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In the News...Updates on LANC activities

From "Staff News..."

  

 
  03/30/11 - Rachel Braver (paralegal,
  LANC-Battered Immigrant Project,
  Raleigh) was recognized as a recipient of
  the FBI's "2010 Director’s Community
  Leadership Award" at a March 25
  ceremony at the FBI Headquarters in
  Washington, DC.  FBI Director Robert S.
  Mueller, III presented the award.  Rachel
  was recognized for her work as coordinator for the NC Human Trafficking Task Force, which works to promotes awareness and educates and trains law enforcement officials across the state.  Rachel facilitated efforts to start and expand local groups that assist law enforcement by providing victim services in human trafficking cases. worked to ensure that basic law enforcement curriculum is written and implemented, met with and/or trained 10-15 law enforcement agencies in North Carolina, and conducted numerous public outreach programs.  Well deserved recognition.  Congratulations, Rachel!  [Click here to view article, "2010 Director’s Community Leadership Award, Rachel Braver".]
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  03/25/11 - Rona Karacaova (BIP coordinator,
  Charlotte Office) and Jennifer Stuart (staff attorney,
  Battered Immigrant Project, Raleigh Office) were
  interviewed by NC Lawyers Weekly for an article on LANC's Battered Immigrant Project (BIP).  The article, "Where immigration law meets family law," was published on March 25 and provides an overview of the BIP staff's work.  [Click here to view article, "Where immigration law meets family law."]
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  03/13/11 - Melany Earnhardt (managing attorney,
  LANC-Greensboro office) spoke last week in a workshop
  called “N.C. Foreclosure Process and Lending
  Practices — Your Rights!” at the Women’s Resource
  Center of Greensboro.  Her presentation was covered by the Greensboro News & Record, resulting in an article, "Faces of Foreclosure," in the GNR Sunday edition.  Melany offered a list of community resources to help people facing foreclosure, as well as several courses of action to prevent foreclosure or minimize its negative effects.  [Click here to view 03/13/11 article, "Faces of Foreclosure."]
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  03/11/11 - This week, the LANC-
  Pembroke Office staff helped Wake
  Forest University law students with their
  Pro Bono   Project to provide outreach to
  the area's   Lumbee tribe members.  The
  law students held legal clinics throughout the week for military veterans, senior citizens and other low-income tribal members.  The students also helped Lumbee officials prepare and review legal documents related to the tribe's ongoing fight to win full federal recognition.  According to Dale Deese (senior managing attorney, LANC-Pembroke Office), this is the first law school group in the state to partner with the LANC-Pembroke Office in such an effort.  Pictured (é above ) is David Richardson (staff attorney, LANC-Pembroke Office) speaking with Lumbee senior citizens at the Prospect Heritage Club on end-of-life planning.  Also pictured
  (ç second pic) is Candace Harke (staff
  attorney, LANC-Pembroke Office) working
  with a WFU law student.
  [Click here to view 03/10/11
  Fayetteville Observer article, "Scholars
  trade sand and surf for law and order" ]
  [Click here to view 03/12/11 The Robesonian article, "Wake Forest law students lend Lumbees legal hand".]
[Click here to view WFU Law School's article, "Students to provide pro bono legal services to Lumbee tribe with Legal Aid over Spring Break" ]
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03/08/11 - According to the NCBA article, the March 4, 2011, "4ALL Statewide Services Day (was a) Record-Setting Success."  Many LANC advocates volunteered at the various sites, including staff attorneys Faith Fickling and Kelly Durden [see pic on right â] of the LANC-Charlotte Office, who served at the WBTV site in Charlotte.  Overall, 471 volunteers at seven call centers provided free legal information to 8,870 citizens.  Access the links below for details including an expansive photo gallery (including LANC folks) from all seven sites.
[Click here to view NCBA article, "4ALL Statewide Services Day Record-Setting Success."]
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 02/23/11 - Miriam Heard (staff attorney, LANC-
  Greensboro Office and a former MLK summer intern) has
  had her short story, "The Stone Bull," published in the
  Spring 2011 edition of the North Carolina State Bar
  Journal.  Miriam's story earned her third prize in the
  7th Annual Fiction Writing Competition.  We certainly
  enjoyed reading the short story and are delighted to see the author was one of our own.  THANK YOU, MIRIAM!!!

