Newsletter
Aug. 2, 2019
Doylestown, Bucks County
In this Issue:
  • Receive CLE credits for your pro bono service to LASP!
  • Emeritus Attorney status in PA
  • DELAWARE CO.: Wine Tasting raises $3,200 for LASP!
  • NEWS: General Assistance ended 8/1 in PA | Eviction laws in US
  • BUCKS: Changes to local rules
  • CHESCO: Upcoming Expungement/Clean Slate workshops
  • DELCO: Sept. 12 Clean Slate / Expungement CLE
  • MONTGOMERY: LASP at Aug. 29 Senior Fair | Reentry Day
  • Meet LASP's summer interns
Pro bono news
PA Supreme Court pilot project: A win-win opportunity!
Earn CLE credit for pro bono service: Increase access to justice + accrue CLEs
If you haven’t had time to provide pro bono service because you’ve been busy taking CLEs, you now can do both at once, by earning free CLE credits for your pro bono work at LASP!
 
Attorneys who donate pro bono service can receive one continuing legal education (CLE) credit for every five hours of pro bono legal work completed, up to 3 CLE credits for 15 hours of service per compliance period.

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP) now has Approved CLE Provider status. Thus, attorneys who provide pro bono service to LASP’s low-income, vulnerable clients can get CLE credit. “LASP is excited about being a part of this pilot project. Free CLEs are hard to come by, so this is a great opportunity for attorneys to earn credit while doing very fulfilling work,” said Kesha James, LASP Deputy Director for Advocacy and Pro Bono Director.

To tailor your pro bono service to your interests AND get CLE credit at the same time , contact Kesha James at 610-275-5400 x131 or kjames@lasp.org or:

In Bucks County, you also can earn CLE credit through the Bucks County Bar Association if you volunteer for Protection from Abuse Defense, noted Jennifer Pierce, LASP Doylestown Managing Attorney and Bucks Bar Association Pro Bono Committee Chair. To volunteer for PFA Defense, please contact Emily Carrillo at the Bucks County Bar Association at emilyc@bucksbar.org or 215-348-9413 x100.
Interested in giving back during your retirement?

Emeritus status allows retired attorneys to provide pro bono service
Are you a retired attorney with some time to give back? You can now apply for emeritus attorney license status to do pro bono work! Pennsylvania Rule of Disciplinary Enforcement 403 creates an emeritus status for retired attorneys to provide pro bono service to Legal Aid of Southeastern PA and other nonprofit legal aid programs.

" There is a significant gap between the need for pro bono legal services for the most vulnerable and the availability of those services in the community ," Disciplinary Board Chair Doug Leonard said.

Full details: http://bit.ly/2MuODzS (scroll to Emeritus Attorneys section). More information: 717-231-3380 or atty.registration@pacourts.us.
Thank you, Delaware County!
Women of the Law Committee members at the wine tasting (from left) Christina Drzal , Esq., LASP Regional Housing Unit Supervisor; Patricia L. Rizzo , Esq.; Tiffany T. Griffin , Esq.; Pamela Van Blunk , Esq.; Lisanne Mikula , Esq.; Anna-Marie Murphy , Esq.; Hon. Stephanie H. Klein (Ret.), LASP Board of Directors; Lorraine M. Ramunno , Esq.; Nusrat Rashid , Esq., Michelle R. Terry , LASP Delaware County Managing Attorney; and Mary Walk , Esq., Delco Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphan's Court Division.
Wine tasting June 20 raises $3,200 for LASP
MEDIA - Thank you to the Women in Law Committee of the Delaware County Bar Association for raising $3,200 for LASP! The wine tasting June 20 was held at the Bar Association to support free civil legal aid for low-income and vulnerable people.

Thank you, sponsors!

Thank you to the following sponsors: The Foundation for Delaware County , the Guy G. DeFuria Inn of Court , the Nathan Speare Foundation , the Delaware County Bar Foundation and the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union .

Lastly, thanks to the members who donated bottles of wine and other items for wine baskets and to bar members who bought raffle tickets.
In the news
805 residents in 4 counties lose General Assistance funding for basic household necessities, effective Aug. 1, 2019
HARRISBURG - 805 residents in LASP's four-county service area will lose cash assistance averaging $200 per month as of Aug. 1, 2019. That's when PA's General Assistance program ends under Act 2019-12. No General Assistance (cash assistance) will be disbursed after July 31.

According to the PA Department of Human Services (DHS), regional General Assistance participants as of June 30, 2019 included:
  • 267 Montgomery County residents.
  • 255 Delaware County residents.
  • 160 Chester County residents.
  • 123 Bucks County residents.

General Assistance (GA) provided money and services for eligible individuals who did not qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Recipients of General Assistance will continue to receive Medical Assistance when their GA cash assistance ends.

