Sylva Office
1286 West Main Street, PO Box 426, Sylva, NC 28779
MAP
828-586-8931; 1-800-458-6817 (toll-free; for clients only)
FAX: 828-586-4082
Cherokee Office
(serves Qualla Indian Boundary)
828-488-0261; FAX: 828-488-4967
Hayesville Office
Sister Loretto John Meehan Community Services Center
MAP
Hwy. 64 - Business, Hayesville, NC 28904
828-389-2399; FAX: 828-389-2466
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
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, Senior Staff Attorney
Constance Moore, Staff Attorney
Carolyn Burton, Staff Attorney
Melissa Clayton, Paralegal
Crystal Freeman, Secretary
Nathaniel Macon, Staff Attorney
Teresa H. Poor, Paralegal
Ed Anderson, PAI Contract Intake Attorney
Sharon Driver, Secretary (Cherokee Office)
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."
The Sylva Office is presently staffed by three full-time staff attorneys,
including its two senior managing attorneys. The senior managing attorneys
are Jim Holloway, a Legal Aid employee since 1979, and Larry Nestler,
a Legal Aid employee since 1977. Senior staff attorney Kelley Bonfoey
has been with the Sylva Office since 1986.
In addition, the Sylva Office employs two attorneys pursuant to a Federal
domestic violence (VOCA) grant: Carolyn Burton, an attorney with over
twenty-nine years experience in legal services and private practice
and Connie Moore, an attorney with over eighteen years experience. Ed Anderson, a private attorney and
the director of the local community college paralegal program, works
approximately eight hours per week conducting client intake and counsel
and advice services at the Sylva Office, in addition to being the private
attorney involvement coordinator.
Crystal Freeman has been working at the Sylva office since
December 2001 and Sharon Driver since 2002. Perry Eury is a senior field
accountant employed by Legal Aid of North Carolina and housed within
the Sylva office. Perry had been with the Sylva office since 1984.
Disclaimer
The materials contained on this website are for information and educational
purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Please 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.