Author: Helen Hobson

Now legalaidnc.org is more user-friendly and accessible for clients

Now legalaidnc.org is more user-friendly and accessible for clients

Raleigh, N.C. – Legal Aid of North Carolina has fully launched its new website at the existing legalaidnc.org address. Designed and developed by Charlotte-based Kelso Communications and Priceless Misc, the website features the new Legal Aid NC brand debuted earlier this year to celebrate and honor the organization’s 20th anniversary. Navigation has been updated to better tell the organization’s story and demonstrate the incredible impact the organization makes in all 100 counties of North Carolina. Most importantly, client resources and self-help materials have been reorganized to be easily accessible and searchable. The new legalaidnc.org website also makes it easier for the community to donate and get involved.

“While I am thrilled with how fresh and friendly the design of our new website is, I am even more excited by how well it will serve our clients,” said Ashley Campbell, CEO of Legal Aid of North Carolina. “Our attorneys, paralegals and staff are always happy to help, but this website will help our community educate and empower themselves.”

The new Get Help section of legalaidnc.org:

Puts front-and-center a news carousel where clients can see important alerts and time-sensitive information like application deadlines and emergency-specific resources.
Features “one stop shop” sections dedicated to housing, domestic violence and sexual assault, healthcare access, government benefits, seniors, family law, consumer issues, employment and more.
Neatly organizes specific resources, events and links to other articles within each topic area (see the Housing section for example).
Highlights local offices, how to contact Legal Aid NC for assistance and self-help clinics where users can learn to handle certain basic legal issues without hiring an attorney.

In addition to better serving clients, the robust Pro Bono section of legalaidnc.org caters to members of the legal community across North Carolina who are looking for a way to give back. The website features a full list of pro bono programs and staff who can help attorneys, law students, paralegals and others channel their passion into projects that maximize their impact and time. The website also features opportunities for continuing legal education.

Legal Aid NC’s upgraded website is a key milestone in the organization’s 20th anniversary strategy to increase its impact. Legal Aid of NC has grown to become the only organization that can remove civil legal barriers to economic opportunity for every vulnerable North Carolinian. Currently, the organization includes more than 500 staff and volunteer attorneys who provide legal services to 22,609 people, benefitting 53,265 total individuals, with the legal and non-legal services they need to live safe, stable, self-sufficient, productive and meaningful lives. Though the organization makes a huge difference, the demand for its services surpasses its capacity to help. Legal Aid NC’s investment in redeveloping its website ensures that legalaidnc.org is no longer a barrier for those who want to donate or volunteer.

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Learn more at legalaidnc.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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Author: Helen Hobson

Thursday, October 27^th, 2022

2:00pm – 6:00pm EDT

4 hours of General CLE credit (***pending approval by the North Carolina State Bar)

Cost: $65

Program Overview:

This CLE will focus on the intersection of custody in Chapter 50 and 50B cases. Many would expect that survivors of intimate partner and family violence who bring the abuse up in a custody matter would often be awarded primary custody. However, studies have shown that protective parents experience unexpected outcomes at a significant rate. The first session of the CLE will explore the studies on the topic and the possible reasons for the disparate outcomes for survivors of intimate partner and family violence. The second session will look at drafting 50B orders to help in later Chapter 50 custody cases. It will point out differences in both orders and how to prepare a case to help a client in a later Chapter 50 custody case. The program will end with a panel of North Carolina judges and their discussion of domestic violence law.

Presenters:

Sarah Caraffa is a staff attorney at the Raleigh Office of Legal Aid of North Carolina. She has been on the Domestic Violence Team in the Raleigh office for over five years, litigating Chapter 50B protective orders as well as other related Chapter 50 actions, mainly custody. Prior to working in North Carolina, Sarah practiced immigration law, working specifically with refugees and asylees. She graduated from Saint Louis University with a JD and MSW.

Elysia Prendergast-Jones is a supervising attorney for the Raleigh Office of Legal Aid of North Carolina. She works primarily in the fields of family law and domestic violence. She enjoys empowering clients and working with the population that LANC serves. She serves on the WCBA and NCAJ CLE committee. She is on the board of Triangle Area Parenting Support and a member of her daughter’s PTSA. Elysia has spoken at many CLE’s in the areas of family law and domestic violence.