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  02/16/11 - Niya Fonville (staff attorney,
  LANC-Morganton Office) and Caitlin Ryland
  (staff attorney, LANC-Farmworker Unit) have
  been selected to participate in the inaugural class of the NCBA Leadership Academy.  Sixteen young lawyers were selected from a pool of 79 applicants for this new leadership training program for young lawyers that has been designed by the NCBA’s Young Lawyer Initiatives Task Force in cooperation with the Center for Creative Leadership.  The Leadership Academy will convene March 4-5, April 1, April 29, May 20 and June 24.  The first four sessions will take place at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary.  The May 20 session will be held at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, with the final session taking place on June 24 at the NCBA Annual Meeting in Asheville.  Lawyers participating in the Leadership Academy will also take part in the 4ALL event on March 4 at the Raleigh call center.  Congratulations Niya and Caitlin!!!
[Click here to view NCBA's announcement regarding the 2011 class of the NCBA Leadership Academy.]
_____
 
  02/08/11 - TeAndra Miller (project director, DVPI/BIP)
  along with new staff attorney for the BIP, Saba Baig, and
  attorneys from the LANC-Raleigh DV unit [Suzanne
  Chester (manging attorney), Atyia Mosely (VOCA
  attorney), Matthew Stauff (satff attorney), Jordan Hardy (attorney/fellow, Florida Costal School of Law) and Nima Nematollahi (intern)], recently hosted a group of visitors who were invited to visit the U.S. through the auspices of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program.  The focus of the visit was "Preventing Domestic Abuse and Violence" -A Regional Project for North Africa.  The visitors were from the following countries:  Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the West Bank.  LANC staff began the meeting by providing information about NC civil domestic violence laws, including the anatomy of a DV case from filing through the hearing.  Additionally, information about applicable immigration laws was provided.  A few of the visitors work in governmental offices that address violence against women issues while others work with domestic violence shelters.  One impressive guest was in the first graduating class with female attorneys in Saudi Arabia a mere three years ago.  Prior to her class, women were not allowed to study law.  She has set up her own practice and offers pro bono assistance to victims of domestic violence.
_____
 
  01/31/11 - Carolyn Burton (attorney, LANC-Sylvia
  Office) obtained a significant settlement in a VAWA
  (Violence Against Woman Act) funded equitable
  distribution case.  Our client received over $70,000 in
  cash in addition to personal and real property.  The cash
  funds which had been placed in a joint checking account were primarily Tribal "per capita" funds (casino gaming distributions), which remained the separate property of our client pursuant to NC case law and as a result of our earlier Cherokee Supreme Court decision that established "per capita payments" as separate property.  This case has significant implications for our Cherokee enrolled clients when they seek divorce, whether in Tribal or State courts.  Carolyn worked over a year on this case which was funded pursuant to our VAWA contract with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
_____

  01/27/11 - Sandy Lee (managing attorney, LANC-
  Greenville Office) has been appointed to the board of
  trustees of the United Way of Pitt County in Greenville. 
  The United Way of Pitt County is focusing on reducing the
  drop-out rate and unemployment after seeking community
  feedback last year.  Founded in 1958, the United Way of Pitt County underwent major changes as it adopted a community impact model and joined with other organizations to focus on solving social issues rather than simply funding agencies.  Congratulations, Sandy!
_____

  01/25/11 -At its meeting on January 21, 2011, the
  NC Conference of Bar Presidents elected Gina
  Reyman (senior managing attorney, LANC-
  Durham Office) to serve a second three-year term on their
  Executive Committee.  She will serve in the position of
  Vice-Chair of the Committee for the upcoming year.  Congrats, Gina! 
_____

