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.

The Tennessee Faith & Justice Alliance will kick off its fourth annual Pro Bono & Faith Days this month with virtual training programs for each of the state’s grand divisions. The programs will feature a panel discussion around the intersection of faith, pro bono and racial justice, legal resource trainings from Tennessee Access to Justice Partners and free virtual legal clinic information. These free programs are designed for faith and community leaders, but all are welcome. Registration is required for each event. The schedule is as follows: West Tennessee on Oct. 26, Middle Tennessee on Oct. 28 and East Tennessee on Oct. 30.

Eighteen students from Tennessee law schools have completed the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Summer Fellows Program, which connected the students with a dozen organizations dedicated to expanding justice. In addition to their pro bono work with the organizations, students also remotely attended a weekly professional development, led by leading legal figures like Supreme Court Justice Connie Clark, who spoke on the importance of pro bono and civil justice work. During the program, students remotely helped to develop tools to mitigate unnecessary denials of social security disability benefit claims, worked with the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence to help judges presiding over domestic violence cases and much more. Read more on the program from the Administrative Office of the Courts website.

The Nashville School of Law Habitat for Humanity Wills Clinic works directly with NSL students and licensed attorney volunteers to produce wills for new Habitat homeowners each month using an approved will form. Attorney volunteers are needed for approximately two hours via Zoom to oversee upper-level law students as they go through the intake process with clients. No further time commitment is needed and an attorney-client relationship will not be established. Volunteer for just one session or sign up for as many as you’d like. The next three clinics will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. CDT on Oct. 20, Nov. 17 and Dec. 15. If you are able to help, email Ryan Harris or call at 615-942-1262.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold three 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 3 to 4 p.m., Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 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. See all clinics for the month.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings and Mid-South Immigration Advocates are offering a free virtual program on the topic of “Domestic Violence in Civil Litigation” on Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon CDT. The program will focus on orders of protection, domestic violence divorce considerations and ethics in domestic violence civil litigation, with the goal of equipping lawyers to provide quality pro bono service. The program will be led by Elizabeth R. McClellan, an experienced domestic and sexual violence litigator and appellate practitioner who has successfully appealed and made new law in the area of orders of protection. Please register by 5 p.m. CDT on Oct. 26 to receive the Zoom link. 

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold three 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., 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. See all clinics for the month.