Elysia’s legal experience extends from family law to A/N/D court to criminal and civil court as well as the NC Court of Appeals, where some of the cases have recently been published. She has always had a passion for helping people as she has taken a position as a staff attorney for Legal Aid of North Carolina working with clients in domestic violence situations.

She was a previous supervising attorney for NCCU’s School of Law’s Lawyer on the Line program, in connection with Legal Aid and provided guidance to students as they navigate the law to help their clients. Former Chairperson of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Solo, Small Firm, and General Practice Division, she has served as Chair for the council of the Young Lawyers’ Division, the Law-related Education Committee, the Juvenile Justice Section, and others. Additionally, Elysia participated in Camp Confidence, a joint task-force between the Cary Police Department and the NCBA to work with at-risk youth during summers.

Elysia has a degree from NCCU’s School of Law, as well as a Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts from Webster University in counseling psychology. She has a B.A. from Coker College in psychology and English. Elysia has been a teacher for Wake County and a counselor working with children.

Devin Trego is a supervising attorney in the Fayetteville office of Legal Aid of North Carolina, where she has worked for the past five years. Prior to moving south, Devin worked as a staff attorney for the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center, the legal project of the Women’s Resource Center, in her hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Temple Law School in Philadelphia.

The Honorable Margaret Eagles, Wake County District Court Judge

The Honorable Valene McMasters, Forsyth County District Court Judge

The Honorable Craig James, Johnston County District Court Judge

Author: Helen Hobson

Leadership seeks to grow the organization’s impact.

North Carolinians are encouraged to learn more, donate, volunteer and get involved.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Legal Aid of North Carolina will celebrate its 20th anniversary July 1, 2022. From one office in Durham, N.C. in 2002, to more than 25 offices around the state today, Legal Aid of North Carolina has grown to become the only organization that can remove civil legal barriers to economic opportunity for every vulnerable North Carolinian. Currently the organization includes more than 500 staff and volunteer attorneys helping more than 70,000 people yearly, including 30,000 children. Legal Aid of North Carolina represents victims of abuse, families on the brink of homelessness and others in crisis to get the justice they deserve, resulting in access to housing, education, healthcare and employment, safety from abuse and other life-changing benefits.

Though the organization’s impact is great, the demand for Legal Aid of North Carolina’s services surpasses its capacity to help. In honor of the organization’s two decades of service, Legal Aid of North Carolina is encouraging every North Carolina resident who can to donate, volunteer or get involved. Learn how to make a positive impact at www.legalaidnc.org.

“Our talented team and volunteers give compassion to people in their most dire time of need,” said executive director George Hausen, who has led the agency since its start in 2002. “With a holistic approach to every client’s legal situation, Legal Aid of North Carolina provides a diverse array of services. We fight to remove the barriers our clients face and uphold their access to opportunity.”

Legal Aid of North Carolina has a proven history of standing in the gap to ensure the state’s most vulnerable people have access to legal representation. In 1994 when federal funding for legal services was slashed, the North Central Legal Assistance Program cut staff and closed its doors. Four independent legal aid programs across the state merged into what would become Legal Aid of North Carolina in 2002, headquartered in Durham, N.C.

Over the years, the organization has formed partnerships with other legal services groups for the benefit of its clients. Today, Legal Aid of North Carolina is the driving, unifying force behind projects like the NC Navigator Consortium, a network of agencies whose health insurance navigators connect millions with affordable health coverage. In 2021, Legal Aid of North Carolina mounted the StopTheCycleNC.org domestic violence campaign, and in 2020, the organization and its partners sued the state of North Carolina to successfully reopen the NC Extra Credit Grant program to give the families in poverty the chance to apply for a $335 check to defray the cost of at-home learning during pandemic school closures.

“On behalf of the board of directors, thanks to everyone who has played a role in Legal Aid of North Carolina’s development and growth, especially during the pandemic when so many more needed help,” said Gonzalo Frias, managing counsel of Wells Fargo’s legal department and chair of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s board of directors. “Our goal is to increase the support and financial resources the organization needs to meet demand for the next 20 years and beyond.”

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Learn more at legalaidnc.org, and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Need legal help? Call 1-866-219-5262 (toll-free) or apply online at legalaidnc.org/apply.

Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Charlotte office serves residents of Mecklenburg County. Learn more.

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