Talk with Katie Jenifer about her work and pro bono experiences, and it won’t take you long to see the depth of her commitment or the magnitude of the positive effect she’s had in the community. The proud mom of two queer kids, Katie was driven to enroll in North Carolina Central University School of Law to start a second career at the age of forty-five after witnessing the legal and policy challenges her youngest daughter faced alongside her transition and the related need for more accessible legal services and advocacy in the community.
As a law student, Katie let her passion drive her. In her 1L year, Katie began researching and meeting with people holding name change clinics across the country to prepare to bring the service to NCCU. “I knew upon entering law school that I wanted NCCU to have a name change clinic/pro bono project to help overcome the barriers that my family faced,” she shares. “How could we make this process more accessible to more people? How could we ease the financial burden by providing legal assistance for free? How could we meet people where they were in the process and stay connected with them for as long as they needed us? How could we train law students how to work with LGBTQ+ clients to ensure no harm was done in the process of providing this service? How can we leverage NCCU’s HBCU legacy to reach more BIPOC clients who face additional barriers when accessing legal services? These were just some of the issues we contemplated when working toward creating the clinic/pro bono project.” Read more
The North Carolina Bar Association Pro Bono Committee invites you to join us in celebrating National Pro Bono Week and all things pro bono.
Pro bono legal service is vital in addressing unmet legal needs in North Carolina and across the country. We hope that pro bono is a part of your life and practice throughout the entire year, but also know that there are obstacles to committing time to pro bono. But heed our call: National Pro Bono Week is a great time to start and/or continue the important volunteer legal work that only we, as members of the legal profession, can do. When you provide pro bono legal service, you provide a benefit and skill set to the community that is not being met without your commitment of time and unique professional talents. You have skills and knowledge that are in short supply and desperately needed.
We encourage you to celebrate the important contributions of pro bono across the state and to document your commitment on social media using #CelebrateProBono. Volunteer with your local legal service provider, nonprofit, or other programs (like the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center) in need of legal services during pro bono week. We hope that you’ll catch “the bug” and keep or continue pro bono throughout the year!
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Pro Bonohttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngPro Bono2022-10-17 10:06:182022-10-25 13:07:26October 23 to 29 is National Pro Bono Week 2022!
As legal professionals, we dedicate significant time and energy to improving our practice, our knowledge, our business. But how much time do we devote to improving the way we care for ourselves? When is the last time you reviewed your self-care routine, implemented new self-care strategies, or set time aside for self-care planning? If you’re like me, your self-care routine may benefit from a well-designed system — James Clear’s Atomic Habits system.
Self-Care is Key for Legal Professionals, But it is Not Our Forte
As advocates serving others in a myriad of ways, our profession is notorious for disregarding the well-established principle of “fitting our own oxygen mask first.” But, it’s because we are advocates serving others in a myriad of ways that fitting our own oxygen mask first is so critical.
Kayla Britt is the example of a what everyone strives for in a great lawyer: dedicated, professional, passionate, humble.
A recipient of the NCBA YLD Young Lawyer of the Quarter for October through December 2020 and July through September 2021, Kayla has been working hard to serve those in North Carolina. Since law school, Kayla has made it a priority to focus on pro bono work.
Kayla shares, “Pro bono work is important to me because it allows me to assist those who may otherwise not have adequate assistance. It also allows me to broaden my experiences beyond the skills I learn in my job.”
Kayla works with the Housing Stability Pro Bono Project (“HSP”), which is a joint effort of the North Carolina Bar Foundation and North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center in partnership with the North Carolina Office of Recovery & Resilience. This Project works with the Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions Program (“HOPE”) — a program that provides income-based assistance for vulnerable tenants at risk of eviction. Volunteers with this project help to stabilize housing by facilitating agreements between tenants and landlords to accept HOPE terms.
Kayla’s favorite experience with HSP is when she facilitated a landlord-tenant agreement, one that led to helping many others: Kayla contacted a landlord to help a specific tenant. After learning about the program, the landlord wanted to help her other tenants with HOPE. Kayla was able to get a list from the landlord to refer to HOPE, potentially preventing many other evictions.
