Metro Volunteer Lawyers

1. Metro Volunteer Lawyers A Department of the Denver Bar Association supported in conjunction with the Adams/Broomfield, Arapahoe, Douglas/Elbert, and 1st Judicial Bar Associations Prepared By: Dianne A. Van Voorhees, Esq. Executive Director

3. MVL Staff • Patricia Trujillo, Legal Services Coordinator • Dianne A. Van Voorhees, Executive Director • Tina Martinez, Administrative Assistant • Anna Paschke, Family Law Court Program Coordinator

4. History • MVL was established in 1966 by a group of young Denver Bar Association lawyers.  It was known then as the "Thursday Night Bar Program," because the founding volunteer attorneys met with clients each Thursday evening at Legal Aid offices in northwest Denver or in the Five Points neighborhood. The attorneys provided what help and advice they could in person on Thursday nights, then met the next morning to discuss the clients’ matters and assign themselves or other lawyers they recruited to carry on with the numerous matters that could not be completed during the Thursday night sessions. • Approximately twenty attorneys volunteered in the first year. The efforts of these original lawyer participants continued and strengthened a long tradition of volunteerism and public service by lawyers all across Colorado. TNB. was renamed Metro Volunteer Lawyers in 1998, to reflect the program's growth and expansion.

5. Founding Principles The founders of the Thursday Night Bar program looked to the Lawyers’ Canons of Ethics as their guiding principles in carrying out their community service, stating “[w]e hope to galvanize as a profession to show this community we intend to discharge to the best of our responsibility an obligation we feel we owe,” the legal profession is “a branch of the administration of justice and not a mere money-getting trade.” ~Donald Giacomini, founding member of Thursday NightBar, quoted in the Rocky Mountain News, referring to ABA Canons ofProfessional Ethics, Canon 14 (1908) (Tuesday, April 5, 1966).

6. Today, Metro Volunteer Lawyers continues its work with the same guiding principles.

7. People with low or no income who need legal assistance for: Family law matters Debts, bankruptcy, consumer issues Estate planning, probate Immigration Tort defense Landlord/ tenant And tax issues Judges, Magistrates, and Court Staff Attorneys Paralegals Students and others who want to gain hands-on experience while serving the community Who We Serve

8. Pro Bono= free of charge Pro Se= by yourself, not represented by an attorney Litigant= the person with the legal issue Volunteer=person who gives something even though they don’t have to a.k.a. “Angel”, etc. Uncontested=the other party agrees or doesn’t care Attorney/Lawyer= A person trained, qualified, and licensed to give legal advice and to represent people in court Paralegal= A person trained to assist in the preparation of legal documents Family Law= divorce, custody, child support, parenting plans, alimony, etc. Permanent Orders= Final orders of the Court Glossary

9. Eligibility Guidelines for MVL Clients Applicants are screened based on income: • Gross family income within 125% of federal poverty • guidelines (200% with exceptions). • For an individual, $12,763 annually. • For a family of four, gross annual income cannot • exceed $25,813 on an annual basis. Example • Person works 7 hours/day at $7 per hour = eligible for services. • Person earns more than $49/day = not eligible (above • government-set income eligibility guidelines).

10. Coloradans Eligible for MVL Services About 11% of Coloradans are "poor," according to the federal poverty guidelines. 500,000 people statewide 15% of Coloradans speak a language other than English at home. 600,000 people statewide (although not all financially eligible) Other vulnerable populations include people with disabilities, the elderly, Native Americans and migrants.

11. Volunteer Attorneys • 1050 Volunteer Attorneys on our panel • 323 Volunteer Attorneys took cases in 2007 • 1781 Cases handled through MVL in 2007

12. That’s 323 attorneys for 1781 clients.

13. The Justice Gap “Nationally, 1 of every 2 eligible applicants for service is turned away because of a lack of resources. Only one in five legal problems experienced by low-income people are addressed with the assistance of either a private attorney or a legal aid lawyer. There is one lawyer for every 525 people in the general US population; there is one legal aid lawyer for every 6,861 low-income people. More resources are needed.” Documenting the Justice Gap in America Legal Services Corporation, 2005

14. How Do We Serve? • We connect eligible clients with volunteer attorneys. • We recruit volunteer attorneys. • We coordinate and manage family law clinics. • We collaborate with community partners to provide pro bono legal services to the needy.