  01/20/11 - During its 25th Annual Meeting this morning,
  Domestic Violence Shelter and Services, Inc.(DVSS)
  of Wilmington honored Roselle Margolis (paralegal,
  Centralized Intake Unit) as one of the founding "Mothers"
  that consistently has supported the agency for 25+ years and
  continues to support DVSS.  DVSS had an upfront reserved
  table for the founding "Mothers", greeted them with corsages, had the "Mothers' individually come up to the podium and presented them with beautiful embroidered blanket throws.  Congrats, Roselle!
_____

  01/11/11 - Evan Lewis (senior managing attorney,
  LANC-Greenville/New Bern Offices) negotiated financial
  arrangements for a client  to buy her home when her
  landlord could not afford to fix lead problems.  Simply
  put, the client's landlord could not afford to remediate the
  problem, so he sold house to Wilson who was eligible for assistance.  When county inspectors determined that the cost of the home repairs would exceed the cost of providing the client a new home,  Lewis began working with the county on a proposal to tear down the home and replace it with a new one though the county's HOME program.  He also had to involve two lending instituions and negotiate a MOU.   Eventually the old house was demolished, and a $67,000, 1,600-square-foot dwelling was erected in seven weeks and one day by volunteer laborers with Grifton Mission Ministries as part of a government program that helps provide safe and sanitary housing for low-income people.  The client celebrated the new house with a  community event on January 8th.  "Legal Aid of NC, Self Help Credit Union, Southern Bank and just about everyone in Pitt County worked together," Lewis said.  "Sometimes it takes a village to build a house!" 
[Click here to view the 01/11/11 Daily Reflector article, "Ayden woman gets healthy home."]
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  07/14/09 - Valene Franco (managing Attorney,
  family law, LANC-Winston-Salem Office) was voted
  President-Elect of the Forsyth County Bar
  Association, an association of over 1000 attorneys
  in Forsyth County.  This is the first time that a
  legal aid attorney has been elected to this
  position, and it has been many years since an African-American woman has been elected to this position.  The election was confirmed at the Monday July 13th Forsyth County Bar Association meeting at Piedmont Club in Winston.  Valene will serve as President of the association for the 2010-2011 term.  Congratulations, Valene!!!
_____
 
  07/02/09 - Congratulations to TeAndra Miller
  (project director, LANC-DVPI) who was admitted to
  the Bar of the US Supreme Court on June 1.  Further,
  TeAndra and her mother, Deloris J. Martin were
  simultaneously admitted during the same ceremony held
  at the Supreme Court's Washington, D.C. courtroom.  The Honorable John G. Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, granted the motion in a ceremony attended by the inductees' friends and family.  This distinction allows TeAndra to appear as an attorney of record before the U.S. Supreme Court.
_____
 
  06/18/09 - The NC Supreme Court today
  denied discretionary review of the NC Court of
  Appeals decision in Martin v. DHHS, published at
  670 S.E.2d 629, which held the state Medicaid agency must use real family size rather than SSI methodology in determining eligibility for MQB benefits.  Congratulations to LANC attorneys, Angie Dorsey (senior managing attorney, LANC-Asheville Office and Emma Clark (staff attorney, LANC-Morganton Office and now with LANC-Winston-Salem Office), along with co-counsel, Doug Sea of Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont , for their successful representation of this disabled woman who had applied for MQB benefits [Medicaid for the Qualified Beneficiary(Part B)] and was initially denied.  The client receives Medicare and needed help paying her Medicare Part B Premium which helps pay for doctor services and other outpatient care.
_____
 