“The overwhelming joy tenants exhibit when they find out that we reached an agreement with their landlord has been more than I ever expected to experience in a pro bono role,” Kayla said.
Beyond her pro bono service with HSP, Kayla is an Assistant Attorney General with the North Carolina Department of Justice Appellate & Post-Conviction Section where she prepares the state’s criminal briefs, responds to habeas corpus petitions, and appears before both North Carolina Appellate Courts and Federal District Courts. She volunteers with Wills For Heroes, assisting first responders with estate planning.
Kayla is a member of the NCBA Litigation Section and co-chair of Young Lawyers Division Law Student Outreach Committee.
For attorneys, fewer things are more important than having an outstanding reputation amongst one’s professional peers. Reputation is something that is observed by others. For example, one attorney could be known for sporting flamboyant bow ties, another for her killer collection of Jimmy Choo shoes. While it’s good to score fashion and style points, that says nothing about the quality of one’s work. It’s better to be known for getting great results for one’s clients. And it’s best to be known for zealous representation, and for carving out time from a busy practice to provide pro bono legal services. Anna Davis has earned an exemplary reputation not only for practicing law at the highest professional level, but also for making tremendous pro bono contributions.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Pro Bonohttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngPro Bono2022-04-01 09:28:412022-10-25 13:05:45Pro Bono Spotlight: Anna Davis
Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, PA’s Blaine Sanders is not only committed to pro bono work in his own practice but in facilitating opportunities for others to serve as well. For over thirty-five years, Sanders has built a litigation practice focusing on commercial, real estate, employment, and sports & entertainment law, and he is a member of the NCBA’s Litigation and Employment sections. His pro bono practice, described by his colleagues as a “tremendous combination of pro bono work,” spans landlord/tenant matters, expungement cases, non-profit work, and more.
Psychologists refer to the place outside the comfort zone as a place of “optimal anxiety.”[1] Being a “new” attorney (whether practicing in a new jurisdiction or recently licensed) during a pandemic is more than being outside of your comfort zone; it is more like being in a panic zone.
Just before the pandemic began, I made the move from New York to North Carolina. Prior to moving to the Charlotte area, I lived in one zip code for 40 years. I commuted to college and law school. I worked in one office for 15 years. I was used to knowing my way around. I knew the court officers and clerks by name; I knew all the judges and their proclivities. I was friendly with most opposing counsel. I frequently attended social functions – retirement parties, holiday parties, and fundraisers.
Anabel Rosa has long held a commitment to giving back through service. “I know what it feels like to be the person who needs help,” describes Anabel. “I know what it feels like to not belong, to not have meaning, to not be able to speak with someone.” Anabel recalls a memory of sitting in the Hall of Languages at Syracuse University, where she completed her undergraduate degree, and looking at her homework, puzzled. Anabel could barely speak English when she came to the United States from Puerto Rico to attend college. She needed help, and someone helped her.
Our Supreme Court notes “Equal Justice Under Law” on its building. Yet, access to this justice only truly exists when it is available to all members of our state, regardless of ability to pay. A failure to provide adequate legal services to those of modest means affects both the economic and social fabric of our society and does not adequately represent the principles of the profession to which we have been called.
Pro bono is one way for attorneys to help narrow the access to justice gap. We would like to capture your service and celebrate your pro bono work! We especially look forward to hearing about your pro bono legal services in 2021, including those provided through the North Carolina Bar Association and Foundation projects like Free Legal Answers, Wills for Heroes, and NC LEAP.
A North Carolina State Bar Certified Freelance Paralegal, Rachel Royal is the founder of Royal Touch Legal & Business Solutions. As a freelance paralegal, Rachel provides virtual paralegal services to personal injury, family law, and real estate firms while also serving as a Project Coordinator for the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center’s Driver’s License Restoration and Housing Stability Projects.
Despite her busy workload, Rachel is a leader in the North Carolina Bar Association, serving as the Secretary and Pro Bono Co-Chair for the Paralegal Division, the Co-Chair of the Survey Committee, and a member of the Awards Subcommittee of the Pro Bono Committee.
By 
By 