July 2024 Pursuing Justice Newsletter
From the Board Chair—Curious About Our LASCO Board of Trustees? | Pro Bono Spotlight—Melissa McFadden | Opportunities to Help Out | CLE Opportunity | New Board Member Spotlight—Erin Fawley | LASCO 2023 Annual Report Now Available! | Follow Our New Facebook and LinkedIn Pages! | Job Opportunities at LASCO! | Legal Aid in the News
From the Board Chair—Curious About Our LASCO Board of Trustees?
By Sandra J. Anderson
Connecting with Pro Bono
Pro Bono Spotlight—Melissa McFadden
To read more about Melissa's reentry work, the people we help, and and our efforts in 2023, check our 2023 LASCO Annual Report !
Fresh Start Clinics
Staff from Legal Aid are holding clinics throughout Southeast Ohio to assist clients with record sealing and expungement applications and driver license reinstatement. If you would like to volunteer for one or more of the clinics coming up in Licking, Fayette, Coshocton, and Scioto counties, please register here . If needed, Legal Aid can send additional resources and training videos ahead of the clinic to provide a review on substantive law.
- Record sealing and expungement in Licking County: THIS Thursday, July 18 at Licking County Aging Partners, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Driver License Reinstatement in Fayette County: Friday, July 26 at the Washington Court House Municipal Court, from 1-4 p.m.
Opportunities to Help Out
We still need additional volunteer attorneys to assist us at our adult and family shelters to provide brief advice to shelter clients. If you are interested in this outreach, attorneys can register here for the adult shelters and register here for the YWCA family clinic.
Wills Clinic at Adams County Senior Citizens Council – July 31st, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Volunteer lawyers and paralegals will be offering simple wills, powers of attorney, living wills, and transfer on death affidavits to seniors and low-income individuals. Legal Aid staff will be onsite to conduct intake, fill out client questionnaires for drop-in clients, proofread forms, and answer questions. Training and templates are available to all volunteers. LASCO will also supply laptops and forms templates for those who need them. Sign up here .
Columbus Asylum Clinics – August 1st and 14th
LASCO offers two clinics each quarter where volunteer law students and lawyers assist clients with their asylum applications. Legal Aid prescreens clients, and applications are filed pro se. Please register for upcoming clinics here .
Franklin County Driver's License Clinic – August 29
Volunteers from Legal Aid, the Franklin County Municipal Court and Self-Help Resource Center, as well as ODJFS and the Ohio BMV, among others, will come together on August 29 for an all-day Driver's License Reinstatement Clinic at The Columbus Metropolitan Library Main Branch Downtown, 96 S. Grant St. Both morning and/or afternoon shifts will be available. Please register here if you are interested in volunteering.
CLE Opportunity
Driver License Reinstatement Clinic CLE
Virtual
Thursday, August 22, 12 p.m.
Attorneys planning to volunteer at the August 29 Driver License Reinstatement Clinic may join us for a free virtual training on Thursday, August 22 at noon via Zoom. CLE credit is available to attorneys who attend the live training; those who cannot attend may review the recording at their convenience after the event (no CLE credit available for viewing recording). Attendees will learn the fundamentals of driver license reinstatement with the municipal court and BMV to provide brief advice to clients; and review the general process conducted at the clinic. Non-attorney volunteers are welcome to attend if interested in the substantive law, but attendance is not required for non-attorney volunteers. Register here for the CLE; if you have not yet registered as a volunteer for the clinic, both attorneys and non-attorneys can do so here .
New Board Member Spotlight—Erin Fawley
Erin Fawley is a LASCO board member who truly believes in advocating and advancing the work of Legal Aid. This drive stems from her own experiences. Legal Aid represented Fawley in a housing case before the 10th District Court of Appeals that resulted in a dramatic change in eviction proceedings.
Inspired by the work of her attorneys, Fawley decided to give her time as a member of the board: “I am so excited to participate and give back after what Legal Aid has done for me.”
LASCO 2023 Annual Report Now Available!
Follow Our New Facebook and LinkedIn Pages!
Legal Aid in the News
Clinic provides free legal aid to people looking to clear their criminal records
WOUB Public Media (June 18, 2024)
Ohio bill would make it easier to seal non-violent criminal records, but advocates want it expanded
Ohio Capital Journal (June 24, 2024)
Problem properties: Columbus' top code-violating landlords
The Columbus Dispatch (July 8, 2024)
Matter News (July 9, 2024)