15. Legal Services Coordination Once a potential client has completed intake, the Legal Services Coordinator reviews the file and begins contacting volunteer attorneys to try to place the case. The Legal Services Coordinator has handled approximately 1300 cases this year.

16. Family Law Court Program • The Family Law Court Program ("FLCP") assists clients with relatively uncomplicated, “uncontested” divorce or custody matters where the other party is not represented by an attorney.  FLCP also helps with some post-decree cases in Denver and Jefferson counties.  FLCP assists between 500 and 1,000 clients a year. • Accepted clients actually file for their divorce “pro se,” meaning they represent themselves, and attend the FLCP clinic two times to prepare their case for filing and to attend the permanent orders hearing.

17. I Need a Lawyer! How Do I Get Started? If you live in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, and Jefferson counties, you MUST first call the Denver office of Colorado Legal Services (CLS) at 303-837-1313 to get help. • Members of the CLS staff will conduct a telephone intake interview with you to determine whether you are financially eligible, and whether your case is the kind we can take. • If you are eligible for our assistance, CLS will send us the information you provide in the intake process. Then, one of our staff members will work to find you a volunteer lawyer to represent you, and you will be contacted by our staff or that lawyer.

18. How Do Attorneys Volunteer? If you are a licensed Colorado Lawyer in good standing, & live or practice anywhere in the Metro Area, we need you! Volunteer lawyers are the lifeblood of MVL. Call (303)866-9378 or e-mail me at diannev@denbar.org to sign up to be a part of the volunteer panel and/or to volunteer for the Family Law Court Program.

19. Our Partners • Colorado Legal Services • Volunteer Attorneys and Paralegals • Post-Decree Clinic Sponsors: • Holland & Hart • Faegre & Benson • Office Volunteers • Denver Bar Association, Adams/Broomfield Bar Association, 1st Judicial Bar Association, Douglas/Elbert Bar Association, Arapahoe Bar Association

20. Our Board • The Metro Volunteer Lawyers Governing Board oversees MVL's operations. The Governing Board has 18 volunteer lawyer members, six from the Denver Bar Association (which employs MVL's staff and funds a majority of its operating costs), and three from each of the other four Metro Area bar associations in the counties MVL serves. • These bar associations also help fund the program, and provide attorney volunteers to assist clients. • Adams/Broomfield Bar Association • Arapahoe County Bar Association • Douglas/Elbert County Bar Association • First Judicial District Bar Association(whose lawyer members practice in Jefferson and Gilpin counties)

21. MVL Board’s Mission Statement The MVL Board furthers the success of the MVL Program, which provides free and low-cost help for indigent and low-income clients in the Denver Metropolitan area. It is comprised of representatives from all of the metro-area county bar associations whose indigent citizens are served by MVL. MVL provides volunteer or low-fee attorneys for low-income clients who need advice, counseling, education, or representation in civil matters. MVL recruits attorneys and other members of the legal community to provide pro bono services and coordinates the services of the lawyers with the clients.

22. Challenges • We cannot help everyone who comes to us. • The demand for our help is HUGE. We must assist clients on a first come first served basis. • We limit the types of cases that we will accept. • We do not always have enough volunteer attorneys to take cases when clients need them. • We do not always have volunteer attorneys who will take specific types of cases, even if our program accepts those types of cases.

23. Goals • Maintain and enhance our current programs. • Strengthen our recruitment and retention methods to maintain and develop our volunteer panel. • Collaborate with our partners to create and implement service delivery tools to address gaps in services.

24. How You Can Help • Volunteer • Encourage others to volunteer • Educate others about MVL and what we do • Recognize and thank our volunteers

25. Come and Visit We are located in the Colorado Legal Services offices in the Denver Tower at:1905 Sherman Street Suite 400 Denver, CO 80203 Telephone: 303-830-8210 Fax Number: 303-837-0019 Please drop by any time!!

26. Metro Volunteer LawyersProviding legal services to the poor for 40 years and counting!