Statewide
Based in Raleigh, our Pro Bono Programs team operates our Lawyer on the Line, Full-Scope Service and Self-Help Clinics programs, coordinates with field offices to operate the Field Office Volunteer program, and provides support to our field offices and projects that run their own pro bono programs.
Director
The director of the Pro Bono Programs team is responsible for the overall operation and direction of all Legal Aid’s statewide pro bono programs. The director coordinates with our field offices to identify unmet needs, leads the design, launch and operation of new programs, liaises with the leaders of our partner organizations, directs recruitment efforts, and more.
Erin Haygood
Bio highlights: Erin joined our Pro Bono Programs team as director in 2021. She served as managing attorney of our Pittsboro office from 2017-2021 and as a staff attorney in Raleigh with The Child’s Advocate, one of our special projects, from 2014-2017. She served as President of Judicial District 18 from 2021-2022 and Vice President from 2019-2021. She earned her JD from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1997.
Resident and native of: Rural Orange and Alamance counties, NC
Fun fact: Loves trails – on foot or horseback – especially in the fall and early spring.
Attorneys
Our attorneys are responsible for training, mentoring and collaborating with volunteers, overseeing case management, helping to identify unmet legal needs and launch new programs, and liaising with other Legal Aid attorneys involved in pro bono cases.
Larissa Mañón Mervin, Supervising Attorney
Bio highlights: Larissa joined our Pro Bono Programs team as a supervising attorney in 2022. She has been an attorney with Legal Aid since 2016, serving in our Charlotte, Concord and Raleigh offices, most recently as the supervising attorney of the Domestic Violence Unit in our Charlotte office.
Resident of: Charlotte metro area
Native of: Born in New York, but lived in Raleigh for most of her childhood
Fun fact: Loves to dance! Started college as a dance major before deciding to go to law school.
Nicole Mueller, Supervising Attorney
Bio highlights: Nicole joined our Pro Bono Programs team as a supervising attorney in 2022. She also serves as a supervising attorney on our Disaster Relief Project, which she joined in 2019. In 2021, she served for eight months on our statewide Eviction Diversion Program. She earned her JD from Elon Law and her bachelor’s from UNC Chapel Hill.
Resident of: Greensboro, NC
Native of: Jamestown, NC
Fun fact: Has a bad habit of reading/listening to several different books at the same time and never using a bookmark.
Elizabeth Krabill, Staff Attorney
Bio highlights: Elizabeth joined our Pro Bono Programs team as a staff attorney in 2021. She has been an attorney with Legal Aid since 1998, serving in our Wilson office until 2017, when she joined our Helpline, in Raleigh. She earned her JD from UNC Law in 1997 and passed the NC bar later that year.
Resident of: Wilson, NC
Native of: Ohio
Fun fact: Loves to travel. Favorite trips are a safari in Tanzania in 2011, Morocco in 2014, and Vietnam and Cambodia in 2019.
Case Coordinators
Case coordinators are responsible for shepherding all of our pro bono cases from the initial referral to a volunteer to closure. They are the main point of contact for volunteers during their cases, and they can serve as a bridge between our volunteers and clients. Case coordinators also help recruit volunteers and promote our pro bono opportunities.
Cierra Baker
Bio highlights: Cierra joined Legal Aid as a case coordinator on our Pro Bono Programs team in 2022, the same year she earned her bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from William Peace University, in Raleigh. During college, she interned for Justice Phillip Berger, Jr., of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, and in the Wake County Sherriff’s Office.
Resident and native of: Fuquay Varina, NC
Fun fact: Has a twin brother
Jill Bridges
Bio highlights: Jill joined Legal Aid as a case coordinator on our Pro Bono Programs team in 2022 after earning her master’s in International Studies from NC State University, from which she also earned her bachelor’s in International Relations. She has interned for an international cultural exchange nonprofit in Raleigh and served as a delegate to a nuclear nonproliferation conference in Tennessee. She speaks Spanish and some Italian.
Resident and native of: Raleigh, NC
Fun fact: Played rugby through undergraduate and grad school at NC State
Leslie Dahlin
Bio highlights: Leslie joined Legal Aid in 2016 as a paralegal with The Child’s Advocate, one of our special projects. She previously worked with special populations in the Wake Co. School System and privately. She has a paralegal certificate from Meredith College and a bachelor’s from Montclair State in New Jersey.
Resident of: Garner, NC
Native of: Parsippany, NJ
Fun fact: Corgi lover
Brionna Harvin
Bio highlights: Brionna joined Legal Aid as a case coordinator for our Pro Bono Programs team in 2022. She earned her bachelor’s in Social Work from Austin Peay State University, in Tennessee, in 2020. During college, she interned as a social worker at Sigma Health Services, in Raleigh.
Resident of: Raleigh, NC
Native of: Memphis, TN
Fun fact: Loves painting, drawing and interior decorating
Sarah Moore
Bio highlights: Sarah joined Legal Aid as a case coordinator for our Pro Bono Programs team in 2022. She has a paralegal certificate from Duke University and previously worked as a litigation paralegal in a law firm in Raleigh. She earned her bachelor’s in Political Science and Gender and Women’s History from UNC Chapel Hill in 2020.
Resident of: Durham, NC
Native of: Charlotte, NC
Fun fact: Ran her first half marathon in 2021
Communications Manager
The communications manager is responsible for ensuring that the Pro Bono Programs team maintains effective communications with our volunteers, partner organizations, and other stakeholders in the North Carolina legal community.
Sean Driscoll
Bio highlights: Sean joined our Pro Bono Programs team as communications manager in 2022. He joined Legal Aid in 2012, serving as public relations director until 2022. He previously worked for the Legal Services Corporation, in Washington, D.C., from 2003-2011. He earned his bachelor’s in Political Science from Mary Washington College, in Virginia, in 2003.
Resident of: Durham, NC
Native of: Annandale, VA
Fun fact: Loves black cats and has a collection of black-cat trinkets from around the world.
Local
Charlotte
Casey Burke
Bio highlights: Casey became the joint pro bono coordinator for our Charlotte office and the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy in 2022. She serves as a single point of contact for Mecklenburg Co. attorneys seeking pro bono opportunities with either group. She earned her JD from Northeastern Law and her bachelor’s from UVA. Learn more.
Resident of: Harrisburg, NC
Native of: Charlottesville, VA
Fun fact: Favorite vacation of all time was hiking the Inca Trail in Peru.
Greensboro
Renee Gabriel-Alford
Bio highlights: Renee joined Legal Aid in 1999 as a paralegal in our Greensboro office. Soon after, she became the office’s pro bono coordinator. Before joining Legal Aid, she worked as a paralegal for law firms in Greensboro, California and Hawaii. I have a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from Appalachian State University.
Resident and native of: Greensboro, NC
Fun Fact: Renee is married to Gordon Morrison, has one son, Hunter Alford, and enjoys international travel.
Pro Bono News
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