Payment included big smiles, warm handshakes and some grateful hugs when paralegals, notaries and attorneys gathered at the MCCI Normandy Boulevard Clinic to create advance directive documents for low-income seniors.
Volunteers in the 4th Judicial Circuit continue to join forces to ensure senior citizens will have the support of people they trust as they manage health, housing and financial matters.
Most recently those ranks were strengthened by the legal teams at McGuireWoods and Citi.
Elizabeth Rothenberg, of McGuireWoods, and Erika Posada-Diaz, from Citi, led the effort for their organizations.
In preparation for the event, pro bono attorney Robert Morgan provided a lunchtime CLE training session for volunteers on the Citi campus.
The Advance Directives for Seniors project at the clinic was presented in three segments.
In the first segment, pro bono attorney Debbie Lee-Clark described for a group the purposes of each advance directive document: durable power of attorney, designation of health care surrogate, designation of pre-need guardian and a living will.
Seniors who wanted to sign up to have the documents created worked with Veronica Johnson, the activities coordinator at the clinic, to schedule a time to meet with an attorney Sept. 24.
Document creation is the second segment of the project. Nine senior citizens completed their advance directives documents.
The third segment of the project provides assistance for seniors who were not able to attend the event but who have indicated they would like to have the service.
At least four seniors who were unable to attend will be assisted by attorneys at the clinic.
The following attorneys provided legal assistance at the clinic: Elizabeth Rothenberg, Deborah Brennan Magri, Debbie Lee-Clark, Daniel Mahfood, Kimberly Mydock, Christina Chavez, Emily Rottmann and Taylor Broadhead.
Paralegal Donna Hoffman, of Lindell & Farson, notarized documents and scanned executed documents for archiving in the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid case management system.
These paralegals, legal assistants and notaries drafted and executed documents: Rikki Golden, Marlene Liano, Deborah Thompson, Erika P. Diaz and B.J. Cook.
Sincere appreciation is extended to the entire volunteer team. These legal professionals provided much-needed assistance to senior citizens who would not otherwise have access to legal help.
Two more events are planned: Saturday, Oct. 17, at Pablo Hamlet in Jacksonville Beach, and Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Clay County Council on Aging.
Attorneys interested pro bono opportunities throughout the 4th Judicial Circuit are encouraged to contact Para at [email protected].