Community Law Center

Pro Bono E-News
February 2007
 

 

The Pro Bono Project of the Community Law Center provides Non Profit Organizations in the Baltimore area with pro bono and low cost legal assistance. Please feel free to contact 410-366-0922 if you should have any questions about becoming a client of the Community Law Center's Pro Bono Project or our new Small Business Legal Services Project. We are here to serve you.

When the Community Law Center was founded in 1986, it was staffed by one person and most legal assistance was provided through a network of volunteer attorneys. Today, while the Community Law Center has grown and can handle many matters in-house through staff attorneys, the Pro Bono Project continues to match volunteer attorneys with clients in many communities. This system allows the Community Law Center to provide specialized legal expertise in virtually every aspect of the law to community and nonprofit organizations throughout Baltimore and beyond.
 

2006 was another busy and successful year for the Pro Bono Project. Over the course of the year, approximately 50 new cases were taken on by volunteer attorneys. In addition to the dozens of cases which continued on from previous years, the Pro Bono Project can boast that it assisted approximately 100 clients in 2006. We – and our clients! – certainly send a big “thank you” to all of the volunteer attorneys who helped make this possible!
 

With six active cases at press time (and two that were recently closed), Ronald Jackson exemplifies an extremely dedicated pro bono attorney. Mr. Jackson has taken widely varied matters, from incorporation and 501(c)(3) applications to working with community groups with liquor license or zoning problems. We are truly appreciative and grateful to Mr. Jackson for the countless hours and endless energy he puts into his many pro bono cases.

Mr. Jackson has worked for the federal government as an Environmental Protection Specialist for many years. At the age of 42, he decided to enroll at the University of Baltimore School of Law after working with a team of lawyers on a temporary assignment. “I enjoyed the way they would argue the facts and circumstances of an action, apply the law and reach a decision,” he states. Today, Mr. Jackson continues in his role with the federal government but has taken on an assortment of pro bono legal cases with the Community Law Center and other legal services providers. A special clinic case in law school, where his client’s criminal conviction was reversed, piqued Mr. Jackson’s interest in working with those unable to otherwise afford legal assistance: “I [began] to appreciate the power that lawyers have to improve the lives of the disenfranchised.” He initially started to do pro bono work to gain experience in various aspects of the law, and found it to be very rewarding and yet not too time-consuming. In his words, “The legal work is fulfilling, challenging, and often fun.“ Mr. Jackson is now looking to make the shift into a full-time legal career.

One client Mr. Jackson has enjoyed working with is a new nonprofit youth organization called Redeemed of Our Youth, Inc. Since November 2005, Mr. Jackson has enjoyed seeing the group’s initial plans turn into reality, as he has assisted them with writing bylaws, incorporation, and preparing their application to the IRS for recognition as a 501(c)(3) organization, along with other corporate matters. Ms. Mardell Alexander, President of Redeemed of Our Youth, Inc., tells the Pro Bono Project that Mr. Jackson has been very helpful and professional in explaining the many details surrounding the formation of a nonprofit organization and is always available for questions. She notes, “We know that Redeemed of Our Youth, Inc. would not be where it is today without the help of Mr. Jackson. We feel that he has been a blessing.” The Community Law Center staff would like to send out a special “thank you” to Ronald Jackson for being such an active and dedicated volunteer attorney with the Pro Bono Project, and look forward to continuing to work with him.
 

It is that time of year again – time for our semiannual hours reports. Twice a year, in accordance with our funders’ requirements, we must survey our pro bono attorneys to determine how many hours of legal services the Pro Bono Project has provided in the past six months. We have found that this exercise is also quite helpful in updating our case record files, as often we learn that matters have been resolved or that they have taken on a whole new direction. We hope that the timing of this request is not too inconvenient since it is also time for the annual reporting of pro bono hours to the Court of Appeals. Please click here [Danielle, please make the hours report form available for Ingrid to post on the website] to obtain a Community Law Center hours report if you would like to report to us the time you have contributed to our project over the July 1 – December 31, 2006 period. We thank you for your participation!

Our Pro Bono Project relies on dedicated attorneys who donate their time and energy to assisting community and nonprofit organizations with legal issues. Although we boast a roster of approximately 200 current pro bono attorneys, and reach out to others via the Pro Bono Resource Center’s listserv, we are always looking for new volunteer attorneys! Please share your pro bono experiences with friends and colleagues, and encourage potential pro bono attorneys to contact us for more information. Current and new pro bono attorneys may complete or update a registration form on our website registration form. This will help us place cases most efficiently and match appropriate attorneys and clients.
 

Each month, Pro Bono Project staff visit several community and nonprofit organizations to present information about the Community Law Center and the Pro Bono Project. We can attend regular membership or board meetings to describe our organization, the types of issues for which we can provide assistance, and the nuts and bolts of the Pro Bono Project. Please contact the Pro Bono Project if you would like to schedule a presentation to your organization.

The Pro Bono Project would like to welcome the following attorneys who joined our roster of pro bono attorneys by taking on cases in 2006:
• Jonathan Ackerman, Law Office of Jonathan Ackerman LLC
• Michael Beattie, Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver
• Michael Forlini, Michael V. Forlini, Attorney at Law, PC
• Jason Harmon, DLA Piper US LLP
• Leeann Kelly-Judd, DLA Piper US LLP
• Eileen Morgan Johnson, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP
• Patrick O'Hare, Ober Kaler
• Sylvia Ontaneda-Bernales, Ober Kaler
• Dodi Samuel, DLA Piper US LLP
• Renee Servance
• Ronald Shapiro, Miles & Stockbridge PC
• Robert Spar, Saul Ewing, LLP
 

Each month, Pro Bono Project staff visit several community and nonprofit organizations to present information about the Community Law Center and the Pro Bono Project. We can attend regular membership or board meetings to describe our organization, the types of issues for which we can provide assistance, and the nuts and bolts of the Pro Bono Project. Please contact the Pro Bono Project if you would like to schedule a presentation to your organization.
 

The fifth edition of the popular “How to Start a Nonprofit Organization in Maryland” book continues to be available for purchase. This manual serves as a “how to” guide to community and nonprofit groups wishing to formally organize in the form of a nonstock corporation and to obtain 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. The book includes samples of bylaws, articles of incorporation, and Form 1023 (the IRS application for tax exemption), and also describes filings and other ongoing requirements. Cost of the manual is $25.00 plus tax and shipping where applicable.

Choosing a place to make a charitable donation can be complicated. What is a good cause? Who is a good steward with your money? Does the program really help the people it says it does?
Make it easy to choose. Give to a place you know, a place where you already volunteer your time. Give a gift to the Community Law Center.
You may not realize that only around 8% of the CLC budget comes from fees paid by clients. 92% of the funds to run our programs come from grants and donations. Every gift helps someone in Baltimore live a better life or improve their community. Please support us with your time and your money. Thanks!
 

The mission of the Community Law Center is to provide legal services and technical assistance to improve the quality of life and economic viability of communities.
 

Kelly E. Pfeifer, Staff Attorney – kellyp@communitylaw.org or 410.366.0922 x33
Danielle Deckard, Paralegal – danielled@communitylaw.org or 410.366.0922 x15

 

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Thanks to the Community Law Center's new partnership with GoodSearch.com, raising money to help support our programs is literally a mouse click away. Log onto www.goodsearch.com -- a new search engine powered by Yahoo! -- and type "Community Law Center, Inc." into the "I support" box. CLC will then receive a donation each time you search the web using GoodSearch.