Virtual Town Hall
The Impact of COVID-19 on Civil Legal Needs and Access to Justice
On June 18th, LFW, the ATJ Board, JustLead Washington, the Alliance for Equal Justice, and WSBA hosted a 90-minute presentation moderated by Merf Ehman, the Executive Director of Columbia Legal Services. Legal leaders in our community discussed the impact of COVID-19 on eviction, unemployment, consumer, and immigration issues, the challenges to accessing justice in today’s closed courts, and how to get involved to meet the needs of our community. 1 general credit and .5 ethics CLE credit was offered. The WSBA Activity ID is: 1140895.
Panelists included Jorge Barón (Northwest Immigrant Rights Project), Joanna Plichta Boisen (President of the Campaign for Equal Justice), Elizabeth Fitzgearld (Clark County VLP), Paige Hardy (WSBA), Justice Montoya-Lewis (WA State Supreme Court), Shannon Smith (WA Attorney General’s Office), and John Tirpak (Unemployment Law Project).
Materials:
Pro Bono Equity Training Guide
Volunteer Lawyer Programs and Eviction Defense
Qualified Legal Service Provider Pro Bono Benefits
Recording:
Pro Bono Opportunities:
Please look at this directory of pro bono legal opportunities for information on how you can get more involved. Many of these organizations are civil legal aid providers funded by the Legal Foundation of Washington, including four organizations you heard from at the Virtual Town Hall (Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program, Columbia Legal Services, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Unemployment Law Project).