Theology at the University of the South, the University’s Office of Civic Engagement, and the Supreme Court’s ATJ Commission’s Faith and Justice Alliance.