Based in Raleigh, our Pro Bono Programs team operates our statewide pro bono programs and provides support to our field offices and projects that run their own programs.
Director
The Director of the Pro Bono Programs team is responsible for the overall operation and direction of Legal Aid NC’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.
Allison Constance
Bio highlights: Allison joined Legal Aid of North Carolina as Director of Pro Bono Programs in 2023. She worked as Director of Pro Bono Initiatives at UNC School of Law from 2016-2023, where she also served as an adjunct professor. She began her career as an attorney at North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Inc., following her graduation from UNC School of Law in 2009.
Resident of: Durham, NC
Native of: Greenville, SC
Fun fact: Loves creative projects and has taken courses in cake decorating and pottery.
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.
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.
Erin Haygood, Supervising Attorney
Bio highlights: Erin is a Supervising Attorney on our Pro Bono Team and in our Pittsboro local office. Her primary practice areas include family law and housing. 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.
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.
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
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
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.
Pro Bono News
Legal Aid NC announces new Summer Associate Pro Bono Program
A message from Allison Constance, new Director of Pro Bono Programs
Duke Energy, McGuireWoods partner up for pro bono clinic
Allspring Global Investments, K&L Gates help housing clients at pro bono clinic
Wells Fargo Foundation and Legal Aid NC announce expansion of housing-justice services in Eastern NC
Wells Fargo pro bono volunteers give free legal advice to Legal Aid NC clients at Lawyer on the Line event
Bradley, Bank of America celebrate Financial Institution Pro Bono Day by providing free legal advice to Legal Aid NC clients
Elon Law students give free legal advice to Legal Aid NC clients at pro bono clinic
New Hanover County attorneys honored for pro bono service to Legal Aid NC