  05/22/09 - Roselle E. Margolis, Certified Paralegal/PAI
  Coordinator for Legal Aid of North Carolina's (LANC's) -
  Battered Immigrant Project was awarded the 2009
  Cape Fear Women of Achievement Public Service Award
  during the Celebration Friday, May 22, 2009 in Historic Thalian Hall, Wilmington, NC.  The Cape Fear Women of Achievement Awards (WOA) is the YWCA Lower Cape Fear’s signature event to recognize and celebrate women’s and teen’s exemplary accomplishments.  The WOA awards provide recognition for outstanding contributions and achievements of women active in Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender counties of North Carolina. [Click here for Wilmington Star News article, "YWCA honors local Women of Achievement".]
_____
 
  04/14/09 - Congratulations to Jim Wall
  (senior managing attorney) and Shelly Bao (staff
  attorney) of the LANC-Wilmington Office
  whose client received a favorable decision in
  US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  Chief US District Judge Louise W. Flanagan ruled that the commissioner at Social Security did not have substantial evidence to determine that the plaintiff was not disabled.  This decision (Urash v. Astrue, March 22, 2009) is the second published federal court decision within the past six months for the LANC-Wilmington Office (the other decision was for Jernigan v. Astrue on October 24, 2008).  Jim said: "Shelly did the majority of the work. Getting a Social Security case published at the Federal District Court level requires extraordinarily good advocacy.  Congratulations to Shelly!"
_____
 
  03/06/09 - Mike Ferrante (staff attorney,
  LANC-New Bern Office, in the foreground)
  and Richard Klein (senior managing attorney,
  LANC-Wilmington Office, center back row)
  were two of several LANC attorneys who helped at NCBA's "3-6-9" event ("Free Service Day") on Friday, March 6. Lawyers from across North Carolina participated at call centers in Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington. People could call in and get free legal counseling. The event was intended to help people who ordinarily can not pay legal fees. Also in the photo is former LANC attorney Marco Locco (to right of Richard).  [Click here to view WWAY article, "Lawyers across NC help with free legal advice."]
_____
 
  01/06/09 - LANC attorneys, Angie Dorsey
  (senior managing attorney, LANC-Asheville Office)
  and Emma Clark (staff attorney, LANC-
  Morganton   Office), along with co-counsel, Doug Sea of Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont, represented a disabled woman who had applied for MQB benefits [Medicaid for the Qualified Beneficiary(Part B)] and was initially denied.  The client receives Medicare and needed help paying her Medicare Part B Premium which helps pay for doctor services and other outpatient care. In determining her eligibility for this benefit, the state had interpreted family size in such a way that the disabled woman's spouse who is disabled and whom she provides sole financial support was not included as part of her family for determining her MQB eligibility.  The Court of Appeals in a 3-0 decision struck down those state regulations and found that the state should interpret family size to include an applicant's spouse who lives with her and is dependent on the applicant for financial support.  Congratulations to Angie, Emma and Doug for their outstanding advocacy! 
Click here to view decision]  
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11/04/08 - Jim Wall (senior managing attorney)
  and Shelly Bao (staff attorney) of the LANC-
  Wilmington Office, along with Monica Savidge
  (former LANC staff attorney and now with
  Christine Rivenbark & Associates) were successful in convincing a federal district court to reverse an ALJ decision denying social security benefits to a claimant whose treating physician had determined that her physical and mental conditions were such that she could not return to her past work.  District Court Judge Terrence Boyle found that regulations require the treating physician's opinion be given "great weight" and disregarded only when there is "persuasive contrary evidence."  Congratulations to Jim, Shelly and Monica!!!  [Click here to view the full district court decision.]
_____
 
