by Kathy Para
JBA Pro Bono Committee Chair
Pro Bono Spotlight - Bringing you news of pro bono opportunities and accomplishments.
Back in the ’80s, television made small claims court into entertainment, bringing parties into television studio courtrooms to settle their differences in front of a nationwide audience and before colorful justices named Wapner and Judy. In reality, what happens in small claims court is anything but entertainment to people with low incomes.
With stakes rising up to $5,000, people in Jacksonville’s low-income population have too much riding on the outcomes of these verdicts to be amused by any of these proceedings. A verdict for or against them can literally be the difference between keeping their families in their homes or putting them out on the streets.
This is why Jacksonville Area Legal Aid will be offering area attorneys three two-hour continuing legal education seminars over the next three months focusing specifically on small claims and the closely related issue of garnishment. The free seminars, held on Fridays (March 19, April 16 and May TBA) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Jacksonville City Hall, will count for 2.5 CLE credits each.
“Low income clients are the most vulnerable to losing any of their precious income,” says Florida Coastal School of Law Professor Laura Boeckman, who will conduct the first of the three-part series, which will deal with garnishment. Most low-income people are exempt from garnishment, but, as is true throughout all of law, what the people don’t know can truly hurt them.
“Yes, many of our clients are exempt from garnishment,” Boeckman says, “but without our help in filing their claims of exemption, they might lose up to 25 percent of their income. Obviously, this could be catastrophic to their and their family’s survival.”
But, as is often the case, what seems complex to a lay person is many times a simple procedure for a trained legal mind.
“The garnishment statute is pretty straightforward for an attorney,” Boeckman says. “Many of the clients who need help with garnishment have very simple cases for attorneys to handle. But, for a pro se litigant, these things can be overwhelming. It’s here that a pro bono attorney can make all the difference in an individual or family’s world with just a very small time commitment.”
In fact, the garnishment cases are so straightforward that Boeckman uses them to allow her Consumer Law Clinic students to get a taste of arguing a case before a judge.
“Many of them are doing their first hearing ever,” she says. “And, of course, the clients benefit because they cannot afford to hire an attorney to represent them in the hearing.”
Much like Boeckman’s students, pro bono attorneys who take any of the three CLEs and agree to take on at least one pro bono case will have access to an expert attorney through JALA to help them through any issues that might arise. JALA also provides its pro bono attorneys with professional liability insurance while representing JALA clients.
Boeckman’s garnishment CLE will kick off the three-part series on March 19, followed by Successful Defense of Credit Card Collection Lawsuits taught by attorney Jim Kowalski on Friday, April 16, and Car Repossession Deficiency to be taught in May (TBA).
Attorneys can elect to attend as many of the three sessions as they want. Drinks and dessert will be provided. Participants are asked to bring their own brown bag lunch. The CLEs will also be available on DVD, and participants will receive a CD with relevant information and document templates.
Boeckman has been practicing consumer law for seven years, including two years in the predatory lending unit of JALA. She has taught for five years at FCSL, where she helped create the schools’ Consumer Law Clinic. She earned her J.D. from Indiana University and has a Master’s in Public Affairs from Indiana and a B.A. from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana. She is the past chair of the Florida Bar Consumer Protection Law Committee.
Kowalski, an AV-rated civil trial attorney, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco School of Law. He served as an Assistant State Attorney from 1989-1996 under Ed Austin and Harry Shorstein, acting as Division Chief (County Court; Public Corruption Unit) and Senior Trial Attorney in the Special Assault/Sex Crimes and ROC (Repeat Offender Court) Divisions. Kowalski specialized in litigation and consumer protection while at Tromberg and Kowalski and continues to focus on consumer fraud and serious personal injury cases as a solo practitioner.
Any attorneys interested in attending any of the three CLEs can RSVP to Kathy Para, Esq., JALA Pro Bono Development Coordinator, at [email protected], or call 356-8371, ext. 363.