VOCA grant to increase LASP assistance in PFA orders & other civil legal issues related to domestic violence
New grant funding from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) will expand LASP services to victims of domestic violence in all four counties that we serve. LASP will hire an additional attorney in each county to handle Protection from Abuse orders.
The grant will allow a more holistic approach to legal services for domestic violence victims by allowing the attorneys to help clients not only with PFAs but also with related legal issues.
"The new VOCA attorneys will handle matters like custody, divorce, and other civil legal issues stemming from domestic abuse," said Kesha James, Deputy Director of Advocacy. "Like the current VOCA funding, these are three-year grants, and we will be able to help clients beyond LASP's usual income guidelines."
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Montgomery Bar Foundation's 2018 Access to Justice Summit
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Donafy app founder addresses access to services
The second Access to Justice Summit, sponsored by Montgomery Bar Foundation, brought together 20 nonprofits to brainstorm ideas to improve the reach of justice and facilitate communication between them. "We're proud to facilitate this ongoing dialogue," noted Carl Weiner, Esq., president of Montgomery Bar Foundation.
Nikki Johnson-Huston (
http://bit.ly/2yVdJmy) also discussed her newly created smartphone application, Donafy, at the summit. The location-based app aims to connect people with nearby local nonprofit services. After starting the app in Philadelphia, she recently expanded it to include Montgomery County. The Eviction Prevention & Intervention Coalition (EPIC), in which LASP is a partner, is an outgrowth of the 2017 summit.
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| LASP attorneys and paralegal at the 2018 Access to Justice Summit are (from left): Michael Kelley, Managing Attorney of LASP's Montgomery County Division; Annette Long-Tulio, Protection from Abuse Paralegal and Montgomery Bar Foundation trustee; Eileen Carroll, Regional Landlord-Tenant Attorney; Nanci Hoover, Supervising Attorney for the centralized Helpline; and Kesha James, Deputy Director of Advocacy. |
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PLAN honors LASP legal assistant Randi Riefner
with 2018 Excellence Award
Photo at left: Randi with
James P. DeAngelo, Esq., President of the PLAN Board of Directors. With her in the center photo, from left: daughter Meagan, twin sister Robin Shecter and her husband Barry Shecter, and grandaughter Mia in front. Photo at right: Jennifer Pierce, Managing Attorney of LASP's Doylestown office, with Randi.
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Highlights from the Counties
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14th Annual TRIAL RUN 5K raises $16,825
for LASP Chester County legal services
Braving light drizzle, runners of all ages took to beautiful Struble Trail June 23 for the 14th annual Trial Run 5K! The race, in Downingtown, raised $16,825 in support of LASP's Chester County Division. Thanks to
Chester County Bar Association's Pro Bono Committee for organizing the Trial Run, as well as to all sponsors, runners and and families who attended!
Event Sponsor: MacElree Harvey
Gold Sponsors:
Fox Rothschild |
Gawthrop Greenwood, PC |
John McKenna, Esq. |
Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees
Silver Sponsors:
Lamb McErlane, PC |
Steven L. Sugarman & Associates
Bronze Sponsors:
Brutscher, Foley, Milliner & Land, LLP |
Buckley, Brion, McGuire & Morris, LLP |
Chester County Paralegal Association |
D'Amico Law, PC |
Univest Bank & Trust Co. |
Catherine Voit, Esq. |
Wetzel, Gagliardi, Fetter & Lavin
Friends of Legal Aid:
Chester County Bar Association |
Elizabeth Wood Fritsch, Esq. |
Platt, DiGiorgio & DiFabio |
Law Firm of Barry S. Rabin |
Kevin Cronin, Esq.
Patrons of Legal Aid:
KeyBank |
Reger, Rizzo & Darnall, LLP |
Wusinich & Brogan, PC
Clockwise from top left: 2018 Trial Run is under way! | Race organizers Brian Doyle (left), Rachel Houseman, Kristen Ladd and John McKenna await runners' return. | Brian Doyle, LASP Staff Attorney and Pro Bono Coordinator, announces race winners, while Rachel Houseman, Managing Attorney of LASP's Chester County office, awards the prizes. | Crossing the finish line in the drizzle.
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Montgomery County
LEGAL AID GOLF CLASSIC
THANKS to all who supported the 2018 Legal Aid Golf Classic June 22 at Bluestone Country Club, Blue Bell! Proceeds directly benefit LASP's Montgomery County Division. LASP thanks Montgomery Bar Association and
Montgomery Bar Foundation
for their matching donation to LASP and for
organizing the entire event!
Presenting Sponsor:
High Swartz, LLP
Premium Sponsors: Elliot Greenleaf | Friedman Schuman, PC | Kane, Pugh, Knoell, Troy & Kramer, LLP | USI Affinity | Wisler Pearlstine, LLP | Clare Printing | Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin, PC | Haverford Quality Investing | Morris Wilson, PC | Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel, LLP | Salvo, Rogers, Elinski & Scullin | Walsh Pancio, LLC.
Hole Sponsors: American Executive Centers | Edward Jones | Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin | Strehlow & Associates Court Reporting | Tomkins Vist Bank | Webesco Technology Group
Tee & Green Sponsors: Janet E. Amacher, PC | Chong Law Firm - Jimmy C. Chong, Esq. | CosmoLex | D'Amore Consulting, LLC | Dreslin & Co., Inc. | Fleisher Forensics | Flitter Milz, PC | State Rep. Kate M. Harper, Esq. | Horizon Waste Service, Inc. | Kaplin Stewart | M. Burr Keim | Donald J. Martin, Esq. | McTighe, Weiss & O'Rourke, PC | Montgomery County Paralegal Association | Sal Nazzaro Mechanical Contractor | Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford | Runwell Solutions, Inc. | Shultz Law, LLC | Sherr Law Group | T. Mastrocola Construction | Timony Knox, LLP | The Tulio Group | Tornetta Realty Corp.