  10/25/08 - Valene K. Franco [managing attorney
  (domestic) , LANC-Winston-Salem Office] has been
  selected as a member of the 2008-09 class of Leadership
  Winston-Salem, a community leadership-development
  program.   Leadership Winston-Salem has offered
  community leadership-development programs in Forsyth
  County since 1985 and has more than 1,300 alumni. 
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09/16/08 - "The NCATL [NC Academy of Trial Lawyers] Family Law Section is partnering with Legal Aid [of NC] and Interact, a Raleigh-based nonprofit organization providing support to victims of domestic violence and rape, to expand an existing Interact project begun last year.  The project is designed to help domestic violence victims find assistance with legal issues outside of obtaining a protective order.  Private attorneys volunteer to provide free consultations for Interact clients who were not part of that organization's case management program.  Heather Williams, Family Law Section Communications Chair, and Suzanne Chester (photo on right), of Legal Aid [Raleigh Office] and a Family Law Section member, are coordinating the section's effort to develop concrete guidelines as well as a master referral list to support Interact and Legal Aid [of NC] in this important outreach." [from NCATL's "E-Brief Notes", Sept. 16, 1980]
____
 
  08/10/08 - Jeremy T. Browner is a volunteer attorney
  who is currently working with the LANC-Durham Office .
  Pursuant to 27 N.C.A.C. 1D, Rule .0905(a)(3)
  of the NC State Bar, Jeremy T. Browner is the first lawyer to receive an "Order Granting Pro Bono Practice by Out of State Lawyer." Jeremy has been with LANC-Durham for the past few weeks and has already began working on cases in the consumer area.  [Click here to view August 10, 2008 The Herald-Sun article, "Durham newcomer practicing law for free."]
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  08/07/08 - The programs and services of the LANC-
  Durham Office were featured in today's The Herald-Sun
  in an article entitled "Legal Aid helps the down and out." 
  Those from the LANC-Durham Office who were quoted
  in the article included:  Gina Reyman (senior managing
  attorney), Willette Crews (paralegal/community educator)
  and Madlyn Morreale (staff attorney).  The article also included a photo of Kari Hamel (staff attorney) and summer interns Patrick Caulfield and Meredith Flowe .  Also quoted was a client (a 35-year-old mother of two whose job pays $7 an hour), whose property on which her mobile home sits was threatened with foreclosure until Legal Aid saved the day.  Great article!  [Click here to view article, "Legal Aid helps the down and out."]
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  08/01/08 - At the July '08 luncheon meeting of the
  Wake County Bar Association, Victor Boone
  (regional manager, LANC Triad Region & senior
  managing attorney, LANC-Raleigh Office), on
  behalf of LANC, accepted a check for $4,960 from
  the Wake County Bar Association (WCBA).  The amount represented the proceeds of the recent WCBA "Bar & Grill Awards" fundraiser.  [Click here to view article from the August edition of Wake County Flier.]
_____
 
  07/23/08 - Yvette Stackhouse (managing attorney,
  LANC-Winston-Salem Office) was featured in today's
  edition of the Winston-Salem Journal.  The article,
  "Crisis: Attorney helps those hurt by housing woes," was on the front page of the "local" section.  Super article, Yvette!
[Click here to view the 07/23/08 article on the Winston-Salem Journal's website.]

 

07/22/08 - Jennifer Stuart (staff attorney, Battered Immigrant Project, BIP) was quoted in The Charlotte Observer article (July 22, 2008), "Human trafficking may be on the rise in North Carolina," as an 'expert' on human trafficking.  'We don't have good statistics on it. But my sense is that it's growing,' said Jennifer Stuart, a staff attorney for Legal Aid of North Carolina. 'We're seeing more cases.'  The article also says: '...[Stuart] doesn't know whether human trafficking or just awareness of the problem is rising.  But North Carolina is becoming an attractive state for traffickers because of its growing population and the availability of farm work, Stuart said.'  The article also provides a brief description of BIP.  Good article, Jennifer!!!
[Click here to view pdf copy of the 07/22/08 article, "Human trafficking may be on the rise in North Carolina."]

