Central Virginia Legal Aid Society
Formation1971
PurposeLegal aid
HeadquartersRichmond, Virginia
Websitehttp://cvlas.org/

The Central Virginia Legal Aid Society (CVLAS) is a nonprofit organization that provides free legal assistance in civil matters to low-income and elderly residents in central Virginia.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Mission and services

CVLAS is one of 10 legal aid services in Virginia.[8] The geographical area it covers includes the cities of Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights and Charlottesville, as well as the counties of Albemarle, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Hanover, Henrico, Louisa, Nelson, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George and Surry. It has offices in Richmond, Charlottesville and Petersburg.

CVLAS provides legal advice primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, consumer and disability rights, employment law, housing law, family law, and public benefits. Through the Legal Services Corporation, it receives federal funding and is thus subject to specific restrictions: The society and its employees may not be affiliated with a political party, support a specific candidate, lobby for legislation or represent criminal clients, among other activities.

The society primarily represents individuals with incomes under 125% of the poverty line, although it may accept clients earning up to 200% of the poverty line.[9] It also represents people over the age of 60, even if they do not meet the income qualifications.[10] Its services include legal advice, briefs, negotiation, litigation, and representation in administrative hearings, as well as community education and activities in partnership with other local, state, and national legal aid groups.[11][12][13][14][15]

The Richmond office has the resources to help only 4,000 to 5,000 low-income residents a year.[16][17] According to the Virginia State Bar, Virginia has one lawyer for every 349 people, but just one legal aid lawyer for every 6,200 residents living in poverty.[18]

CVLAS hosts a local radio show titled It's Time for Justice, broadcast every Wednesday from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. on WRIR-LP. The host is Martin D. Wegbreit, CVLAS's director of litigation. The show includes news, interviews, and answers to listeners' questions about consumer, employment, family, housing, public benefits, and other civil law.[19][20]

Partnerships

Attorneys in CVLAS's Richmond office run free workshops and information sessions on subjects such as power of attorney and writing wills, and the organization works with local law students through the No Fault Divorce Program at the University of Richmond School of Law.[21] The Charlottesville office partnered with the University of Virginia to create the Sexual Assault Advocacy Fund (SAAF),[22] whose goal is to provide support to survivors of sexual assault on college campuses.[23]

CVLAS is also involved in the Medical-Legal Partnership, Richmond (MLP-R), a collaboration with the VCU Health System (part of Virginia Commonwealth University), the University of Richmond School of Law, the Legal Aid Justice Center, and the Legal Information Network for Cancer. The partnership provides free legal services to the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU (MLP-R at Pediatrics), VCU's Massey Cancer Center (MLP-R at Massey) and VCU's Hayes Willis Center of South Richmond (MLP-R at Hayes Willis). Its mission is to "integrate legal assistance as a vital component of patient care, reduce health disparities and create a new standard of care for vulnerable, low income patients".[24]

JusticeServer, a database used to make pro bono work easier and more accessible in Virginia, was created with help from CVLAS.[25]

History

The first legal aid organizations serving the Richmond area were the Neighborhood Legal Aid Society and the Metropolitan Richmond Legal Aid Society, both founded in 1971. They merged in 1981 to form CVLAS. Similarly, legal aid programs were formed in Charlottesville in 1967 and Petersburg in 1974. The Virginia Farm Workers Legal Assistance Project, currently the Virginia Farmworkers Program, was established in 1978, serving H2A visa holders statewide. In 2001, the legacy of these organizations consolidated into one organization, funded in part by the Legal Services Corporation, under the name Central Virginia Legal Aid Society.[26]

CVLAS and the Virginia Bar Association were awarded the Harrison Tweed Award by the American Bar Association for their pro bono hotline and pro bono housing law programs.[27] CVLAS is the only two-time winner of the award.[28]

In 2013, CVLAS received a grant from Enroll Virginia! to provide certified navigators to offer application assistance for the health insurance marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act.[29][30]

Notable past attorneys

From 1985 to 1998, Anne Holton worked as a staff attorney for the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society.[31] In 1998, she was appointed by the Virginia General Assembly to be a judge on the Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and she was Virginia's secretary of education until she resigned when her husband, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, became the 2016 Democratic vice-presidential nominee.[32]

Former Executive Director Henry W. McLaughlin[27] has received a number of awards and honors, including the Virginia State Bar's Annual Legal Aid Award in 1994, Virginia Lawyers Weekly's Leader in the Law title in 2009, and the Richmond Bar Association's Hill-Tucker Public Service Award in March 2010. He is also a fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation and of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the only legal aid attorney to be so honored.[28]

Current leadership

The current executive director is Steve Dickinson, and the director of litigation is Martin D. Wegbreit, the first recipient of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Aid Award.