Donors: MC-NPL - Kathleen Arnold-Yerger | Robert Alan Griffiths, Esq.
Clockwise from top left: Nancy Paul, Executive Director of Montgomery Bar Association and LASP board member; and Nancy Hagner. | THANKS to sponsors, golfers and all who made this event a great success! | Kesha James, LASP Deputy Director of Advocacy, staffs the beverage cart. | Mary Pugh, Esq., President of Montgomery Bar Association, and
Carl Weiner, Esq., President of Montgomery Bar Foundation, at the luncheon.
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Power of Partnership! EPIC panel at Your Way Home Summit
The 6th annual Your Way Home Summit June 8 included a panel discussion of the Eviction Prevention & Intervention Coalition, a Montco pilot program between YWH, LASP, Montgomery Bar Association and more. Judge Margaret Hunsicker, who agreed to pilot EPIC in her courtroom, won a Champion of Change award at the event, held at Montgomery County Community College.
With the summit theme of "Advancing Equity," keynote speaker
Jeff Olivet addressed racial equity as a sustainable strategy to end homelessness. Recommended reading discussed at the summit included
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein and
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.
A standing-room-only crowd fills a classroom at MCCC for an engaging panel discussion about
homelessness, the Eviction Prevention & Intervention Coalition, & Sprout Initiative at the
Your Way Home
Summit
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Bucks County
"Learning with Lawyers," PLAN elder law training, & a win for young lawyers in Bar Association annual softball game
Staff Attorney Rhonda Sherrod helped organize the annual Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) elder law training, which took place May 8.
Jennifer Pierce, Managing Attorney of LASP's Doylestown office,
participated in the Bar Association's "Learning with Lawyers" day May 16, where attorneys went into elementary schools in Bristol and talked to students about the Constitution and U.S. government. Jennifer also
participated in the Bucks Bar Association's annual softball game June 9, featuring the young lawyers vs. "seasoned" lawyers. Young lawyers won!
Rodlena Sales discusses pathways to public interest law with high school students
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| Rodlena Sales (back row, fourth from right), Managing Attorney of LASP's Bristol office and Bucks County Pro Bono Coordinator, spoke to high school students about her path to becoming a lawyer, legal services and the benefits of being a public interest attorney at the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia 5th Annual Education Forum June 16. |
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Delaware County
LASP presents at Community Housing Fair in Chester city
Staff attorneys
Carolyn Johnson and
Christina Drzal attended the Community Housing Fair June 16 in Chester city. Ms. Johnson presented on mortgage delinquency in the credit repair and home improvement workshop. Organized by Chester Community Improvement Project (
http://bit.ly/2KsEz6Q), the event addressed all aspects of home ownership in Chester city and Delaware County, from homebuyer assistance funding, protections provided by the Fair Housing Act, and multiple financial aspects of home ownership. CCIP's mission is to assist with revitalization of Chester by building the base of home ownership.
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Guy Marinari earns Temple Law awards
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Guy Marinari |
Guy Marinari
, intern, volunteer and part-time employee assisting in expungements for the past 18+ months, graduated from Temple University Beasley School of Law on May 17. He was honored with awards from the Rubin Presser Public Interest Honor Society, Eve Biskind Klothen Public Interest Award, admission to the Order of the Coif, and received the Faculty Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement.
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Summer interns: Serving our West Chester, Norristown and Doylestown offices
Villanova law student
Domenic Cicchinelli
is working primarily on Protection from Abuse cases in LASP's Doylestown office. From Pittsburgh, he graduated from Kent State University in political science. He'll be 3L in the fall. In his spare time he likes to fly fish.
Temple alumnus Conor Meenan volunteered for LASP before law school and is an expungement intern in Norristown. He'll be 2L at Villanova Law. As freelance TV production assistant for the Food Network and Travel Channel in New York, he worked on "Mysteries at the Museum;" the Rachael Ray, Tyler Florence, Anne Burrell and Ted Allen's shows; and a Chvches commercial in a vacated Grand Central.
Sara Planthaber
is working on custody and social security cases in West Chester as Martin Luther King, Jr. intern (
http://bit.ly/2lKyI29
). A political science and psychology major, she played on the Swarthmore varsity softball team and earned All American in weightlifting. A University of Pittsburgh law school 2L, she's also pursuing a Master of Social Work.
West Chester intern Lisa Riley is a rising 2L at Villanova law school, with a B.A. in psychology from Neumann University. She also studied at Queen's University Belfast. Born in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a U.S. territory, she gained an early interest in law trying to understand differences in rights for CNMI residents, who are U.S. citizens, vs. those living in the 50 states.
Chris Sheldon, also in West Chester, attends Villanova Law, where he'll be 3L in the fall. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in English and music; he's played piano since grade school. He is working primarily on custody cases.
Photo at right: Chris Sheldon (left), Sara Planthaber, Conor Meenan.
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LASP's 2017-18 fiscal year wraps up
Saturday, June 30, 2018!
To support our mission & increase access to justice in Bucks, Chester, Delaware & Montgomery counties
,
please make a donation at
http://bit.ly/LegalAidHelps
or click the mountain link below.
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