 

07/14/08 - "NC Lawyers Weekly has included Richard Trottier's (staff attorney, LANC-Wilson Office) unemployment case of Applewhite v. Alliance One International in its "50 Most Important Opinions" in its July 7 edition.  The NC Court of Appeals found a claimant should not have been disqualified from receiving UI benefits when she was fired for returning late from lunch.  The court found that the claimant's late return was caused because she had been in the bathroom being sick and that she had no reasonable control over this action that lead to her termination.  Congratulations to Richard, John Keller (supervising attorney, LANC-Wilson Office) and others who worked on this appeal!"[NOTE:  This case was listed under "Labor & Employment: Unemployment Compensation - Disqualification - Substantial Fault - Illness" on page 10 of the 07/07/08 edition of NC Lawyers Weekly.]
[NOTE:  Also, Trottier's case was featured on page one of the 01/21/08 edition of NC Lawyers Weekly (article: "Court finds no fault with restroom visit; fired worker keeps benefits."]

06/20/08 - In a recent article in the NC Lawyer, Karen F. Richards (Staff Attorney, LANC-Wilmington Office) was quoted regarding the Public Service Day, sponsored by NCBA's 4ALL Task Force on April 4th:   “So many people are not aware of their inherent rights and applicable law. When you are able to clear up the ‘my friend told me’ version of the law and get them the correct information, it becomes life changing for the client.  People who say, ‘Oh you are an attorney? You must make a lot of money!’ have no idea what it is like to get a father back with his 4-day-old daughter or help a daughter get her mother’s affairs in order and have them thank you for your kindness.”

Karen volunteered at the Williams Mullen office in Wilmington after DV court in Brunswick County. 
[Click here to read article, Seen & Heard on April 4.][Click here to read accompanying article, 4-4: A Great Day.]

 

06/04/08 - The NCBA (NC Bar Association) has selected Takeisha Redd (staff attorney, LANC-Smithfield Office) as one of 5 participants in the inaugural class of scholars in the Pathways to Inclusion, a project of the local NCBA Diversity Task Force.  The project is designed to provide leadership training to selected attorneys from diverse backgrounds who aspire to develop the skills necessary to serve state and organizations and underserved communities.  She will have the opportunity to attend trainings and other events to develop leadership and other skills to serve our clients.  Congratulations Takeisha!
 

04/29/08 - Evan Lewis (senior managing attorney, LANC-Greenville/New Bern Offices has been named the 2008 recipient of the Deborah Greenblatt Outstanding Legal Services Attorney Award.  The NC Bar Association, in conjunction with the NCBA Foundation’s Public Service Advisory Committee, will present the 2008 Pro Bono Service Awards on June 20 during the 110th NCBA Annual Meeting in Atlantic Beach.  Congratulations to Evan!!!
[Click here to view the NCBA media release.]
 

04/27/08 - Roselle Margolis (paralegal/PAI coordinator, Battered Immigrant Project) published an article, "North Carolina making a concerted effort to increase pro bono opportunities and access to justice," in the April edition of the NAPBPro newsletter.   The National Association of Pro Bono Professionals (NAPBPro) is an organization dedicated to people working in the legal field of Pro Bono. NAPBPro strives to increase the professional development of its diverse membership, recognize and record best practices, advocates on behalf of it's membership, participates in planning and execution of the ABA/NLADA Equal Justice Conference  and serves as a national communication forum for pro bono professionals to seek assistance and ideas.  Annually, NAPBPRO provides annual scholarships for one or more of it's members to attend the EJC. Also, annually NAPBPro presents two nationally recognized awards: (1) The Tanya Neiman Award honors a Pro Bono Professional, who has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to pro bono, given exceptional service and achieved outstanding results; and (2) The William Reece Smith Jr., Special Services to Pro Bono Award honors an individual(s) who have made outstanding commitments to and positive impacts on the institutions or systems of providing pro bono legal services.  For membership information contact Helenka Marculewicz at helenka@gdvlp.org.  [Click here to view Roselle's article,  "North Carolina making a concerted effort to increase pro bono opportunities and access to justice."]

