Sylva Office
1286 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779
MAP
[Mailing address: P.O. Box 426, Sylva, NC 28779]
828-586-8931; 1-800-458-6817 (toll-free; for clients only)
FAX: 828-586-4082
About Sylva,
NC
Also see:
Hayesville Office
Sister Loretto John Meehan Community Services Center
MAP
Hwy. 64 - Business, Hayesville, NC 28904
828-389-2399; FAX: 828-389-2466
About us...
The staff of Legal Aid of North Carolina - Sylva Office provides legal assistance
in civil matters (non-criminal matters) to eligible, low-income clients
who have problems with their basic needs and live in the seven-county
area surrounding Sylva, NC:
Cherokee County,
Clay County,
Graham County,
Haywood County,
Jackson County,
Macon County or
Swain County.
In the News
Lisa Morgan elected Chair of LANC Board of Directors
(June 30, 2009 Media Release)
Legal
Aid of NC announces free tax preparation in Jackson and
Swain
Counties (January 30, 2009 Media Release)
Pro bono Options
[Contact our
PAI Coordinator at the LANC-Sylva Office]
Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) actively recruits, trains,
mentors, and co-counsels with volunteer (pro bono) attorneys
to help them handle the many complex and changing legal issues
unique to the practice of civil poverty law. Our
PAI ("Private Attorney Involvement") Program helps to ensure
access to justice for low-income families and further leverages the
dollars that are invested in LANC. Typically, volunteer (pro
bono) attorneys are needed either for their special expertise and/or
to help us with our large case load.
more on "pro bono"
Pro Bono Attorney Victory
for Wheelchair Bound Client
Pro bono attorney
Sylvia King Kochler of the law firm of
Hunton
& Williams has recently achieved a victory for our wheelchair
bound client in negotiating with Allstate Insurance Company to have
them pay for a new 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan handicap modified van
valued at $42,410. After being denied relief since his 1980 motor
vehicle accident, Kochler was successful in arguing that the new
handicap modified van was a “medical necessity”.The client is understandably
thrilled and thankful to Sylvia King Kochler. Congratulations and
THANKS to Sylvia King Kochler for her hard work and tenaciousness!!
[Click
here
to learn more about
"Pro
Bono Service" opportunities.]
Staff
Larry Nestler, Senior Managing Attorney
Kelley Bonfoey, Supervising Attorney
Carolyn Burton, Attorney
Jim Cohn, Receptionist/Secretary/Paralegal
Constance Moore, Staff Attorney
Crystal Freeman, Secretary
Meredith Gregory, Staff Attorney
Nathaniel Macon, Staff Attorney
Teresa H. Poor, Paralegal
Suzanne Saucier, Paralegal
Ed Anderson, PAI Contract Intake Attorney
Jim Holloway, Senior Managing Attorney (Hayesville Office)
Lisa Maney, Secretary/Receptionist (Hayesville Office)
Local Advisory Council
The Local Advisory Council is comprised of volunteers who live in
the communities served by the LANC-Sylva Office and who are dedicated to
ensuring equal access to justice.
History
The Legal Aid of North Carolina - Sylva Office, as it exists
today, is an outgrowth of a program that was originally conceived to
serve the Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation and known as "Eastern
Cherokee Legal Services Organization." Prior to October 1976, it was
funded by private donations, and civil and criminal representation was
provided by employees of the program to residents of the Eastern Cherokee
Indian Reservations.
As Congress began appropriating funds for the provision of legal services
to the poor to the national Legal Services Corporation (which was originally
a part of the Office of Economic Opportunity, but in 1974 was made an
independent corporation), Eastern Cherokee Legal Services Organization
was expanded in order to cover a seven county service area and renamed
"Western North Carolina Legal Services" (WNCLS). WNCLS was incorporated
on January 24, 1979. In October 1979, WNCLS entered into an agreement
with Legal Services of North Carolina (LSNC) to provide civil legal
assistance to low-income persons throughout the seven westernmost counties
of North Carolina.
WNCLS maintained its independent corporate status and received funding
from LSNC until December 31, 1998, at which time, WNCLS dissolved its
corporate status and became a program of Legal Services of North Carolina.
On July 1, 2002, LSNC consolidated with other independent programs to
form "Legal Aid of North Carolina," which now serves eligible, low-income
clients in all 100 counties of North Carolina. The WNCLS program was
renamed "Legal Aid of North Carolina - Sylva Office."
Disclaimer
The materials contained on this website
are for information and educational purposes only and do not
constitute legal advice.
Also please note that Legal Aid of North Carolina does not
provide legal assistance by E-mail. Contact your Legal Aid of
North Carolina office or a private attorney if you need to speak
to an attorney regarding your particular situation.
See our
complete disclaimer.
Mission Statement
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.