Program helps community ‘Ask-a-Lawyer’
11/02/2009 by Joe Wilhelm Jr. Staff Writer With the need for legal counsel far outweighing the resources available to provide it these days, The Jacksonville Bar Association (JBA) teamed up with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA) and City Council recently to reach out to the Jacksonville community. The “Ask-A-Lawyer” pro bono project was created to provide free legal advice for people that may not need to hire an attorney, but just need to be pointed in the right direction to help solve their problems. “Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and many pro bono attorneys assist with representing these residents in their civil legal matters, but the need far exceeds the legal resources,” said Kathy Para, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid pro bono development coordinator. “In some cases, legal representation may not be required and in some cases brief counsel and advice from a licensed attorney may be all the assistance a person needs.”The first “Ask-A-Lawyer” pro bono project visited the Community Rehabilitation Center at 623 Beechwood St. Oct. 24, which is in Council member Johnny Gaffney’s Dist. 7. The project offered 14 licensed attorneys who provided expertise in a variety of practice areas including personal injury, family law, employment and contract law and criminal law. Future “Ask-A-Lawyer” pro bono projects will be held in areas identified by members of Council. Residents who participated in the program signed statements verifying that they understood that the interviewing attorney was not opening a case, but was simply there to provide some legal guidance and information on additional community resources. For matters that required full representation, residents were referred to either JALA or the Jacksonville Lawyer Referral Service. “The project evolved from our desire to provide more direct assistance to the citizens of Jacksonville in need,” said Dan Bean, president of the JBA, “while also strengthening our relationship with various City Council members.” Other area lawyers who volunteered for the event included attorneys Valarie Linnen, Jamie Ibrahim of JALA, Lanesha Sims of Holland & Knight, Michael Orr of the Law Offices of Michael Fox Orr, and Kevin Cook of the Bedell Firm. They were assisted by members of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division from around the state who were in Jacksonville for the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division annual meeting. “The event was extremely successful,” said Bean. “We assisted over 25 citizens with a variety of legal issues.” For more information or to sign up to participate as an interviewing attorney in the new “Ask-A-Lawyer” project, contact Para at kathy.para@jaxlegalaid.org or 356-8371, ext. 363. jwilhelm@baileypub.com 356-2466
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