 

  04/17/08 - Celia Mansaray (PAI coordinator,
  LANC-Raleigh Office) has been elected to serve a
  three-year term on the NCBA Juvenile Justice &
  Children's Rights Section Council.  Congratulations to Celia!!!

04/08/08 -  In a recent article in the Independent Weekly, Will Corbett (staff attorney, LANC-Durham Office) was quoted regarding the a mortgage foreclosure case.  Apparently Will is getting a solid reputation in the Durham area for his work on mortgage foreclosure issues. [click here to view article, "Stung by a middleman, Bad service."]

 

01/21/08 - Congratulations to Richard Trottier (staff attorney, LANC-Wilson Office) and his client for their victory in the NC Court of Appeals.  The Court issued its ruling on January 15.  Trottier's case is featured on page one of the 01/21/08 edition of NC Lawyers Weekly (article: "Court finds no fault with restroom visit; fired worker keeps benefits.")

 

01/15/08 - Susan Janney (staff attorney, LANC-Morganton Office) was a panelist at a Homeownership Promotion & Foreclosure Prevention Seminar hosted by Congressman Patrick McHenry (10th District, North Carolina) at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir on January 7, 2008.  Susan spoke for a few minutes about services offered by LANC in homeownership/foreclosure issues, participated in a question and answer session with other panelists, and then met individually with interested audience members.  Approximately 70 individuals attended the event.
 

11/05/07 - Congratulations to Carolyn Burton (Staff Attorney, LANC-Sylva Office), who obtained a judgment of over $160,000 (which included punitive damages of $100K) against a defendant who fraudulently obtained and converted to his own use, our client's ED (Equitable Distribution) settlement.   The local District Court judge indicated that this was the largest punitive damage award he has ever given a prevailing party. 
 

0/23/07 - Congratulations to Brien Rose Hub (Staff Attorney, LANC-Wilmington Office) who just had a great win in a mortgage foreclosure hearing before the Clerk of Superior Court of Duplin County.  Brien carefully researched the financial default data from the lender and was able to show the Clerk that it was inconsistent, confusing, and did not meet the lender's burden of proof of establishing that a default even existed.  The Clerk found this to be the case, and dismissed the foreclosure with prejudice. They were seeking $63,374.46, and lost. This was a complex case involving a dismissed Chapter 13 bankruptcy without a discharge, and acknowledged late payments to the bankruptcy court by the client. There was also a past default prior to the filing of the bankruptcy Chap. 13 action. Brien put a great deal of work in this case, and is to be highly commended, especially since it is her first foreclosure defense.

 

 

 10/23/07 - For those of you who may have missed it, staff members from the LANC-Durham Office

were interviewed and quoted in the article, "Finding a way," which appeared on the front page of the October 1, 2007 edition of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.  The article was a side-by-side article with another article, "Summit's potential impact starts with combining talent, resources," which was about the (then) upcoming Civil Access to Justice Summit.  The "Finding a way" article begins by stating that the those at the October 12 Summit would seek "...novel ways to provide legal assistance to the state's low-income residents.  At Legal Aid of North Carolina, they do that every day...."  The article goes on to provide an overview of LANC, interspersing comments from LANC-Durham Office staff.  Excellent article and wonderfully done job by our Durham spokespersons!
 [Article: "Finding a way" Oct 1, 2007, NC Lawyers Weekly]
[Article: "Summit's potential impact starts with combining talent, resources," Oct 1, 2007, NC Lawyers Weekly]
[Media Release, NCBA:  "Summit on Access to Justice held Oct. 12," October 15, 2007]
[Also see "NC Equal Access to Justice Commission" webpage on the LANC Internet website.]