For more information:
  • PA Department of Human Services (DHS): http://bit.ly/2M7pScQ.
  • DHS Helpline: 1-800-692-7462. TDD Services: 1-800-451-5886.
  • If you received or think you qualified for General Assistance, you may still qualify for other benefits. Contact your local County Assistance Office or apply online via COMPASS at www.compass.state.pa.us.
  • "What Social Services Providers Should Know About the Discontinuance of General Assistance Cash Assistance Effective August 1, 2019": http://bit.ly/2GyWB7.
Eviction laws across the U.S.: Las Vegas Review-Journal asks,
How quickly can a tenant can be evicted for falling behind on rent?

LAS VEGAS - LASP Staff Attorney Susan Strong worked with Las Vegas Review-Journal enterprise reporter Michael Scott Davidson to outline Pennsylvania's eviction laws. Check out the story and 50-state chart: http://bit.ly/2Z42VLf.
In the counties
Bucks County
Local rules: New civil case management procedures announced
DOYLESTOWN - The Hon. Robert O. Ba ldi, Administrative Judge of Civil Court, announced new Bucks County civil procedures July 12. He noted in a letter on the Bucks County B ar Association website, " Three new Local Rules ( *212.7, *212.8 and *241) went into effect on July 8, 2019, formalizing case management and the responsibility of attorneys and unrepresented parties. ... (in) civil cases which have remained on the docket for one year, the parties will receive a computer generated Case Intervention Order directing the parties to file, with the Prothonotary, an Agreed Case Management Order. If the parties fail to do that, a Case Management Order will be issued by the Court without any guidance from the parties." The full letter is at http://bit.ly/2Shyyyx , and more details are available at http://bit.ly/2Gh0zS1 .
New procedure for postponement of sheriff's sales in Bucks Court of Common Pleas
DOYLESTOWN - T o streamline and standardize procedures for obtaining continuance / postponement of a scheduled sheriff’s sale, the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas adopted a new protocol July 12 . The procedures for uncontested and contested motions for continuance, and motions filed after sheriff’s sale hearings have concluded are outlined at http://bit.ly/32r8Ood .
Chester County

Newly announced: Coatesville Expungement Workshops: September - December
COATESVILLE - LASP, in partnership with the Coatesville Center for Community Health, will present Expungement / Clean Slate workshops from September through December. Choose the date which works best for you! Each workshop will be held at Coatesville Center for Community Health, 1001 E. Lincoln Highway, Coatesville, PA 19320 (across the street from Turkey Hill). Click the flyer at right for more information.

Workshops are scheduled for:
  • Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 4:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 3:00 p.m. 
  • Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 4:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 3:00 p.m. 

To register, call 610-383-4612 or email kathryn@coatesvillecenter.org .
Exton Expungement Workshops at PA CareerLink

EXTON - LASP Staff Attorney Deborah Steeves will present Expungement / Clean Slate Workshops Monday, Aug. 12 and Wednesday, Sept. 11 to explain Pennsylvania's laws and then help attendees learn more about their specific situation.

The FREE events are co-sponsored with United Way of Chester County and PA CareerLink Chester County, and will be held at 479 Thomas Jones Way, Exton, PA 19341 .

Registration link for each workshop:

For more information, please contact Darshana Shyamsunder at 610-280-1019 or dshyamsunder@uwchestercounty.org.
Trial Run 5K

Thanks to Kristen Wetzel Ladd
& Lowell Ladd!

Check out the West Chester Daily Local coverage of the 15th Annual Trial Run 5K. New donations received after the article was published have raised total Trial Run proceeds to $16,475! July 3 story at: http://bit.ly/2G30H7N. THANKS AGAIN to all supporters and participants!

Pictured from left: Lowell, Kristen and Liam Ladd with Kristen's parents, Suzanne and Bob Wetzel . Kristen has co-chaired the Trial Run for the past five years! Lowell and 2L Race Services provided race logistics, and Liam, age 9, won the 19-and-under division of this year's Trial Run 5K.
Delaware County

Clean Slate / Expungement CLE Thursday, Sept. 12 at DCBA

MEDIA - Save the date and help give Pennsylvanians a second chance! Learn about the new Clean Slate law and expungement laws at a Clean Slate / Expungement CLE  on  Thursday, Sept. 12. Presented by LASP's Erica Briant, Regional Expungement Attorney , and Phil Rosenthal, Staff Attorney , the CLE will be held at the Delaware County Bar Association (DCBA), 335 W. Front St., Media PA 19063.  Planned as a lunch-and-learn, the time is tentatively scheduled for noon registration and 12:30 p.m. presentation. Details will be finalized soon; check  http://bit.ly/2HqrVUx or LASP's Facebook events page. The cost is $40 for DCBA members and $55 for non-members, but the fee will be waived for any of LASP's current pro bono volunteers and for anyone who agrees to assist with an expungement clinic. The DCBA pro bono committee is sponsoring this informative and timely session. For more information, contact Thomas Kerstan, LASP Staff Attorney and Pro Bono Coordinator, at 610-874-8421, ext. 313 or tkerstan@lasp.org. 
LASP hosted legal information table at Benefits Bash July 27

UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP - Staff Attorney Sherri Peace-Gordon had a legal information table at PA Rep. Mike Zabel's Benefits Bash Saturday, July 27 at Penn Pines Park .
Montgomery County

LASP to host legal information table at Senior Fair Aug. 29 in Elkins Park

ELKINS PARK - Staff Attorney Susan Strong will have a legal information table at State Rep. Steve McCarter's Senior Fair Thursday, Aug. 29 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. The seventh annual event, which included more than 100 services and organizations last year, will take place at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027 .

For more information, see the clickable flyer or visit Rep. McCarter's website at http://bit.ly/2XXpAI3.
Montgomery Bar Reentry Day
NORRISTOWN - LASP was a proud participant at Reentry Day in Norristown June 28, sponsored by the Montgomery Bar Association.

Sharing information about how civil legal aid can help pave the path to reentry into the job market and better housing availability were Juliana Muhaj (at left), LASP / Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow; Nicole McCoy , Paralegal with LASP's Regional Housing Unit; and Kesha James, De puty Director for Advocacy.
Intern news
LASP interns across the counties
This summer, interns gained insight into civil legal aid through their work with LASP attorneys in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. Here are profiles of many of this talented group:
DOYLESTOWN - A native of Germany, Sophia Boggs moved to Bucks County in 2008 and is an intern in LASP's Doylestown office this summer. A junior at Colgate University, she is goalkeeper for the Raiders' Division 1 soccer team. "Over school breaks, I referee local youth soccer for several organizations, and I also do individual and group training for youth goalkeepers," she said. In considering her career path, she knew she wanted to work with the general public and wanted to see something new every day, so she set the goal of becoming an attorney.
WEST CHESTER - Based in the West Chester office this summer, Sierra Winslow Fegely is a law student at Widener University and was part of the Chester County Bar Association Diversity program. She majored in sociology at West Chester University and is an assistant preschool teacher. At an outreach event in Honey Brook in June, Sierra noted, "People don't know how to navigate the legal system," and she's going to law school to help address that barrier.
NORRISTOWN - Sean Kilkenny has interned this summer in LASP's Norristown office, working on expungements, name change petitions, and Chapter 7 bankruptcies with Erica Briant, Regional Expungement Attorney. A law student at Drexel University with a B.S. in biology from Penn State University, Sean volunteered for Drexel Law's spring break expungement week in the Norristown office. He also assists with expungements at Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (PLSE).
NORRISTOWN - Sept. 11, 2001 had a life-changing impact on Frank Klopp. The events of that day prompted him to join the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served as Petty Officer First Class from 2002-14. After 12 years of service as a federal law enforcement officer conducting national security operations, he earned a B.A. in criminal justice administration at Alvernia University and is now a law student at Drexel University. This summer he volunteered at LASP's Norristown office, working on compliance for expungements.
NORRISTOWN - Juliana Muhaj brings a unique perspective to LASP as a licensed attorney in her native Albania from 2002-14, when she emigrated to the U.S. with her family. Also an assistant professor at Albanian University from 2009-13, she taught Roman law and helped students understand their constitutional rights. Now a law student at Drexel University, she.received a PA Legal Aid Network (PLAN) Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship. At LASP, she has assisted with walk-in intake, conducted legal research in unemployment and child dependency case law for Michael E. Kelley, Norristown Managing Attorney, and worked on housing issues including mortgage foreclosure and landlord-tenant.
CHESTER - Based in the Chester city office, Celine Ridgway helped LASP clients fill out custody papers so that they could file pro se (without an attorney). "I also assisted Michelle Terry (Delaware County Managing Attorney) with SSI research and reviewed medical records, condensing them and looking for useful information" to help each client's case, she said. A student at Delaware Law School, her undergraduate studies in English and French were at Penn State University; she also studied French at Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier III in France. Celine works as a law clerk at Lavin, O'Neil, Cedrone & DiSipio and volunteered for Elder Law in Delaware and HIAS Pennsylvania.
Jeremy Ulm
POTTSTOWN - Jeremy Ulm, LASP intern based in the Pottstown office, has drafted bankruptcy petitions for three different clients and acted as a non-attorney representative for a client at an unemployment compensation appeal hearing. He's a law student at Penn State Dickinson Law and is a lifelong resident of the Cleveland, Ohio area. Toward the end of his undergrad studies at The Ohio State University, he volunteered at the Legal Aid Society of Columbus doing record sealing and expungements. "This experience cemented my decision to go to law school and is one of the things I lean on the most whenever school gets overwhelming," he said.
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