Doris Causey is the managing attorney in Richmond, as well as the first African-American and first legal aid lawyer to fill the top elected post for the Virginia State Bar.[18]

Funding

CVLAS, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, receives funding from the Legal Services Corporation, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and United Way of America, as well as IOLTA funds and other grants and donations. Along with the Legal Aid Justice Center, it often relies on fundraisers and private donations. One of the largest individual supporters of legal aid in central Virginia is John Grisham.[33][34][35]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Our Services – Central Virginia Legal Aid Society (CVLAS)". Cvlas.org. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Central Virginia Legal Aid Society". Disability.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  3. ↑ "VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION : LEGAL/ADVOCACY GROUPS AND RESOURCES FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION" (PDF). Doe.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  4. ↑ "Pro Bono Resources | Richmond Bar Association". Richmondbar.org. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  5. ↑ "Women's Resource Center Referral Services « WOVEN Online". Wovenonline.org. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  6. ↑ "Virginia State Bar – Public Resources – Pro Bono / Access to Legal Services – Resources for the Public". Vsb.org. 2016-06-21. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  7. ↑ "How They'd Deny Virginia's Poor". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "Find Your Closest Legal Aid Program – The Virginia Bar Association". Vba.org. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  9. ↑ "LSC – Legal Services Corporation: America's Partner for Equal Justice". Lsc.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  10. ↑ Bergmark, Thomas Perez and Martha. "How to save families from losing everything (Opinion)". CNN. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Thus Ever to the Tyrant! Do Pro Bono Work for Legal Aid, and Promote Justice in Virginia" (PDF). Vsb.org. March 2014. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  12. ↑ "Handling landlord-tenant disputes". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  13. ↑ Walker, Diane. "Legal expert weighs in on Chesterfield family eviction claim". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  14. ↑ Khazan, Olga. "Life in the Sickest Town in America". The Atlantic. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "Alleged UVA rape victim's friend: Reporter wanted sensational story". CBS News. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Sullivan, Heather. "Legal Aid budget cuts lead to layoffs – NBC12 – WWBT – Richmond, VA News On Your Side". NBC12. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  17. ↑ Bacque, Peter. "Virginia's legal community faces large demand for pro bono services – Roanoke Times: Virginia". Roanoke.com. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  18. 1 2 "Causey to lead Virginia State Bar | Richmond Free Press | Serving the African American Community in Richmond, VA". Richmond Free Press. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  19. ↑ "Marty Wegbreit, Central Virginia Legal Aid Society's Programs|A-Infos Radio Project". Radio4all.net. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  20. ↑ "SAAF Project // Central Virginia Legal Aid Radio Show on WRIR â€" Sexual Assault Advocacy Fund". Studentsaaf.org. 2015-09-16. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  21. ↑ "Pro Bono Programs – Carrico Center for Pro Bono Service – School of Law – University of Richmond". Law.richmond.edu. 2016-06-13. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  22. ↑ "SAAF Signs with Central Virginia Legal Aid Society to Provide Attorney". Newsplex.com. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  23. ↑ "Sexual Assault Advocacy Fund". Studentsaaf.org. Archived from the original on 2016-07-19. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  24. ↑ "Richmond". Medical-Legal Partnership. Archived from the original on 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  25. ↑ http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_aid_indigent_defendants/ls_sclaid_mo_business_meeting_08092014.authcheckdam.pdf
  26. ↑ "Final Report from the Program Quality Visit to Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, Inc" (PDF). Lsc.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  27. 1 2 "The News & Record – South Boston, Virginia". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  28. 1 2 "Legislative Information System". Lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  29. ↑ "Our History | Central Virginia Legal Aid Society". CVLAS. 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  30. ↑ "Piling On Work to Escape Gap in Health Law". The New York Times. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  31. ↑ "On the Road to Equality" (PDF). Justice4all.org. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  32. ↑ "Probable Vice Presidential Pick Tim Kaine To Campaign With Hillary Clinton". Npr.org. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  33. ↑ "NBC12 talks with author John Grisham". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  34. ↑ "The Legal Aid Justice Center and the Centeral Virginia Legal Aid Society present: Arrested Youth – A Closer Look at the Juvenile Justive System – The Paramount Theater". 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  35. ↑ "Author John Grisham to Host Legal Aid Fundraiser". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
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