 

10/04/07 - Congratulations to the LANC-Winston-Salem Office for its successful litigation of the Amos Case.  Several months ago, our client, a mentally ill vet living in public housing, was arrested and charged with possession and use of cocaine. He was away from the Housing Authority site at the time of arrest. The client had NO criminal record of any kind. His criminal case was dismissed based on a psychological evaluation that declared that he was unable to stand trial.  After several hearings the court ruled yesterday to dismiss the HAW's case because it failed to give proper notice.  Thanks to trial litigator Susan Gottsgen, the pre-trial work of Liza Baron, and all who played any role (Yvette, Tracy, Barbara and the HEEC Unit) in the successful litigation of this case.  This tough hard fought case had a wonderful outcome.  
[see the 10/07/07 Winston-Salem Journal article, Defendant wins his case; HAWS also gets a victory.]
[also see the 07/26/07 Winston-Salem Journal article, Evicted man back home, waiting for his day in court.]

 

09/27/07 - After close to three years of litigation, Vilma Suarez (Managing Attorney, LANC-CIU and formerly of the LANC-Smithfield Office) and our pro bono attorneys, Tom Berkau and Robert Spence, Jr., obtained an important victory for an 80-year-old client. Our client's son had apparently forged her signature in the deed to her house. Then he had mortgaged the house. Suarez had to withdraw from the case because she ended up being a witness.  Not only our forensic documents expert showed that the signature was not our client's, but Suarez was deposed to show that our client was in her office at the same time that she allegedly signed the deed.  Superior Court Thompson ruled in Summary Judgment that the deed was procured by fraud and declared the deed and the deed of trust null and void. As a result our client gets back her house free of any encumbrance. We are very grateful to attorneys Tom Berkau and Bob Spence, Jr. for their help.

 

09/27/07 -  S. Quon Bridges, a former staff member of the Durham office, has been appointed to serve as a District Court Judge in the Ninth Judicial District.  Bridges was a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow, a paralegal and a staff attorney with the Henderson office of the North Central Legal Assistance Program (NCLAP) from 1980 through 1988.  Bridges served on the Board of Directors of NCLAP from 1990 through 1996.  He was a member of the Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP), providing co-counseling and consultation to legal aid staff.  He has continued to be a supporter of Legal Aid and other organizations for change in the Henderson area.
[also see 09/14/07 News & Observer article, "Replacement picked for 9th district judge."]

 

09/17/07 - Congratulations to Monica Savidge (Staff Attorney, LANC-Wilmington Office) as the lead counsel on an outstanding win in her client's appeal in Wake County Superior Court.  The Superior Court Judge ruled that the NC Crime Victims Compensation Commission was wrong in refusing to pay for the medical bills for psychiatric treatment of a 14-year-old rape victim.  Jim Wall (Senior Managing Attorney, LANC-Wilmington Office) reports: "This was the case of SM v. North Carolina Crime Victims Compensation Commission, Superior Court, Wake County.  SM is the mother of a 14-year-old girl (CM) who was taken by a friend to her first "high school party" at a mobile home in a rural area.  Five men, 18- and 23-years-old were there.  The client and her friend were the only girls. The men gave the girls alcohol, and later marijuana.  CM became intoxicated, and a 20-year-old male began to ask her to have sex with him. CM refused, and the men continued to ply her with alcohol until she became unable to resist. The 20-year-old male then had sex with CM.  CM's mother applied to the NC Crime Victims Compensation Commission for assistance in covering CM's hospital and psychiatric bills. The Commission refused because CM had been participating in a non-traffic misdemeanor at the time of the rape.  We appealed, and a State Administrative Law Judge, after hearing all the evidence, ruled that CM's conduct (drinking and marijuana use) were not the proximate cause of the rape.  The full Commission refused to follow the ALJ's decision, and we appealed to Superior Court in Wake County.  Judge R. Allen Baddour, Jr., reversed the Commission and ordered them to pay benefits, finding that the conduct of CM could not have been the proximate cause of her rape by a man more than five years her senior. An appeal by the Commission is possible, but the case is a strong one."
[Note:  Also see 09/15/07 article from the News & Observer, "State must pay rape victim's medical bills."]

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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.